Best Fish & Chips : (a priority in our house) definitely Mary Janes in Cromer, heading down towards the Pier, just ask if you can’t find it. TOP TIP : Give Monroes a miss (yuck!)

Local Shop : We use Overstrand, they cover the basics & have a good selection of papers & magazines & a nice couple to deal with.

Local Supermarket : There is Morrisons on Holt Road (A148) or apparently there is actually a Sainsburys in North Walsham though we’ve not found or tried it yet. There is also a Budgens in the centre of Cromer, on the way down towards the Pier.

Local Pub : The Foundry Arms, Our village local, a basic British Pub don't expect posh but in the winter it has a fire & has a friendly Landlady & staff. We found a varied menu & very good food (in the Evenings Mon-Sat), for the quantity & quality of food (you won't go hungry) we thought it was great value for money, if you try nothing else try their HOMEMADE CHIPS, WOW!

Favourite Beach : We use Overstrand a lot as it’s local & when the tide is out it’s a huge sandy beach that the kids love, there are also toilet facilities & a playground for children. There is also a designated Dog beach area so avoiding the obvious doggie issues! Overstrand also has the Cliff Top Café, which does the usual Teas & Coffees but also has a fairly wide range of Hot Meals & a brilliant range of Home made cakes. A great place to go in the winter after a coastal walk, warming up with Hot Chocolate & Cake, can’t beat it.

If you want to do Posh then try Overstrands Sea Marge Hotel, lovely restaurant with great Menus, alternatively you could just enjoy an afternoon tea (or pint) overlooking the cliffs & sea.

We also love Wells with it’s sand dunes & multi coloured Beach Huts. To be honest there are lots of great places, we prefer the beaches going north as they are less ‘Kiss me quick, candyfloss seasidey’ , go south towards Great Yarmouth if that’s what your looking for. Cromer pier is a good place to go crabbing (crabs love stinky bacon as bait, there is a crab bucket & net in the shed).

Cromer: A strange little town really, a mis match of lovely gallery & gift shops mixed with the places like the Indoor Market, a strange experience, lots of Coffee shops, great Ice Cream, a bustling Pier, sandy beach & of course home to Mary Jaynes Fish & Chips!

If you want a Coffee with a view then go to the café above the Lifeboat Museum.

If you are staying for NEW YEAR festivities, Cromer hold a brilliant celebratory Firework Display, can be busy so you need to get parked early!

Sheringham : A nice little seaside town, more touristy than Overstrand. There is a great little Toyshop & old-fashioned Sweetshop here, & it’s a pebbly beach.
Try Sheringham Park – it has nice walks with a viewing platform above the tree line, very child friendly though.

Northrepps Cottage : A lovely eating place, local, pleasant surroundings & staff & a basic sort of Menu, Steaks, Scampi, Lasagne etc. They often have various Music / entertainment nights & apparently they do a pretty good Sunday Roast at very reasonable prices though we’ve not tried it yet ourselves.

Dinosaurland : Any child under the age of 7-8 will love this place, particularly if they are Dinosaur fanatics. It’s a huge place, lots to see, loads of picnic areas so you can take your own lunch. There are some great walks, a farmyard pets area, climbing frames, organised Dinosaur hunts & the inevitable gift shop which we were pleased to find very reasonably priced with pocket money items. If it’s good weather you can spend the whole day here & not get bored.

Bewilderwood : FANTASTIC fun! They say that they cover the age group of 0-99 which is just about right, great for kids especially but by no means essential. Bewilderwood is like an Eco adventure playground meets alternative Disney, a swamp full of Boggles & Twiggles, if you look carefully you can see their little houses up in the trees & the Crocclebog lurking in the lake. You could quite easily spend the day here. Check their website as they often have fab activities going on, changing depending on the time of year. You need to wear your 'play' clothes as you could end up pretty mucky!! Even Nanny Wend who, well, let's just say she got in as an OAP, is in her 'Golden' years had great fun screaming her head off coming down the huge slides!!! A sight to behold my friends! Oh & the Organic Sausage Sarni was fab!

The Shire Horse Centre : Great if you’ve got a pony lover, lots of horses to see, a museum which includes an old Romany Caravan exhibit & a limited Gift Shop. Again, you can take a picnic but there aren’t many tables if it’s busy. It’s an OK day, Daisy loves it (we’ve been a few times) as she’s a Horse nut but Dads may just about be able to tolerate it!

Norwich: If you fancy a shopping day then it has to be Norwich, with it’s recently finished ‘Chapelfields’ Shopping Centre for your High Street or hunt around the old town for the boutiques. If shopping isn’t your thing then there is still lots to see & do including Theatres, Restaurants, beautiful tropical gardens, parks & historical museums & old buildings.

There is a regular Train service from Cromer to Norwich or alternatively there is a Park & Ride on the way in to Norwich on the A140, it’s signposted near the Airport.

Holt : A great day, a small old market town with very trendy & posh cafes, bistros, restaurants & bars, a great Deli, a Christmas Shop 9 months of the year & lovely little shops, great gift shopping here.

Cley : (pronounced Cly) You have to visit the Cley Smokehouse, I had never previously liked smoked fish until I was forced to taste the Cley Smokehouse smoked Mackerel – delicious!!!!!! Next door is the Cley pottery & down the road is the Picnic Fayre Deli, which is crammed full of gorgeous tasting foodie stuff. Cley is a great place to stop for an hour or two on a tour of the north coast.

Groveland Farm Shop – Roughton : Farm Shop, Butcher, Garden Centre & Café. Lots of locally produced fresh food.

Samphire Farms Shop at Blickling Estates : Quite a posh Farm Shop, seasonal locally produced produce, lots of eco-friendly stuff such as cleaning products etc.

Cookes Fish Hut – Salthouse : An intriguing little place, sort of like a shack restaurant, it’s Bring Your Own Booze & very, very busy, so far we’ve not booked it in time & so haven’t tried it ourselves but everyone raves about it, specialises in locally caught seafood, including Lobster.

North Norfolk Meander : Details of which can be found in the Tourist Information file. This is a recommended drive, the Meander takes in local foodie shops, shopping bag & hand wipes required for the trip!

Temple & Bishops Boats : For Seal Watching

Felbrigg & Blickling Estates : Both nice houses & gardens, both have great little second hand bookshops, Cafes for Tea, Coffee & Cakes.

Gressenhall Rural Life Museum : A farm & old workhouse with lots of kids activities.

Thetford Forest : High Lodge adventure playground called ‘ Go Ape’. Excellent for the slightly older children lots of high rope stuff, also has 4 different mountain bike routes, 2 of which are family friendly. Picnic area & bike hire available. It costs something like £6 pers person for park entry & then extra if you want to hire a bike or do the Go Ape. Well trained professional staff on hand.

Norfolk Broads : Go to Hickling if on foot or Horning f on a boat.

Langham Glass: Kind of interesting, you can watch them glass blowing & the kids enjoyed watching the men making glass animals. Be warned you will end up buying a glass paperweight or elephant even if you have absolutely no requirement for one, I’m at a loss to explain how this happens but I have a Turquoise Bubble paperweight sitting on my office desk! Langham Glass does have a Café & picnic area & in the summer there is a Maize Maze next door.