Heacham or Cromer?

[holidayplanner2020]

We're planning a few days away in Norfolk this summer. We have 2 kids (8 and 4) and would like plenty of beach time.

I've found cottages in Heacham and Cromer. Both look great but Heacham seems pretty quiet. We'd ideally like to walk to cafes etc rather than drive everywhere. Anyone know both these areas who can offer advice?

Thanks in advance.

@user32564567 the queue is worth it for the battered brie alone!
I love Cromer, the kids love Cromer. We go every year. You can go crabbing off the pier, visit the lifeboat, loads of nice seaside shops, amusement arcades. It's a nice sized town. Doing a seal trip at Blakney is also worth doing.

What about Hunstanton, there's a fair, decent shops, Honeystone pub is usually quiet decent for food. Then a bit further down there's old Hunstanton, lighthouse a bit of a wreck on the brilliant sandy beach and the sunsets are gorgeous. We are staying round at Hopton this year but will definitely be driving up there and the deli and smokehouse at Cley. There's also lots of trips to see the seals.

I got chased down the Quay by a huge crab with angry pincers a few years ago at Wells, it was zig zagging to get to me and really snappy and bloody fast. I wonder now reading this if it was actually a Cromer crab.

Burnham is all Farrow and Ball painted front doors and organic Ice creams.

@RickOShay well 40 years ago Burnham was posh so maybe you have a different benchmark of posh !

Old Hunstanton is lovely but just a beach really with a nice tearoom. Heacham is a great place walk the dog or ride bikes along the seafront but not much there, Hunstanton has more and is a mix of nice and tacky but has the rides and lovely big beaches. Cromer is nice and quite old fashioned. You can’t really go wrong on the North Norfolk coast, where ever you are you’re never far from somewhere lovely.

Thank you for all the advice.

Bearing in mind that we love Clacton (we have relatives there), we're not averse to a bit of seaside naffness. I think we'll fit in fine in Cromer.

I also like the sound of Hunstanton and it's not as far for us to drive. I think we'll discount Heacham for now as it's a bit far for little legs to walk to places.

Meant Hunstanton not as far to drive from where we live.

@holidayplanner2020

Now, I know it's not exactly luxury but.......

With having kids the age that they are, and you saying that you LOVE Clacton, have you considered Great Yarmouth?

It's a dump in places. For sure.
But only adults see the downmarket stuff. Children just see the flashy lights, arcades, etc and love it.
The beach is one of the biggest and the best and is really clean.
There is a TON more stuff for kids to do there than anywhere else (arcades, museums, sealife centre, roller skating, donkeys, little zoo etc etc).
Lot's more child friendly places to eat.
Much cheaper than anywhere else too and you're close enough to the 'posher' coastal towns to go places for days / half-days should you want a bit of culture (plenty of buses if you didn't want to drive).

Thanks @BobbyBlueCat, I think your post is the first positive comment about Great Yarmouth that I've ever read on Mumsnet! I'll have a look....

Hunstanton seems okay too but I do like the look of Cromer/ Sheringham with that fab stream train. DS would be in heaven.

Oooh, and what about Gorleston-on-Sea?

Kids will be bored shitless in Hunstanton. For a day it's good but not for a kids holiday.

Like I say, Great Yarmouth is downmarket with it's drugs, benefit claimants in high proportion, every other person in a Benidorm style mobility scooter etc etc but that's what most seaside towns are like these days. It doesn't mean it doesn't have it's good points.

But kids don't see ANY of that. For a child, it's an amazing place full of stuff to do.

It's exactly the same as places like Blackpool, Clacton, Morecambe etc. No worse.

Would I go there for a holiday with husband? Nope. Although I still would definitely for a day. There's somehing endearingly old-school about it.
But would I go there with kids? Absolutely.

Gorleston is basically the same place as GY. It's merged in to one now because of new housing and is just thought of as the 'posh' part of GY. So either place is nice. You'd definitely get more value for money at these two than in the more posh towns, which are less children holiday orientated and more elderly couples orientated.

Out of Sheringham and Cromer, I prefer Sheringham. But both are nice.

Now Great Yarmouth is not somewhere I’d take the kids to for a holiday, super run down and high crime rates. Fine for an afternoon on the beach, but not a holiday.

Stick with Sheringham or Cromer. The other suggestions are great for a day out, but these 2 are the best bet for a family.

Wells was NOT posh in the 80s and 90s. It flipping well is now though. The Burnhams were always upmarket but they're a different level nowadays. You need at least a yacht and a few ponies to even apply for permission to abandon your range rover carelessly on the green whilst hobnobbing in the Hoste.

Cromer is a lovely family holiday and if you can drive, you can visit all the other places with ease.

Wells wasn't posh when I first went in 1999 or in the early 2000's. It definitely is now.

DS (6) loves Hunstanton. We've stayed at a caravan park there 4 times since 2018. The first trip was a last minute thing but it works.

Although we are staying in Wells this year

Thanks, @MinnieMountain, what does your DS like about Hunstanton? I have to say, I like the sound of it there and it's a shorter drive for us.

The fair and the arcades. We take his bike and he zooms along the front. Rides on the Wash Monster amphibious vehicle. The aquarium.
Pottering around the beach. It gets muddy as it goes far out, which he loves.

We stay at Searles caravan park which has a good kids pool and an outdoor one with a slide.

Thanks, @MinnieMountain, that's really helpful. I'll have a look at Searles. I looked at a few pics of the beach online - the 'sand train' is v cute - right up DS's street!

@MinnieMountain what are the caravans like at Searles? Are they clean and well looked after? The pools look amazing - my DC would love it. But we've never done a caravan so would be a whole new experience!

There's the odd little thing like curtains not pulling over 100% on the cheapest caravans but nothing major. The cheapest ones are their oldest caravans, so they're a bit tired.

If you go, get fish and chips from the place near the fair (5 minutes walk). So much better than the place on site.

Thanks. It looks great! Only the lodges are available for our dates which are pricier but they look lovely. Have you ever been to Manor Park next door? There are some available there but the facilities don't seem as good.