to think that Norfolk isn't the only place you can holiday with Toddlers?

[punnedout]

Seriously, I need a change but everybody I speak to seems to think that the north Norfolk coast is the ONLY (vaguely northern) place to go and have a good time on holiday with Toddlers. Can anybody help or am I going to have to go to the bloody overpriced and not that nice Sandringham café twice again this summer (once on the way and once on the way home)?!

Showy I'll have you know I have walked up the highest hill in norfolk and I almost got out of breath!

OP why not try East norfolk Coast for a bit of a change

Blended norwich is pretty much parallel with Birmingham

I used to say I was East Anglian rather than northern or southern, but northerners often won't let you get away with that

Dinosaur museum? Mammoth?! Definitely booking Norfolk now if we have a holiday this summer.

I didn't think trains, beaches, castles and mountains could be beaten (N Wales) but dinosaurs and mammoths might just do it!

Dinosaur adventure playground

and the West Runton Mammoth

Dd picked up a leaflet for the dinosaur park at the Cambridge services when we stopped for lunch on our way home from France last summer and has plagued us ever since. She still has the leaflet and guards it with her life. Mammoths are a relatively new addiction, knowing her love of fossils we recorded Woolly Mammoth Autopsy a while ago which had a lovely (female, yay!) paleobiologist form the Natural History Museum being filmed as part of the team who went to investigate a very complete, frozen mammoth that was found. It was great, it had fur and meat and blood and everything. Dd was on the edge of her seat. There were some Korean scientists who clone dogs who were funding lots of the research in return for first dibs on cloning the mammoth so there was a bit about that and poor dd was convinced that they had actually done it and was a bit gutted at the end of the program that nobody had brought back a real life mammoth .

Whitemead country park in the Forest of Dean. My parents took me from when I was a toddler and I've taken my son from when he was. Stunning place.

Norfolk is fab,

The dinosaur adventure place is great fun. Bewilderwood is great fun too, but that depends on how old your little ones are.

Also have you tried Blickling instead of Sandringham as a change.

Not sure where about you stay op, but if you try further round the beaches are lovely, winterton is one of my faves .

Love your username petulagordino. I love that show.

Glad you're going for Northumberland. It's lovely. I've had lots of lovely family holidays there.
My favourite place is Low Newton by the Sea which has a lovely pub selling great food. If you go in toddler season rather than school holidays you might be able to get a house in the village itself. High Newton is a bit of a walk with toddlers but you could do it with a pushchair for the stuff, or drive.
Warkworth, Alnmouth, Bamburgh, Embleton all nice for staying as well but may have to drive to the beach. Seahouses great fish and chips and has fun cheap seaside shops.

There was a programme on recently about Northumberland. It looked absolutely gorgeous (despite Robson Green).

Dd's recently been on a school trip to see the West Runton Elephant. Seriously, to locals it's the elephant. And people think we're poorly educated bumpkins. We went for a bracing walk in W Runton last week. Found several fossils and nearly drowned. DS was blown off his feet multiple times...

Petula, dh is a keen cyclist and has a Strava app where you can compete with other local people to ride certain sections of the Norfolk countryside faster than anybody else. Dh is King Of The Mountain in several places. Impressive until you realise it's a 4m climb out of a gently sloped ford.

Suffolk is worse than Norfolk for the Joules and Boden brigade.

You must go to Gressenhall too while you're here. For a history of rural Norfolk life, it does not get better than Gressenhall. It is the old workhouse turned museum. My favourite place in the world.

Suffolk?

Our Joules recently closed down. We are now so posh we're in the Post-Joules era.

I don't rate Suffolk, much prefer Norfolk.

I went to Suffolk once. There was a riot. The two facts are not connected though the second is why the first remains true.

I live in Norfolk (just up the road from Gressenhall museum actually) and, although I can't comment on the area from a holiday point of view, I cannot think of anywhere I'd rather live.

It's unspoilt, imo, and really does have a bit of everything. Coastal areas, the Broads, forests, marshes, lots of fabulous days out (Dino park, High Lodge, museums, farm parks, Bewilderwood - I didn't really 'get' this place but I seem to be very much in the minority on this!) and a beautiful city.

You have Sandringham, Blickling/Holkham/Houghton Hall. Castle Acre Priory is fascinating with its castle ruins (and free admission!), seal trips from Morston and Blakeney (over 2,000 seal pups are just off Blakeney point right now), Sheringham is a beautiful, old fashioned coastal town, Holt and Burnham Market if you want to be part of the Joules brigade or Yarmouth if you like a bit of being beside the sea side.

I love it here and think it would provide a great holiday for people of all ages.

What were they rioting about in Suffolk? I thought it was a sleepy, hay chewing kind of place.

If it was Southwold probably house prices Squoosh.

Oh Gressenhall looks good. Beamish but Norfolk.

Hope we can manage a Showy visit at some point too .

I love High Lodge but sadly, it's technically in Suffolk . We have an annual pass and it's used weekly. Castle Acre is in spitting distance of me although technically the Priory isn't free. We are awaiting snow so we can toboggan at the motte and bailey ruins.

showy

I was born in norfolk. As far as I'm concerned Suffolk doesn't exist

I'm intrigued what a riot in Suffolk looks like exactly.

I'm imagining a bunch of irate visitors collectively going "tut" and rolling their eyes.

We seem to alternate between IOW and Norfolk. Getting bored now....watching for ideas!

Were they rioting over the last loaf of artisan bread in Suffolk?

It was Martlesham Heath and they were rioting about the unfavourable outcome of 22 men kicking an inflated sheep's bladder up and down a stretch of grass. A while later policeman dh was back in Martlesham Heath investigating a murder. We have chosen not to return.

A Showy visit obligatory. Am super excited.