This August Bank Holiday weekend we went on a family holiday visiting Great Yarmouth. Visit Great Yarmouth gave us an invitation to visit the area. They wanted to offer us the chance to experience some of the attractions Great Yarmouth offers. We had a great time visiting Great Yarmouth. This is what we got up to on our Great Yarmouth family holiday.
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Visiting Great Yarmouth
We were given the chance to explore Great Yarmouth over three days with a packed itinerary. Our first day was spent in Hemsby. We also spent a day exploring Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth. Thrigby Wildlife Park was where we spent our final day.
Exploring Hemsby
Hirsty’s Family Fun Park
Our day started at Hirstys Family Fun Park. This is the perfect place to go if your children need to burn off some energy. It is full of activities that children love including go-karting, bouncy castles, zip wires and even a barrel train.
Everything is perfectly positioned on the farm so that you can enjoy a treat from the on-site cafe whilst the children explore. You can watch their every movement and enjoy some downtime. Ethan and Little E loved their visit. They spent ages on the zip wires and bouncy pillow.
As a family, we tried to conquer the corn maze. There was a puzzle for the children to complete in the maze. Finding the correct letters to work out the Queen’s favourite jewel. We failed miserably getting totally lost. Little E had to sit on Darren’s shoulders to help us find the exit. I’m sure our time in the corn maze will be something we laugh about for a good few years yet!
Lost World Adventure Golf
Our second stop in Hemsby was to play mini golf. This is something we have wanted to do as a family for a while now but just haven’t had the chance to. Lost World Adventure Golf is a dinosaur-themed 9-hole mini golf game.
Both children were very excited to play mini golf. This resulted in quite an interesting experience as Little E wanted to play the game correctly. Ethan on the other hand was very excited just to put the golf balls into the holes on the green. This resulted in lots of turn-takings and having no idea of the real score.
Although it was a bit chaotic at times we all really enjoyed our game. The children have already requested a rematch.
Panning For Gold
You can also pan for gold at Lost World Adventure Golf. This is something we have done with Ethan before but Little E would be too young to remember. She was excited about the prospect of finding gold!
What was nice about this panning for gold experience was that you didn’t have to find a minimum amount of gold. As long as you found some gold you would be given a prize when you were done. This means you have total control over the time you spend here.
Little E was determined to find enough gold to make her worthy of the prize. She also got soaked in the process but thankfully the sun dried her off really quickly. Both children were given a medal for finding gold. They could choose the colour of the ribbon and they both opted for blue.
Our Time in Great Yarmouth
Visiting Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
After our day in Hemsby, we spent the evening at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. Our visit was during their Coaster Cabana event and there was a great atmosphere. The Coaster Cabana event includes live music as well as dancers and other entertainment.
All rides are included in the entrance ticket to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. There are thrill rides, children’s rides and family-friendly rides. Little E pushed herself as soon as we entered the Pleasure Beach. Wanting to ride the Waltzer. She won’t even go on the fast train rides but we let her try. Let’s just say after that ride she stuck to the family-friendly rides.
We spent the evening making our way from one end of the Pleasure Beach to the other. Going on any rides we wanted to as we went. We all really enjoyed our time here. We were able to go on rides as a family and watch the children go on rides on their own.
Bowling at Wellington Pier
The children love bowling but we only really ever go for birthdays or when visiting Center Parcs. So they were happy to see Bowling at Wellington Pier on our itinerary for visiting Great Yarmouth.
We set up our game so that the children had the bumpers on during their goes. They also use the bowling support as we haven’t yet taught them how to roll the bowling ball independently.
Of course, they totally thrashed us at the game. They were given Bowling Champion certificates to celebrate their success.
The Sealife Centre
Little E loves animals so she was looking forward to our visit to Great Yarmouth’s Sea Life Centre. Both children enjoyed looking at all of the tanks containing all of the different marine life.
There was lots of excitement as we found an Axolotl. According to Little E, these are the in things to have. She has asked if we can have one so she can be like the YouTubers she watches!
The children also loved walking through the Ocean Tunnel. We were able to spend quite a lot of time in this area just watching everything going on in the tank.
A Trip to Merrivale Model Village
When I was a child we visited many model villages. I remember really enjoying walking around them and taking in the sights. Ethan really enjoyed visiting Merrivale Model Village. He loved watching the trains running around the village. Shouting out to us whenever he saw one.
When visiting Merrivale Model Village you really need to take in all the details. Look at what the people of the village are doing. Not forgetting to look in the windows, there really are some funny scenes. This shotgun wedding did make me chuckle.
Merrivale Model Village is now also home to a Banksy artwork. I had seen the news reports about the Banksy artworks in Great Yarmouth but I had forgotten all about them. It was a nice surprise to finally see a real Banksy artwork.
Watching a Show at the Hippodrome Circus
What do you do in the evening when you are visiting Great Yarmouth? You go to see a show of course! We went to the Hippodrome Circus to watch the Summer Circus and Water Spectacular.
This show was amazing, it had something for everyone. It was funny, entertaining, and had jaw-dropping, sitting on the edge of your seat moments. The finale was amazing the stage area turns into a complete swimming pool. Our children couldn’t believe their eyes.
The Hippodrome Circus puts on shows for all of the holiday seasons. If you can get the chance to see one you must. We loved every minute of the Summer Circus.
Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens
Our last day in Great Yarmouth was spent visiting Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens. I knew Little E would love visiting Thrigby Hall as it is home to some big cats. We were able to see Sumatran Tigers, Snow Leopards and an Amur Leopard, to name a few.
What makes Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens are the walkways and paths around the animal enclosures. They wind around them giving you the chance to view the animals from many different angles. You can even walk over the tiger’s enclosure.
Big cats aren’t the only animals you can see at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens they do have quite a collection. I actually quite enjoyed visiting all of the reptiles. Thrigby Hall was such an interesting place to visit, I’m so glad we got the chance to.
Where Did We Eat When Visiting Great Yarmouth?
There are lots of places to eat when visiting Great Yarmouth. It’s easy to grab something when exploring the Marine Parade. We did this on our visit, with light bites and sweet treats. During our trip with Visit Great Yarmouth, they treated us to two complimentary meals. One in Hemsby and the other on the Marine Parade.
Lunch at the Lacon Arms
The Lacon Arms is a family-friendly pub in Hemsby. We were invited here for lunch after visiting Hirsty’s Family Fun Park. It has an extensive menu to choose from so we easily found something that everyone wanted to eat.
The food was lovely and they serve great portion sizes. There is even a help-yourself salad bar included in the meal. If you have space for a dessert I highly recommend ordering one.
Being a family-friendly pub there is even an impressive play area for the children. The wooden climbing frame is shaped just like a pirate ship.
Dinner at The Empire
The Empire is where we ate dinner when we spent the day at Marine Parade. This is a live music venue serving craft beer and street food. Children are welcome here until 9 pm at night. The decoration in The Empire is insta worthy and I loved the look and feel of the inside.
At The Empire, you order your food via a QR code on the table you are sitting at. You can choose from burgers, pizzas and vegetarian Mexican cuisine. Darren chose a kiev burger whilst the rest of us had pizzas.
As we were eating a band was setting up to play live music. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to stay and watch but I think you could easily spend a few hours at The Empire.
We had such a great time visiting Great Yarmouth. We could have easily spent another few days here as there is so much to see and do.
DISCLOSURE – This is a collaborative post with Visit Great Yarmouth. We received the tickets to all of the attractions listed in this post and the two meals as gifts. This was for the purposes of this post. We always share our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, and experiences.
