A diary of my holiday

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:55:46 +0200

Saturday 20th October 2007

Set off from the garage at 9.40am (had to check the transmission fluid as hubby thought we had a leak but it turned out to be wax that they coat the engine with when new) so adding on 20 mins as that is how long it took from home to get to the garage, we didn’t think the travelling time was too bad we arrived at 2.30pm so took us in total 5.5 hours and we had a break in between for a toilet break, sandwich and drinks, plus even though we had SatNav to help we took a couple of wrong turnings at roundabouts and on the second one we had to go 2 miles out of our way before we could turn round.
When we arrived at the Wild Duck caravan park, went to the reception to sign in.

After checking she said that we were a little early as the caravan wasn’t ready and could we come back in an hours time, to us it seemed that ours was the only one not ready as other people were going in and getting their keys straight away, anyway she said we could use the facilities of the camp while waiting, at first glance it looked great, after walking along a path that was between an ally way of fir trees which smelt wonderful of pine, about 100yds from the reception was a chip bar and it smelt really good…..Walking past that on the right was the “general” store I say that loosely as after going in it was very basic and didn’t sell much other then the very basic of food stuffs ie marg, bread, butter etc it did sell other things like novelties for people to buy as gifts but other then that it wasn’t that good, opposite the shop was the swimming pool which did look great (you could see inside as it was glass all the way round) but the only thing wrong with it was that it was packed full of people just messing around so even if you did go it wouldn’t be for a swim as it would have been impossible, I’m not knocking it because for a family or someone who didn’t mind crowds especially ones that were almost naked then it did look fun…. Walking a little past that was like a fun world not sure what was in there as you had to have a pass and you didn’t get that until you got your key but I have a feeling it will be biased towards kids again which is understandable.
So after a quick walk round the camp it was still too early to go collect the keys so we thought we’d go further a field and check out the local village, we actually didn’t get that far at the end of the road that leads to Wild Duck park we turned left and after 100 yards or so we came to another general store we said we’d have look when we came back so carried on walking a little further but after a little while we realised that it wasn’t leading anywhere other then out of the village, we turned round and on the way back we noticed across the road a sign saying public footpath and a few people were using it so we assumed that it was the footpath to the “centre” of the village so will explore another time. When we got to the other shop and went in we both said this is better, it was like a proper supermarket that sold everything but on a smaller scale, so after buying a few bits and pieces we headed back to the camp.
Just at the top of the road that leads to it there’s a map of the area and it showed where the centre of the village was and it was as we thought down the public footpath that we’d seen. Arriving at the reception once again with 5 mins to go we thought that surely it would be ready now, goes in, spoke to the same girl that I saw last time she goes to check for the keys and comes back saying we were still a little too early but she’d check, so on the two-way radio she calls for “housekeeping” no one answers, she apologises and disappears in the back room, while I’m waiting people are still coming and going and getting their keys, at this point I had a feeling of doom..lol..After about five mins she comes back apologising once again saying that the two-way radios weren’t working properly!! So she then gets on the phone and asks if the caravans are ready (hey lady haven’t you noticed others coming in and getting their keys!!! caravans ready?? …doh, I think so..lol
Anyway they must have said yes, as she disappeared once again and came back with a folder type envelope and began her spiel of welcoming me to the camp and showing me a little map of where the caravan was on the camp…Not going to believe this but she said I can see it from here and pointed it out to me, only about 50 yds from the reception area!!

I could have walked there and cleaned it myself and as it turns out that might have been a good idea!!
Opening the door, first impressions were very good it smelt nice and clean,

brought in the cases etc then began to explore.. Oh my!! If there had been cleaners in there I’d sack them, I could be saying this as I’m a cleaner myself so know the standards that I work to and this wasn’t it!!
The toilet had to be cleaned totally the bowl was a mess and the seat had something on it that I wouldn’t even like to begin to guess what it was..lol at the back of the toilet the part that is behind the lid looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for I don’t know how long, luckily the shower and basins looked fine and usable, unlike the kettle!! Only one word for that and that is FILTHY, cleaned it well and boiled 3 lots of water in it before we used it for drinks (maybe I’m too fussy!..lol) >" class="middle" border="0">
As for the bedrooms another one word to describe them, that is DAMP the walls were mottled with it even , and I don’t really like saying this as we had to sleep on them but also the mattress’s were mottled ..yuck.. If we don’t go home with something weird it will surprise me.
The living area wasn’t too bad and this was the first impression part, I could nit pick as the carpet could have been cleaned better as there was bits of something on it but the surfaces were clean of dust and the plates, cups and saucers etc were clean (but I still gave then a good wash before use then put two of everything to one side to use for the rest of the week..lol) plus we brought our own cups to use.
Came the evening and night time and one other thing to complain about and this is no ones fault but our own for coming on holiday at this time of the year and that is it was freezing even with the gas fire on full and the quilts that they supplied were really thin only for summer use only, so pleased I had the forethought of bringing our own thick winter quilts plus a hot water bottle for when I first got into bed so once the first shock of getting into bed and being cold for a little while had worn off that once I got warm it was nice and cozy, except in the middle of the night if I’d kicked some of my quilt off I woke up freezing.
One more thing before I finish for this time and that is the noise during the night, with being placed close to the reception area it of course gets most of the traffic and people so there was cars and people going past at all times of the night, one time I remember was at 2am when there sounded like a group of people shouting about then it went quiet for a few seconds only to then hear the noise of a car that sounded like it had a big exhaust, they revved it up then went tearing past the caravan with no thought for others that were in bed and you could still hear it for a while after it had left the camp going down the road. So that was our first late afternoon /evening/night at the camp.. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Sunday 21st October,
Got up at 5am came through to the living area and it was freezing even though I put the gas fire on I still needed my quilt wrapped round me for a while until the room heated up some, at about 9.15am we set off for a walk to see the Norfolk broads it had turned out to be a gorgeous sunny morning without a cloud in the sky as we left the caravan there are a few trees at one end of it and as we walked through them there was squirrel scurrying around the base of one so I managed to get a couple of pics of him as he sat looking at us.

The walk started off along the road passed the mini supermarket after quite a way passed there we turned left on the a grassy/muddy track

on the right there were several fields each had a few horses in a them on the left was the odd house or two, at the end of the track about 200 yards we beared right onto another path, after another 100 yards or so we climbed a slight incline onto the top of a bank and in front of us was the broads as you looked across there were a few windmills scattered here and there one in better condition then the rest,

at first we turned right with the broads on our left and walked past a marina as we went past the backside of it there were quite a few Canada geese 3 in particular caught my eye as they were walking up a slope out of the water towards us, I managed to get a photo of them, we had planned to walk to Burgh castle but when we got so far we sort of lost the way and wasn’t sure which way to go so turned round and came back to where we started, instead of going back down the track towards the road we carried on the other way broads were now on our right and on our left were what are called the marshes these were very big fields with what looked like little stream/river lets chris crossing the field

in the bigger parts of the fields were lots of bullocks and walking amongst them were some swans at one point it was quite amusing to watch as we weren’t sure if the swans were chasing the bullocks or if it was the other way round but whichever it was it was funny to watch, looking into the distance was what looked like a large wood as there was loads of trees (we later found out that this was Waveney forest) carried on walking a little more to what we think used to be some sort of pumping station it was right next to one of these little streams before we got to that part there was a man with 2 Labrador dogs in the field to our left he must have been training them as he made them sit down and stay and then he walked away, after so far he’d turn then use a whistle to make only one of them go to him once that one had arrived he’d make it sit then whistle the other one to him.
Once we reached the pumping “station” we turned round and went back on the left now was the broads,

looking across it was so flat you could see for miles as I said before there was quite a decent looking windmill and as we stood looking at it ( the sails wasn’t going round) there was movement in front just across the broads from us, carried on watching and then a little head popped up, it was a deer also in the distance there was 2 hot air ballons we thought they were headed our way but they only went so far then went down again.
We then returned the way we came and got back to the park around 11.30 on the way down the drive towards the park on the right there is a field with about 6 Llamas in it they are quite friendly and as we got there a lady was feeding one with some bread so I managed to get a few photos

and as I turned and looked across the road a man was walking with 2 dogs one was a king charles spaniel so I crossed the road and asked him is it okay to say hello to his dogs he said sure then I explained we had one so we all got talking dog talk..lol..Eventually we got back to the caravan around 11.50, we then had some lunch of sandwiches made up of spam and pickle in brown bread which I have to say were very tasty must have been all that fresh air, after lunch I transferred the photos I had taken onto my laptop so that it freed up my cards for another day, after that we went out again but this time turned right after leaving the park hoping to find the village shops but after walking around the streets for quite awhile we couldn’t find them.
As we headed back to the park we walked down a public footpath, my hubby bent down and started to pick something up when I looked there were lots of pennies scattered around so I helped him, when we got back to the park we thought we’d have a wander round to see what else there was to see, after going past the swimming pool it brought you to the touring vans and tents ( if we thought it was cold last night I can’t imagine how they must have felt) walking a little further we came to some wooded area and there was a couple of squirrels but they were very timid not like the one outside the caravan this morning we also saw lots of dragon flies which are few and far between back home.
As I type this we’ve just had tea and hubby is watching a grand prix ( don’t ask I don’t know which one…lol..) this evening we are a lot warmer then we were last evening could be because it’s been such a beautiful sunny and warm day it’s managed to heat the caravan up a little bit, by the way when we got back we counted the pennies and there was £1.15p! Anyway I’ll finish here until tomorrow, I think we’re going to Great Yarmouth so will report back after that..

Monday 22nd October.
The nights are still cold, as an example, I wear glasses and put them on a small shelf at the side of my bed when I put them on first thing they were that cold they misted up as soon as they get near any warmth!
From about 7am and on the journey to Great Yarmouth at about 9.30am it was raining a very fine drizzle but by the time we arrived it had stopped and stayed fine although the cloud never disappeared. Before we set off we were looking out the window and there was a man and a lady the lady had a clipboard in her hand and the man was pulling a trolley with cleaning equipment on, there was a hoover, a bucket with lots of different spray bottles in it but one thing that was most prominent bearing in mind that it was raining and that was, there was a feather duster getting wet!! They were stood in the middle of the road arguing which way to go the lady was saying one way the man saying another she kept looking at her clipboard, I’m assuming there was a map of the camp clipped to it with all the caravans on it and they were trying to decide where the caravan was that wanted cleaning. Watching them and if they were a typical example of the cleaning staff of the caravans then we were not surprised at the state of this one when we first arrived!!
Great Yarmouth was bigger then we thought it was going to be and had lots of various types of shops. Went to the harbour /docks where they were unloading out of a ship what looked like road salt getting ready for the winter I guess after that headed towards the seafront,

the beach was immaculately clean

with the traditional seaside donkeys giving rides,

when we walked to the end of the pier we noticed this fish and chip restaurant

at the beginning and said when we came back we’d stop and have lunch there. So pleased we did it was a fantastic meal with more than enough chips that you could eat, a large, freshly caught local cod with a slice of lemon placed on top with mushy peas all on a large platter, we also ordered tea and coffee, the only downside was the price at home fish, chips and peas would have cost about £6 for two, this one with the two drinks cost £13!!!! But we are on holiday and it was good so why not treat ourselves?…lol..
After lunch as we headed back to the car we had a wander around the shops, when we got back to the camp we had a quick drink then thought we’d take a walk and see Burgh castle which we didn’t get to see the other day, it was along the way that takes you to see the broads , In my view it was a big disappointment all that was there was three walls,

they were impressive though in the thickness of them and in the way they were built, when we got back to the marina there was a family fishing so stopped for a chat to see if they’d caught anything, they hadn’t that day but on another day they had managed to catch an eel and another fish but can’t remember what they said it was..lol after leaving them there was this guy cleaning out the dykes with a digger but when we passed he had got out and was cleaning the drainage fence where it was clogged up with weeds etc, he was doing this by hand with a rake on a very long handle, he said hi so we stopped to have a chat with him also, it turns out that he cleans dykes only part time his main job is working for Bernard Matthew’s turkeys!!…lol.. He had a real Norfolk accent.. Bootiful really bootiful..lol >" class="middle" border="0">
That’s about all for today, just wish that it wasn’t so noisy when we go to bed, with living in the country with no neighbours and no traffic we’re used to peace and quiet, in the early evening it’s fine and we can tolerate it and even though it quietens down a little the noise is still going on from between midnight and 2am so it gets a bit too much… so there are two things that I will be pleased to get home for and that is no noise and warmth, beautiful warmth..lol

Tuesday 23rd October.
A beautiful sunny morning when we set off at 10am to walk to Fritton woods it was quite a walk along a couple of long lanes lined with trees and bushes with a golf course either side

where between us we found 8 golf balls laying in the lanes! At the end of one of the lanes we could have turned left and that would have taken us to the woods but instead we carried straight on and it took us into Waveney forest.

It seemed really strange and eerily silent as there wasn’t a bird to be heard hubby made me laugh as he said “I’ll get a woodpecker to answer me” and out of his jeans pocket he produces a golf ball and proceeds to knock on a tree…lol..he said “ Bill Oddie did this on a wildlife programme once and it worked” Did a woodpecker answer hubby? What do you think?.. lol

As I said it was quite a walk as we set off at 10 and didn’t get back until 12.45pm round about 12.30 it clouded over and that made it turn a bit chilly so we had soup for lunch to warm us up then after lunch the sun came out again so we thought we’d attempt to find the bigger shops in Belton, this time we managed to find a Tesco express, with a hardware/pet store next door to it, we got back to the caravan at 3.45pm and decided not to go out anymore today and try and get the caravan warm for the evening, so at the moment hubby is watching Countdown and as soon as I finish off here I’m going to take a shower while the sun is out warming the shower room up, it’s too cold to have one in a morning..brrrrrr.

Wednesday 24th October.
Best nights sleep I’ve had so far could be because the weather has changed so people didn’t go out to the pub so there wasn’t the shouting about as in previous nights.
Windy and cold at Lowestoft this morning so didn’t stop too long got back to the caravan at just gone 12 so decided to try the fish and chips that are on the camp, a lot cheaper then the ones at Great Yarmouth but still very tasty, really enjoyed them.
With it being cold etc we thought we’d spend the afternoon in the caravan and watch the movie Count of Monte Cristo.
Tomorrow we’re thinking of going to a place the guy at the fish bar recommended ( at the moment can’t remember it’s name..lol) he said it was a great place to visit, he finishes here on Sunday for the winter he said he’ll be pleased and is looking forward to getting back home to Manchester.

Thursday 25th October.
Decided to go on another walk that was near the park, it took us along side another golf course on the left (not the same one as the other day) with Heathland on the right it wasn’t a long walk so when we got back to the caravan we thought we’d have lunch early and then go back to Waveney forest but instead of going straight on into the forest we thought we’d take the road to the left and go on to Fritton woods, it was quite a long walk and we couldn’t find the entrance that actually said Fritton woods but found another one into Waveney,

so we decided we have a look that way instead ,unlike the other day instead of staying to the wide main walking track we broke off and took smaller side tracks
which turned out to be more interesting as it took us along different levels with slight inclines up and down and patches of water that went along side the track one in particular ran quite away along it I’d like to call it a stream but it wasn’t running it was jet black in colour with rotting tree branches laid in it but I don’t think it was stagnant as it didn’t have “that” smell about it, where there wasn’t these patches of water on either side there was bracken and fern that was waist high and with the fir trees that were all around there was a lovely smell of pine, also there were more squirrels scurrying up and down trees then there was the other day. We kept going off in different directions and at some points we came to a dead end so had to return to where we had left the track that we were on, eventually, we realised we were a little lost but that added to the fun of it..lol .. We were not to the point of panicking but out loud I said that if it got to the stage of having to use the mobile to call for help that we’d go to one of the electric pylons that we could see and stay near it so that the “rescuers” would have something to go on and also if it had a number on it we’d be able to tell them what it was and that might help.. Strange what your mind goes though even though we were nowhere near the point of being totally lost..lol…After walking a little further we thought we’d better find a main walkway so this we did and eventually it brought us out at the entrance that we started at the other day. It had been a fun walk and during it I said we should have been on horseback as that would have made it even better, riding a horse through there would have been magical, you had to be there to know what I mean.
By the time we got back to the caravan we’d been walking for 2.5 hours solid! So you can imagine how shattered we felt when we got back so it was a case of that was it for the rest of the afternoon.

Friday 26th October.
As I write this it’s 5am and we’re going home today we were supposed to stay until tomorrow but we think we’re all visited out and the weather helped us to decide as they have given a wet day out so there’s no point in wandering around somewhere just for the last day to get wet.
When hubby gets up I’ll give the caravan a quick clean and we should be setting off at around 9am, the plan is to stop off in Lincoln for lunch to give us a break.

Saturaday 27th October.
Set off at 9am as planned ( heavy mist was falling but stopped about an hour into the journey) after we’d packed the car and was sat around waiting for the reception to open so we could hand in the keys, we were looking out of the window and it seems we weren’t the only ones deciding to leave early because about 3 or 4 people were loading up their cars with cases, I guess the weather had got to them as well.
Instead of stopping at Lincoln as planned we found a lovely little café on the way there so had a bacon sandwich a drink and a toilet break, then didn’t stop anymore until we got home in total about 4.5 hours.
I have to admit it hasn’t been one of the best holidays I’ve been on and I certainly won’t be going again in late October..lol.. but at least it made a change from normality.. Now where is that holiday brochure for next July!!!!

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My holiday in Norfolk

A diary of my holiday