Sunny Hunny (Hunstanton)

Member Name: kjl12

Product:	Hunstanton
Date:	16/04/05 (359 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots for kids, nice beach, quiet and traditional

Disadvantages: typical English weather

Where is it? Hunstanton (or 'Sunny Hunny' as it gets called) is on the coast of North Norfolk, in the East of England - I was always taught at school that it's on the 'bunny's tale' of the country!

What's its history? It was the Monaco of it's day! Henry Styleman LeStrange built it in the 1800s as a place to store his name..sorry...as a getaway for the Victorian rich and famous. I've not seen Posh and Becks there yet though..

What's unique about it? Here's an interesting fact about the place - although the cliffs and beaches of Hunstanton are obviously on the East Coast, they actually face West (the bunny's tale thing again...) Because of this it's famous for its sunsets and they really are very pretty. Other than that I suppose it's not too dissimilar to lots of other English coastal resorts - although it is smaller and a lot less loud than places like Blackpool or Great Yarmouth

What can we do there? You've got a good range of traditional attractions which you'd expect from the seaside, both along the prom near the beach in the main town and up in the town itself. These include:

Pony and donkey rides
Trampolines
Kiosks - I particularly like the kiosk near the pier as it sells very nice donuts..
Cafes/snack bars/fish and chips - Try the cafe under the pier for a cup of hot chocolate
Fairgrounds - the usual rides etc. If you go to the one past the Sea Life centre, it's got a great big slide if you like those - and a traditional carousel
Beach - There are 2 miles of nice beach, a bit rocky in places, but great rock pools. As a tip, we always drive down to Old Hunstanton, where the old lighthouse is, and go on the beach there as it's a bit quieter and you get sand dunes and kite flyers.
Sailing
Kite and wind surfing
Lawn bowling ( how traditionally English do you want? )
Tennis - apparently the UK's largest tournament is held here - how can that be?
Golf - there's a links course in Old Hunstanton
Pubs
Sealife centre - this is a winner with kids and is open all year. The usual tanks of big and small aquatic creatures and a walk through plastic tunnel. You know the form.
Oasis sports centre - has a large indoor swimming pool with slides
Cinema - it has a quaint old traditional cinema which is worth a look
The Princess Theatre - claims to have a "high quality programme", but as often as not this turns out to be The Grumbleweeds and the Barron Knights (remember them??)
Britain's biggest joke shop...yes really...

Where can we stay? I have to say, we've never actually stayed there but there is huge range of holiday accommodation including B and B, hotels, self catering and caravans. And most of it is near the town centre, although check carefully about some of the caravan parks as they can be a bit of a trek. If you're a camper there's a great little site in Snettisham, a couple of miles away - we've had some great breaks there.

What's nearby? You often see the sightseeing boats heading out to Seal Island in the bay - I've never done this, largely due to an unfortunate incident on a boat in Tenerife, but it's very popular.
Here are some of the events coming up in and around Hunstanton soon to give you a flavour of the place (OK, so Ibiza it's not...)
30/4/2005: Sandringham Spring Craft Show
11/6/2005: World Water Ski Racing Championships
11/6/2005: Deepdale Jazz and Real Ale Festival
25/6/2005: Sandringham Country Show
15/7/2005: Sandringham Antiques Fair
27/7/2005: Sandringham Flower Show
6/8/2005: Wash Week 2005
16/9/2005: Sandringham Festival of Wood
18/11/2005: Norfolk Food Lovers' Show
25/11/2005: Sandringham Crafts at Christmas

Sandringham is not far down the road (you know, Norfolk home for the Royal Family) and it's certainly worth a look even if you don't like stately homes. The gardens are great and my son loves the museum with all the old royal cars and pedal cars in it! the craft show is well worth a look too.
I'd also recommend a trip to the Norfolk Lavender Centre (on the road out towards Snettisham) - they've got greenhouses, plants, cafe etc
In fact, I'd recommend Snettisham as one of the best places nearby. The Snettisham Park farm has deer and farm animals (we went in spring and bottle fed lambs!) and the Rose and Crown is a lovely little pub - they let you take dogs and children in and the food is amazing.

What's the weather like?
They claim to have above average sunshine through the summer and I have been there on some glorious days(December was good...), but you takes your chances - this is the East coast and that is the North Sea out there!

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