Top Ten Things to do in Great Yarmouth
See tigers at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens
This ‘progressive zoo’ in Filby, north of Great Yarmouth, breeds rare species whose natural habitats are being slowly destroyed, and lets them roam in enclosures throughout a setting of beautiful gardens.
Negotiate the Tiger Tree Walk, high in the trees, to see these majestic beasts from a unique vantage point. There are also Macaque monkeys and gibbons, and super-cute red pandas, a smaller relative of the famous giant pandas.
You’ll also spot crocodiles, alligators and snakes, and a number of bird species including cockatoos and owls.
www.thrigbyhall.co.uk
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Check out the roller coaster at the Pleasure Beach
Nine acres of seafront are devoted to sheer fun at Great Yarmouth’s most popular attraction. The 20 major rides include Disko, a terrifying-looking, spinning, curving disc, and the 22-metre-tall Sky-Drop, which hurtles you downward at death-defying speeds.
There’s a classic, ever-popular roller coaster that dates from the 1930s, and the usual crowd-pleasers, such as dodgems and a log flume, are all in place.
A traditional ice cream parlour supplies the essential Mr Whippy cones, and in the Pleasure Beach Gardens there’s a 12-hole adventure golf course.
www.pleasure-beach.co.uk
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Be roundly entertained at the Hippodrome Circus
Known as East Anglia’s ‘mini Albert Hall’, Great Yarmouth’s Hippodrome is the UK’s last remaining permanent circus building, and it has been host to entertainment spectaculars for over a hundred years.
Throughout this summer, impresario Peter Jay is celebrating 30 years in charge with a bells-and-whistles, Las Vegas-style show that includes daredevil Brazilian springboard artistes The Romeiro Family, South American juggler Roberto Carlos, vibrant dancers from South Africa and even synchronised swimmers.
Ryan Sharp provides the illusions, and there’s a 100,000-gallon water spectacle. Johnny Mac provides the jokes and your host is the irrepressible Jack Jay.
www.hippodromecircus.co.uk
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Drop anchor at the Norfolk Nelson Museum
Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson was a Norfolk man, and this small museum celebrates his life, telling the story of how a young mariner rose to become one of the most famous Englishmen of all time.
The museum is set in a Grade II-listed Georgian merchant’s house on Great Yarmouth’s South Quay, overlooking the River Yare. It houses the bequeathed, lifelong collection of local businessman Ben Burgess, with lots of other stuff besides.
The 2,000 items include letters from the great man, paintings, medals and other Nelsonian memorabilia, with displays telling the story of his celebrated naval career, including his greatest victory at the Battle of Trafalgar – where, of course, he also breathed his last.
www.nelson-museum.co.uk
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Scale down at Merrivale Model Village
There’s real old-school charm to this seafront model village, set in an acre of floral gardens on the Great Yarmouth seafront.
There are paths, bridges, cricketers on the village green and firemen carrying out a daring rescue from a burning building. The miniature railway, which was installed in 2004, is a showcase for state-of-the-art modern modelling.
There’s more fun in the restored penny arcade, complete with laughing sailor and ‘what the butler saw’ mutoscope. Meanwhile, new for 2009 at Merrivale are a visitor’s picnic area and some new models, including The Bell public house – unfortunately, the pints are only in miniature, too…
www.greatyarmouthmodelvillage.co.uk
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Get hands-on at the Elizabethan House Museum
Ever wondered what day-to-day life was like in British households a hundred, or even five hundred years ago? Well, this museum recreates life from Tudor to Victorian times with unerring accuracy.
Through hands-on activities, you can find out how laborious it was to work in the kitchen and scullery, and see how different life was for those who lived upstairs, particularly in Victorian times.
Try on Tudor costumes, see the fascinating Toy Room, and investigate the Conspiracy Room, where the execution of Charles I was said to have been planned.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-elizabethanhousemuseum
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Take a ghostly guided walk
There are all kinds of Guided Heritage Walks to be taken in Great Yarmouth, but one of the most popular in the summertime is one called ‘Eeire Tales and Yarmouth Yarns’.
This atmospheric night-time walk takes in some of the more ghostly, even gruesome tales of life in days gone by, in the alleyways leading from the port to the centre of town.
You’ll end up in The Potteries, where plunder from many a shipwreck was dragged… Walks take place on Thursday evenings throughout August.
www.great-yarmouth.co.uk/whats-on/guided-heritage-walks.aspx
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Check out the nags at Redwings Caldecott Horse Sanctuary
“Who wants to see ponies by the sea?” Ask your kids that and you’ll have them eating out of your hand – rather like the rescued horses, ponies, donkeys and mules at this seaside sanctuary, south of Great Yarmouth.
Open throughout the warmer months, the centre offers tractor rides and walking tours, and the children can learn how to groom the ponies. At the Horse Wise Education Centre there are fun interactive displays and horsey facts.
The newest, eminently strokeable resident is Prince, an 18-hand (ie very big) shire horse.
www.redwings.org.uk/visiting/caldecott-visitor-centre
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Take a ride at Joyland
Parents of younger children often struggle to find attractions aimed specifically at them, so Joyland is a handy discovery.
The rides here are of the gentle variety – even the three roller coasters – and suit children up to their early teens. They can ride the Spook Express, which is more fun than spooky, and the Snails, which has been a popular ride since 1949. Neptune’s Kingdom takes them through a fantasy underwater world, and the Jet Cars are a bit more racy.
Face-painting is available, too, and after the rides, you can order burgers and shakes in Joyland’s American-themed diner.
www.joyland.org.uk
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Relax at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden
After the crowds and frantic activity of Great Yarmouth, head for Fairhaven, northwest of the town in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, to chill out.
There are 131 acres of ancient woodland and water gardens here, bequeathed to the nation by Lord Fairhaven in 1973. Philadelphus, hydrangeas and masses of wild flowers are among the floral highlights in summer, and flitting dragonflies abound.
The gardens even have their own private broad (waterway) where you can take a boat trip downriver to the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey. En route you may spot kingfishers and swans – or even an otter.
www.fairhavengarden.co.uk
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