A memorable victorian seaside resort (Hunstanton)

Member Name: baywatch_fan2002

Product:	Hunstanton
Date:	12/08/03 (4120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots to do , great sunsets, can find fossils

Disadvantages: weather is usually very windy, sea is brown & very pebbly beach

I haven?t written an opinion on Dooyoo for nearly 2 months now (Shock! Horror! LOL), so I thought I would start off again with a seaside review. I love going to the beach and thought I would write about a place I have visited lots of times in my life, and which also reminds me of many memories every time I go back there?

Hunstanton was a Victorian seaside resort, established 150+ years ago. Hunstanton became popular in the 1860?s. In winter 1938, the sea froze to approximately 6ft in places leaving glacier like scenery and cracking ice floes everywhere.

Hunstanton is nicknamed ?Sunny Hunny? because it is the only seaside resort on the east coast that faces west. This means that it brings in some beautiful sunsets every night. Hunstanton is situated on the north Norfolk coastline, directly beneath Skegness if you look on the map. Sometimes on clear days, you can see across to Hunstanton from Skegness and on some dark clear nights at Hunstanton, you can see the flashing lights of the fair and illuminations at Skegness. So it?s like they?re connected across the wash, even though they?re both in different counties.

Unfortunately Hunstanton is a widely exposed seaside resort, there are no mountains or cliffs on each side, which can protect it, so it is often very windy down there.
The cliffs down one stretch of the coast have been terribly battered every year
by strong un-guarded winds, which are great to watch when splashing up over the
promenade in the evening, but cause great devastation to properties that belong to residents who live close by and whatever else may stand in it?s way. Fences have been put up at the top of the cliffs to steer people away from the edge, but every year when I go back there, the fence has disappeared over the cliff edge.
Large pieces of crumbled red and white cliff lay at the bottom, dangerously
loose, so be careful round that area. If you like fossils, some have been fo
und
in the falle
n

cliffs. My brother found one a few years back and took it to a
museum. The woman told us it was a few thousand years old and was the fossilised claw of some animal, which I can?t remember now, as it was a few years ago.

Hunstanton is imaginably divided in 2 parts, a bit like Benidorm. You have ?Old Hunstanton? which is left from when Hunstanton was first built ? a village of houses, a church and on the coastline, a gorgeous row of multi-coloured crumbling cliffs. The newer area of Hunstanton contains streets of shops, a permanent fair, a sea life
centre, a newly built lifeguard station and amusement arcades to name a few.

Hunstanton is very easy to get to, as it is very well signposted. Whichever
direction you are travelling from, if you have a map with you, you can't get
lost, unless you can't read maps like me lol. It's on the A149 going west, so it
is only a short 20-minute journey from Kings Lynn, or if you are coming through
Norwich, it will only take an hour. If you are coming from Kings Lynn, you will
know you've come the right way if you start to smell soup, as there is a
Campbell?s Soup Factory at a huge roundabout about 15 miles away.

If you come through Kings Lynn, then you will pass some relaxing-smelling
lavender fields at a place called Heacham, and also thick dense forests decorate
the scenery across each side of the road. About a couple of miles before you
reach the town, you can see the sea and sandbanks and possibly some big white fishing boats far out on the horizon.

If you can't drive, there are other ways to get there, such as by train, taxi or
bus. There are several bus trips available to Kings Lynn from most city bus
stations in the UK. The buses from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton run quite regularly
from bus and train stations. If you want to leave behind all that bustling chaos
on bank holidays,
then why not travel by t
rain, w
hich
runs from Kings Cross to
Kings Lynn, via the WAGN rail network. Then when you reach Kings Lynn, you could either get a bus to Hunstanton, which would cost an average of £2.50 per person, or a taxi, which would cost an average of £17. See, don't say I never do
anything for you; I found out the costs to Hunstanton out of the goodness of my
own heart lol.

Hunstanton?s admirable neighbours are Sandringham (Isn?t this place home to one
of the Queen?s houses?), Holme-Next-The-Sea (large stretch of exposed coastline), Snettisham (large exposed coastline with a small café and a bird watching area) and Heacham (home to a large lavender field), so if you fancy some sightseeing, then go and visit one of those places, or you can take a trek into a thick forest and possibly get yourself lost, or come out at Wells-Next-The-Sea, which is quite a few miles away (takes about an hour to drive there) lol. Why not make a holiday out of it and visit all the different seaside towns located on the North Norfolk Coastline? They?re not really that far apart from each other.

The main problem in reaching Hunstanton is the traffic. The traffic is
especially bad on bank holidays and summer days. But there?s not much traffic
the rest of the year. Though queues seem to lengthen in Kings Lynn and next to
the soup factory, I suppose this is when everyone flocks to the beach in search
of relaxation and suntans. Or as the case may be in England, lack of suntans.
There are 2 different routes to Hunstanton; one is via a motorway, which runs
through different villages, which is shrouded in beautiful green countryside
(this route takes a little longer) and the other is just a long motorway, with
green hills on one side and buildings on the other.

Once you reach Hunstanton, you have the option of following the road to the
seafront or the town centre. Or you can just get
lost in the residential roads

that mi
ght only t
urn out to be dead ends hehe.

Hunstanton is one seaside resort where you don?t have to worry about where to
park, except if it?s a bank holiday and the temperatures have soared into the
30?s and there are thousands of people there. Apart from hot days and bank holidays, Sundays seem to be the next busiest days, as this is when bikers seem to rendezvous for pints of beer and chips on the sea front lol.

There are 5 car parks to choose from. They include the following:

? On the cliff top overlooking the sea (the wash)
? On the beachfront outside an amusement arcade and the oasis leisure centre
? (where the market sits on certain days)
? Round the back of the fair (a grassy car park hidden behind the fair)
? In the middle of town opposite a Thomson?s leisure arcade
? There is also a big supermarket, which has a few car parking spaces too

During peak times you have to pay for the car park but non-peak times are free. (Possibly because the men who take your money don?t want to work in cold conditions) In some of the car parks you are given a ticket, which can be used in another car park if you want to transfer your car for easier access. If no spaces are left, then there is a long straight road (next to a large area of grass and numerous shelters & benches) across the cliff top where you can park for free, but it is
a little walk into the town though.

You don?t just have to go to Hunstanton for one day; you can also go there for a
holiday. There are many hotels, B&B?s, apartments, holiday homes, cottages and
caravans to choose from and book or buy beforehand. Or you could set up a tent on the cliff top or the holiday village.
You can also stay at Manor Park Holiday Village. This is situated down Manor
Road, which is at the back of the fair. You can either hire a caravan or chalet,
or bring your own caravan or
purchase your own holiday home.
<b
r>The holiday vil
lage has a lot
of entertainment including live bands, discos,
cabarets, children?s entertainers and a kids club.
It also offers a wide selection of food and has some outdoor pools and an
amusement arcade (which is lit up in summer by flashing illuminations etc). It is right next to the beach so you don?t have far to walk.


There is also a leisure centre called Oasis Leisure Centre. This hugely attracted building is located on the sea front. It is a multi-weather building as there are things to do both inside and outside. It has indoor and outdoor pools, with a 33m Aqua slide. The indoor pool is strange for the depth though, as it is shallow at each end and then goes deeper in the middle. There are also tables and chairs for spectators, which I think you have to pay for, vending machines and a kiddie?s pool with floats and different shaped buoyancy floater things.
When I went a few years back, I don?t think they had proper changing rooms. I think they had lockers in one area and a few benches, but that has probably changed by now.
Inside the leisure centre, you can play anyone of the following: squash,
racquetball, table tennis or badminton.
There is also a drop zone area for kids, which contains an Internet café, PS2, a
pool table, football and football tables. So why not drop your kids off in there
whilst you go and sunbathe.
There is also a huge roller-skating area, which is open May to September on
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday?s. There is also a bodyworks gym. You can see it from the promenade. You can watch the body builders, weight lifters, and people on the running and walking machines keeping fit.
It is next door to the pool but inside the leisure centre. There are also sun beds
you can lay on, and pretend you are in some hot foreign country lol.
There is also a café, but I think the food is quite expensive
from what I
remember. But then there is ano
ther small café a few
doors down, which is

cheaper. They also do yummy frothy hot chocolates. Yummy

If you fancy doing something which involves water, then why not take a boat trip. There are two boats that take part in the boat trips. The boats are called the ?wash monster? and are white, quite shabby looking and are falling apart. I think they are a good few years old now!!!!
There is a small boat, which stays in shallow waters and travels about 20 minutes up to the other end of the cliffs. Beware when it turns round though, as my legs and sweets got wet last time!
There is also a larger boat, which travels to nearby Seal Island, which is in deeper waters.
On both trips, the man on the boat talks about the history of Hunstanton and you
can see the cliffs and the views. It?s not really expensive for a trip, I can?t
remember how much it was, I think it was less than a fiver. You have to get
tickets from the boat kiosk (located on the promenade, next to where the boat sits before going out) first and it all depends on how many people have got
tickets, as we found out when we went on it!, well I never thought we?d get on
it as there were only about 6 of us, and they kept saying they would only take us out
if more people were interested but they let us in the end.


Hunstanton has a lot of shops including the following: Butchers, Sweet Shops,
Pharmacies, Newsagents, Off-Licenses, Gift & Souvenir Shops, Woolworth?s (which sells rock, fudge and postcards etc), a yummy bakery, ice-cream kiosks, hot food and drink kiosks, Boots Store, an Instrument Shop, Discount Stores and Charity Shops, a big shopping centre which I think was Budgens, an organic food store, and 4 different banks; Lloyds, National Westminster, Barclays and Natwest.

If you go to Hunstanton on a Wednesday, Thursday or a Sunday, they have a market. It consists of a car boot
, fresh fruit and veg stalls, fish stalls, CD and ta
pe stalls, sweet stalls and
electrical & utensil sta
lls etc.

Hunstanton is also home to England?s largest joke shop (world of fun ? latest
jokes, novelties and gadgets). From this store, you can buy cheap postcards, joke stuff like fake doggie poo, strange tasting sweets, plastic snakes, wigs and stink bombs etc, posters, greetings cards and a whole lot of other weird stuff. It?s worth a look, even if it?s just a laugh you?re after.

I know what you?re waiting for lol! The beach review. Here it is:

The beach stretches for 2 miles along the coastline up to Snettisham. There are donkey rides in the summer, trampolines and deck chairs for hire. There are slopes and steps (be careful, they can get very wet and sandy) from the beach to the promenade, so you have very easy access to the beach and promenade.
I also have to wear my flip flops to walk down to the sea front particularly as
it is very pebbly and I have seen one or 2 crabs and starfish. There?s also
those weird white worm things that are always found scattered along the rippled
sand areas down near the sea front. The beach contains groynes (which have been fenced off in each section) and tower things with buoys on the top, which are, further out. They are probably there to warn you not to go out any further, or you can hold on to them when you?re caught in stormy waters.

Unfortunately the coastline is very spoilt. The beach is very often covered in trash and loads and loads of pebbles and seashells, which hurt you underfoot. There are signs
that say 'No Dogs', but dogs are still left to roam around freely by their un-watchful owners.
Strangely enough, Hunstanton won an award a few years back, for the cleanest beach in England I think it was. If they think Hunstanton is a clean beach, then I dread to think what the other seaside resorts are like lol. I believe the sewe
rage is dumped into the sea, and loads of people are alwa
ys dropping their litter on the
beach, which in turn gets wash
ed away by the waves, even though there are bins on the beach.


The beach along the main promenade can get very packed in summer, so why not try the beach further down, by the cliffs. There is a long stretch of sandy beach there where you could sunbathe, swim in the sea, play cricket, fly a kite, play football or play Frisbee etc. I have even seen people taking a hovercraft out for a ride, but it looked dangerous, as there were swimmers and sunbathers in the way.
Down this area of the beach, you will also find rock pools full of starfish and seaweed, seagull nests hidden in the cliffs, strange looking hideouts (you could go exploring).
The sea is usually very calm, except when there are storms, so sorry to disappoint all you surfer?s lol.
Also on most days, you can hear the fishing boats far out on the horizon, sounding their horns. I can always remember that sound.
You could also take a long peaceful walk to the other end of the beach or it?s even possible to follow the beach all the way to Brancaster (another nice seaside town, not much to do though from what I can remember. My Mum used to say ?we are going to the bran flakes and castor sugar beach lol), which is 10 miles away, walking past Titchwell Marsh ? the nearest nature reserve.

If you are a collector of fossils, then you wont be disappointed with Hunstanton. Hidden in the crumbling majestic cliffs, are many fossils to be found. As I said before, my brother found one and he didn?t even look hard.
The cliffs are 60ft high and run for 3 quarters of a mile down the beach. They are an unusual coloured strata of red, white lime and rust brown carstone.
Every time the sea batters against the cliffs, it corrodes the cliff face and even more falls down, as you will have read earlier in my opinion.
Sadly, in 1953, waves higher
than a house struck, forced landwards by hurricane force winds
, intent on destroying sea defences a
nd cliffs.
There is a old looki
ng trinity lighthouse on top of the cliffs. It was built in 1841 and
worked until 1921.

For the past few years or so, a couple of lifeguards have started patrolling the main beach. Nothing fancy like Baywatch though. Just one lifeguard tower on the promenade, next to some toilets (how convenient lol). They walk around (wearing their jackets lol) patrolling the beaches, and have their surfboards, canoes and rescue can things in front of the tower. You will see lifeguard buoyancy rings, warning signs and flags set out across the beach. When they first introduced lifeguards to the Hunstanton beach, they had a fun day, where they put some kids into the sea and asked them to look like they were drowning. Then the lifeguards showed news reporters and the public how they rescued them. This was also featured on Anglia News. I was there at Hunstanton that day, but I didn?t see it live.

Do you like sailing? Do you have your own small boat or yacht? Do you like windsurfing? It is also possible to do this as Hunstanton has its very own sailing club. You can either take your own boats or hire them out. The sailing club is located on the end of the promenade area near the cliffs. There are always lots of boats etc decorating that area. You can go fishing, windsurfing, water skiing and powerboat racing etc.

Hunstanton has a very long promenade, which stretches from the back of holiday village to the end where the cliffs are. Along the promenade, you will find fish kiosks (jellied eels (yuck) crab meat (yuck) lobster (yuck) and shrimps (yuck) plus loads more of other fish food, which would never be attempted by me.
There are also sweet kiosks, which sell hundreds of different flavoured rock (yummy), nougat (yummy), candyfloss (yummy) and all the other types of candy you find at the seaside (yummy
).
There are also ice-cream kiosks. One of these has a huge pl
astic ice-cream with a big flake on it for
show outside the front. I have always w
anted to go up to, pick it up and eat it. If only it were real (yummy).
At night in summer, the light bulbs dotted along the promenade are switched on and you have red, yellow, blue and green lights lighting up the promenade, which gives it that extra special feeling.

Hunstanton has its very own Sea Life Sanctuary. This is located on the sea front, but further down the beach, near the fair. There is a restaurant inside the building, on the right side. It has benches outside to eat your food and tables and chairs inside. This restaurant is quite expensive, as you would probably have guessed anyway. There is also an expensive souvenir shop to the left, which sells sea life postcards, cuddly sea life animals, souvenirs, pick a mix and key rings etc.
It is open all year from 10am. The last admission is 4pm. Winter times vary though so it would be best to ring before you go.
An adult?s ticket is £6.25, a child?s is £4 and an OAP?s is £4.50.
Enter a world of amazing marine creatures through the doors.
There is a penguin sanctuary, which has a family of rare Humboldt penguins, an Otter enclosure where you can see them with their babies, exploring, feeding and playing.
There is an Aquarium area, which contains rock pools and shows the hazards of rock pools and the sea, such as man made pollution. There are talks on the animals out in the wild and you can also watch some of the creatures being fed.
Demonstrations explain how species survive, adapt and flourish in their hardest
conditions. There are also lots of Fish tanks as you walk through the door of the aquarium, an aquarium arch where you can walk under the sea. You can see loads of rays, and other fish etc, whilst also listening to some calming music such as Enya. There is also an outdoor area for sea lions.

Inside the Aquarium, you will see Sharks, seahorses, rays, aquariu
m otters, penguins, 30+ permanent displays of l
ife under the waves, crabs, mermaids lol, a s
afe haven ? which cares for 30+ sick injured or orphaned seal pups annually.

If you want to go to another area of Hunstanton, but can?t be bothered to walk or fetch the card, then why not go by land train. It contains lots of carriages and there a few pick up areas dotted along the route. They do one-way fares and return fares. I haven?t been on this before, so can?t tell you the prices.

Hunstanton has it?s own permanent fair, which is open all throughout the year. At night, the rides are always flashing and lighting up, which looks really nice. You will also find loads of little amusement arcades, sweet stalls and prize stalls such as hook a duck and dart stalls in this area.
The fair is a good size and has its own little roller coaster, dodgems, merry mixer (my favourite ride), waltzers, rides that go upside down (not for me thanks!), astroglide (I could never get the hang of this lol ? the mat always used to slide down before me) and dark snake ride (I went on this when I was younger, with my Dad and hated it), huge helter skelter, a fun building, where you have ball pits, punch bags, moving floors and a slide and little kiddie rides. The kiddie rides are sectioned off in their own little area, and they have a smaller astroglide and little rides that go round to keep them amused.

Do you like going to the theatre? Hidden in the town somewhere is a small Princess theatre, which has concerts, dramas and cinema shows,

You can also play Bowls, Pitch & putt. Hunstanton has an 18-hole golf course overlooking the sea and two 9-hole golf courses at the north end. There are Esplanade Gardens where you can play crazy golf, and pitch and putt. This can be found along the green near the long road where people park when the car parks are full.

Hun
stanton is very pedestrian; push chair and disabled people friendly. Most of
the town is flat, and there are ramps down to the be
ach. The paths in the town are quite wide and ther
e are also pedestrian crossings. If you fancy a break, there are lots of benches and shelters to relax in, away from the hustle and bustle.
If you need the toilet, you don?t need to worry, as there are a lot situated around the town. They are all either on flat ground or have ramps up to them, so they are easily accessible. They have baby changing facilities, disabled toilets and men and women (of course lol). You will find toilets situated on the cliff where the car park is, in the town and next to the lifeguard tower.
Hunstanton has a ?district lions club?. This is a club, which helps local people
in the community who are deaf, blind and disabled etc.

Opposite the beach and near the joke shop, there is a huge green, where you can sit or sunbathe. There is also a bandstand where bands play in summer, on bank holidays and during carnival times. Carnivals happen once a year and there are big fetes that come with it, on the green.
On the green, there are benches and there is also a statue where we usually sit when eating our fish and chips. It looks great to sit on the green during a sunset; it overlooks the sea and looks gorgeous.

Hunstanton used to have a pier, but it got washed away during a storm years and years ago. What was left of the pier, was turned into an amusement arcade, which used to have loads of cuddly toy machines, 2p and 10p machines and bowling alleys. It also used to have a café where they made delicious frothy hot chocolate, but sadly this burnt down a couple of years ago.

Hunstanton also used to have a big blue nightclub, next to where the lifeguard tower is now but it burnt down a few years back. The nightclub burning down was a big news story for some time after. I think the club was called Kit Kat or sand
y something or other lol.


There are 4 other amusement arcades situat
ed around the front of the town though. There are 2 next
to each other near the Oasis Leisure Centre. One has bi
ngo, where you can get about 12 games for £1 and you can win quite easily. Either that, or I am just lucky lol. You can exchange your winning tickets for prizes or high street shopping vouchers.
Every time I go back to that place, the same guys are calling out the bingo numbers, so it always brings back loads of memories.
I like the way they call the numbers out e.g.
legs eleven 11
anyway up 69
on its own number 1
unlucky for some 13
8 and 0 blind 80
2 little ducks 22
LOL

They also have those cross, circle and bar games. I can?t remember what they?re called lol, 2p & 10p machines, an over 18?s area, cuddly toy machines, air hockey and roulette to name a few.
The arcade next door has bingo, but it?s laid out differently. This arcade has a lot of cuddly toy machines, 2p, 5p & 10p machines and if I can remember rightly, a small café.

There is a showboat amusement arcade in the front of the town, which has lots of money machines, and a big bowling alley where it is £1 each for a play. It has a big refreshment bar and loads of different arcade games including air hockey, basketball games, motorbikes and gun shooting etc.
There is also another small kiddies arcade just down the road, which has the odd money machine and loads of kiddie rides, which are coin operated.

Hunstanton has a lot of fish and chip restaurants, around the town. There?s Don?s Plaice, which is next to the showboat arcade (it also has an upstairs restaurant) and one near the green. I always get my fish and chips from the one near the green as I find they taste better. Near the green one, is an ice-cream shop. Perfect for dessert lol. There are more though and loads of other restaurants and tearooms.

One of my b
est memories from Hunstanton, is being there on a very stormy night, where the waves ar
e enormous and splash up over the promenade. I can stand there
all night

Then, a perfect end to a perfect night,
is to relax on the statue eating your fish n chips whilst watching the sunset.

Summary: