Holiday park profile: Lovat Parks Golden Beach Caravan Park

On the east Norfolk coast lies the tiny one-time fishing village of Sea Palling.

Golden sands stretch as far as the eye can see in both directions from the path over the dunes to the beach, which has Blue Flag status.

Freshly made donuts are served from a kiosk here. There’s a pub-restaurant, two cafés and sun loungers are available for hire – all the trappings of tourism, in microcosm, are here at Sea Palling. A two-minute walk from the beach is Golden Beach Caravan Park, sheltered by the sand dunes. The park is now owned by the Lovat Parks group.

Golden Beach is a quiet, secluded park, totally level and set amid farmland.

Both pre-owned and new holiday caravans are available here, so there is something for all budgets.

This is a little-known area of Norfolk, bordering the Norfolk Broads and backed by some of this gorgeous county’s lovely fenlands – rich agricultural lands, marshes laced with watercourses and punctuated by pretty villages.

My drive to Sea Palling had taken me through these lands, characterised by thatched houses, windmills, occasional pairs of swans in fields, and vast big-skies appeal.

A thin road takes me to the village of Sea Palling – and then a sign to The Beach. Thatched cottages and ancient stone cottages make the statement that this place has a long history.

Today, the miniature resort of Sea Palling is a haven of tranquillity where dogs are allowed on one area of the beach all year round. That’s important, because 98% of owners of holiday homes at Golden Beach have dogs. It’s a family park, too, with a small adventure play area that has a nautical theme – among the play equipment is a ‘boat’. There’s also a giant noughts-and-crosses game.

HOLIDAY HOMES FOR SALE

There are 134 plots on the park, which has a 10-month season. Nine plots are available. New holiday homes are arriving shortly and three pre-owned units are currently on sale.

New holiday homes include a Willerby Brockenhurst at £41,995, an Atlas Festival at £38,895 and an ABI Oakley at £42,495. The prices include siting, connection to services, a digital aerial and four 19-litre gas bottles. The site fee for 2019 (£2895) is also included in the purchase price.

THE PARK

Golden Beach is a neatly kept park, with bushes and flowers and a smart entrance with a security barrier. All the decking used here is uPVC and includes non-slip tread boards.

The office is smart, too, and incorporates an owners’ lounge where local wildlife pictures are on sale and there is a book exchange.

THE REGION

I’d already discovered some of the enchanting attractions of this region – and there’s more, much more. Cromer, famous for crabs and the beach, of course, is 19 miles north; 19 miles in another direction takes you to Norwich. Local markets are in many of the towns in this region. Most of the pubs welcome dogs.

At Horsey Beach, three miles away, you can observe seals – and also pups during late October through to February. It’s spring, so no pups to distract me from my fact-finding mission.

It had not taken long during my visit to Sea Palling to discover the allure of this place; it has a charm at all times of the year, both quiet spring and autumn and more lively summer. As I leave Golden Beach, less than half an hour into my journey back to Lincolnshire, I find a pretty marina from where you can take boat trips. That’s another attraction of having a holiday home at Golden Beach, I decide.

My route takes me through the town of Wroxham, known as the capital of the Broads National Park and I drive past an intriguing retail attraction. The signage tells me this is Roys, the world’s largest village store. It is in fact one of many Roys stores in Norfolk and Suffolk.

This one’s the flagship, my research later that evening tells me, with a food hall, garden centre, DIY store and toy shop. Big names – Joules, Barbour, Crew Clothing, Laura Ashley, Superdry and more – are here, together with a deli and lots of locally sourced products. This area is full of surprises – a brilliant place to call holiday home.

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