Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth has long been a favourite destination for holidaymakers visiting Norfolk. With 15 miles of sandy beaches, amusement arcades and a vibrant seafront, Great Yarmouth is the ‘Blackpool’ equivalent for Norfolk. You either love it or hate it.

This is very much a family orientated seaside resort, possibly because for a certain generation, many childhood memories stem from Great Yarmouth and its fairground rides and amusements. For those seeking natural beauty and a quiet spot to get away from it all, then Great Yarmouth is probably not the place to go.

It is unfortunate that in the rush to commercialise the resort the overall effect has been one of a hotch-potch of take-aways, cheap B&B’s and far too many amusements for it to appeal to some visitors.

There is history here and plenty of other beautiful towns and villages further up the coast. Whilst Great Yarmouth has been a seaside resort since 1760, the numbers of visitors have declined over the years. It gives the impression that it has seen better days. One of the two seafront promenades runs straight into the old port industrial area of the town which is not a particularly good example of town planning.

Locally Great Yarmouth is known as just Yarmouth. It has an old Tollhouse which dates back from the 13th century and which is reputed to be the oldest civic building in the UK. Great Yarmouth is also famous for its market place which is absolutely huge. Served by a railway station the town plays host to several well known celebrities who perform at the Britannia Theatre located on Britannia Pier.

There are many old and important listed buildings in and around Great Yarmouth including the Naval Pillar or Nelson’s Monument, a tribute to Admiral Nelson. It currently stands forlorn in the middle of the industrial area. Nelson was born in Norfolk and the Norfolk Nelson Museum is housed on the South Quay.

There is certainly plenty to see and do in Great Yarmouth and the Time and Tide museum is definitely worth a visit. Great Yarmouth is also a central point for those visiting the Norfolk Broads and acts as a gateway for visitors to the Broads.

Nostalgic it is. Deck chairs, knotted hankies, sandcastles and rock were probably invented here. If not they were meant for Great Yarmouth. With an abundance of fish and chip shops and plenty of gifts and seaside paraphernalia, Great Yarmouth, with its exciting amusement rides, nightlife and shops, is great for those that want to be entertained.

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