Holiday rentals in Great Yarmouth

This seaside resort on the east coast of Norfolk has been famous for its family entertainments for more than 200 years. Today, its Marine Parade, otherwise known as the Golden Mile, runs the entire length of the town’s main beach with amusements, rides, and arcades, with more fun to be had on the piers at either end. The beaches to the north and south of Great Yarmouth offer quieter sandy stretches perfect for walking among the grassy dunes. The streets and restaurants of Regent Road, the main route into town, are lively day and night, when it’s joyfully illuminated. There’s a bright cheerfulness to the town’s Victorian terraces, and plenty of history at the Quayside, including an impressive medieval wall from the days when Great Yarmouth was a fishing port. Some of the older houses are now museums, including the Elizabethan House Museum and the Nelson Museum, as well as the 1930s steam drifter Lydia Eva, part of the town’s once-prodigious herring fleet. Great Yarmouth is also the ideal entry point to the watery beauty of the Norfolk Broads and its surrounding countryside.

Summer is peak season for beach fun in Great Yarmouth. Every Wednesday in summer there are firework displays at Central Beach. But the warm sunshine often extends into September, a good time to book a place to stay if you want to avoid the crowds. It’s also the month that the town’s two-day maritime festival celebrates its heritage with folk music, sea shanties, and street theatre. Spring, bright and occasionally bracing, also has its charms, though remember that the British weather means that rain can fall unexpectedly at any time, so pack layers and a waterproof jacket. In the winter things really turn chilly, and much of the seasonal activity that makes the town so cheerful shuts down.

The Broads National Park

Stretching west from the rivers Yare, Bure, and Waveney is the extraordinary countryside of the Norfolk Broads, a meandering 125-mile network of navigable and highly scenic waterways, dotted with pretty villages. A boat from the centre of town will exchange Yarmouth’s lively bustle for quiet serenity in no time.

Scroby Sands

This offshore sandbank that runs along the coast from Caister-on-Sea has wrecked many ships in its time; today it’s home to a working wind farm with an educational centre that’s open to visitors. It’s also a great place to see grey seals basking, with boat trips operating from May to September.

Gorleston-on-Sea

There are 15 miles of beaches along this stretch of east coast; Hemsby and Winterton-on-Sea are fewer than 10 miles to the north, but even closer is Gorleston, just across the River Yare to the south. Its own promenade is more relaxing than its neighbours, while the cliff-top gardens and bowling greens give it an Edwardian air.