01/10/2011

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Our family weekend on a North Norfolk park

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luxury caravan holiday home at kelling heath park

fishing pond at kelling heath in north norfolk

decent sized pitches at kelling heath for caravan motorhome or tent

camping at kelling heath park in north norfolk

beautiful sunset at kelling heath holiday park

approaching Holt station on the Poppy Line

I SPENT many weeks throughout the summer of 1986 with a friend and his family at North Norfolk-based Kelling Heath Holiday Park in their static caravan and so more than 25 years on I jumped at the chance of revisiting my old teenage haunt for a four-day stay in one of the park’s luxury caravan holiday homes.

And what a joy it turned out to be. This time round, instead of hanging round with other gangly teenagers, mainly in the games room I seem to remember, where there was a fantastic jukebox, I had with me my partner Fiona and two children, 11-year-old Mia and 11-month-old Finley.

On arrival, I noted it wasn’t just my waistline that had expanded in the subsequent years. The North Norfolk site has undergone a huge transformation and is now one of the best known in the country, set in a whopping 250 acres in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close to the coastline at Weybourne. Trying to retrace my footsteps in the 80s was almost impossible.

Despite its expansion, Kelling Heath has retained its charming, small site feel. It was quickly apparent why Kelling Heath, which takes motorhomes, tent campers and caravans, was deemed worthy enough to be one of our Premier Parks.

What you can expect at Kelling Heath

Much of the park is woodland and rare open heathland so despite its popularity it never feels crowded, quite the opposite in fact. Go for a walk and you can cover an awful lot of ground before spotting another soul. The park is spotlessly clean with a superb, well-stocked and incredibly neat village shop and offers holiday home or lodges for hire as well as pitches for motorhomes, caravans and tents.

We didn’t have to use them but other guests told us the toilet and shower blocks were clean and tidy.

There’s also a well-stocked and incredibly neat village shop selling not just essentials like milk and bread but also locally-produced meat, gifts and some of the best chilli sauce I’ve ever tried!

Its charm and small site feel belies its 250 acres. There’s enough to keep the family entertained without having to dip into your pocket to spend money every 5 minutes. The outdoor pool in the summer is free and there are two play areas, one for older children and the other for youngsters.

You will have to pay to have a swim indoors and use the gym and to hire a cycle but plan it properly and you can make this a truly cost-effective holiday.

The beaches of Sheringham and Cromer are a few miles off-site too so there’s always somewhere different to go and something to do. Some friends of mine stayed recently and took the train to Norwich, which is about 30 miles from Holt.

If you decide to stay on site though, and there’s certainly no reason why you wouldn’t, small children can be kept amused in The Den, a soft-play area alongside the bar.

Enjoy a pint or two of ale (very pleasant Woodforde's Sundew during our visit) and keep your eye on the little ones at the same time – perfect!

To the other side of the Den is a games room with a couple of American pool tables and various arcade games, a suitable retreat for the older kids to wile away the hours.

Planning our campsite break

Our first evening was spent relaxing in the holiday home (though I nipped out to snap some of the beautiful sunset from our nearby viewpoint that overlooks the village of Welbourne, see picture below) and plan what we would do for the rest of the weekend.

A cycle ride, a trip on the steam train, a swim and a visit to Cromer were high up on the agenda.

beautiful sunset at kelling heath holiday park

The following morning after devouring three hearty English breakfasts in the on-site pub (at £7.25 each) we decided to don our waterproofs and hire some bikes. It was a short stroll to the onsite Huff & Puff Cycles centre and it wasn’t long before we were ready to tackle an on-site five-mile route.

Much longer and tougher routes, both on and off-site, are available for the more hardy but the very nice chap there recommended this one for a young family.

Finley was sat in a special buggy, which attached to my bike. It must have been comfortable as he soon fell asleep and its covering also ensured he remained dry. Despite the soaking we got, the ride was enjoyable and the terrain easy to tackle.

In hindsight, we’d chosen the wrong activity for the wrong time of day because when we were enjoying a dip in the indoor pool later that day it was sunny outside!

A ride on a steam train

We were up bright and early again on Sunday morning (no choice with an 11-month-old) and received a text from my sister saying they were in the area and would pop by and see us.

approaching Holt station on the Poppy Line

We’d already planned a trip on the steam train on the Poppy Line so three hours later seven of us were stood waiting for our transport on Kelling Heath platform.

Sheringham is a pretty seaside town worthy of a few hours’ of your time. After a fish and chip lunch the kids climbed the rocks while the adults and Finley sat and watched the world go by.

It was then back on the train, this time heading for Holt in the other direction. On arrival we found it was a mile and a quarter walk into Holt from the station so we decided to say on board and make our way back to the campsite for an afternoon beer in the sunshine. We could have caught a bus into town had we wanted to.

A cloudy Cromer…and no crabs!

We had to be packed up and ready for the off by 10am on the Monday morning and we decided to not go straight home but to nip into the nearby seaside town of Cromer instead.

Dark, threatening clouds and a bitterly cold wind greeted us on our arrival but soon we were attaching pieces of bacon to the crabbing line that we bought Mia so she join the dozens of other shivering bodies along the pier attempting to land one or two of these creatures.

We left her staring hopefully into the sea and visited the lifeboat on the end of the per. Very impressive craft.

On our way back to Mia we saw that one child had about 60 crabs in his bucket and I’m still convinced to this day that he’s been to the local fishmonger and bought them as Mia had caught none. Even with my so-called help our success rate didn’t improve and we simply served to give the crabs their morning bacon without much effort on their part.

On enquiring what he does with them once his crabbing expedition is over, the child with the bucketful of crustaceans told me he takes them on to the beach and watches them scramble their way back into the sea, picking which one he believes will be the first to make it. A much happier ending for the crabs than a boiling pot of water and a sprinkling of pepper...

To overcome our disappointment at being Cromer’s worst crabbers we headed to a restaurant in town recommended to us by a man serving in the pier shop.

Not only could we warm up but he also assured me it served one of the best Cromer crab lunches in town. And it didn’t disappoint. By early afternoon we were ready to head home. By then, the clouds had almost disappeared and the hot sun was out – typical.

On the drive home, while reflecting on our weekend, I decided not to leave it so long before my next visit to Kelling Heath, as it’s such a fantastic place to visit.

Visit www.kellingheath.co.uk for up to date pricing and other information.

See some other pictures from our fabulous weekend away in Norfolk, by clicking on our online gallery here.

Places to visit in North Norfolk:

Top 10 places chosen by Kelling Heath guests:

1.   North Norfolk Railway
2.   Sheringham town and beach
3.   Cromer beach and pier
4.   Shopping in Holt
5.   A trip to see the seals at Blakeney Point
6.   Cley Windmill
7.   Visiting historic houses
8.   Walking in Sheringham Park
9.   Crabbing
10.   The Muckleburgh Collection

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01/10/2011 Share this story

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