Iona heads East

Trip 13: Keith Farm, Sea Palling, Norfolk.

We headed east to Norfolk but instead of turning towards the North Norfolk coast we continued east. The campsite is at Keith Farm in Sea Palling. It is arranged by the West Essex district of the Caravan & Camping Club as a Temporary Holiday Site. All this means is that it is good value but there are no facilities, no electric or toilets/showers, so you ‘wild’ camp using your onboard facilities.

It took just over 3 hours to get here, the site has plenty of space so we chose a pitch against a hedge. We set up quickly including the new Quest screenhouse.

We went for a walk to the beach and although I had my trunks on under my shorts I was not planning to go for a swim. However the water was warmer than Bridlington so I stripped to my trunks and went for a swim. The waves were quite big which made it even more exciting.

After a few body surfs and a swim I headed back to Sue on the beach. We then walked along the beach and back before going into Sea Palling. We got rid of the sandy feet and made our way to Reef Bar for a drink.

We headed home after checking out all the facilities. There is a bar, a chip shop, an amusement arcade, bucket & spade shop as well as toilets, a small shop for essentials and of course a lifeboat and lifeguards.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading before we had a Steak tea. The site is quite empty with a couple of family camps. The field is fairly flat and no doubt we will be back.

The wind has got up but the new Quest is performing well and we are sheltered.

Day 2:

We went for a walk along the beach towards Happisburgh this morning. The tide was in and with the strong wind the waves were fairly big. There was a guy surfing and we also saw a seal.

We walked to the end of the breakwater and then returned to the campsite for lunch.

We spent the rest off the day around the motorhome, mainly reading.

Day 3:

Another sunny day. The wind is strong and coming off the sea so it will be a good day for surfing although we will limit ourselves to a swim.

We went to the beach and the tide was just on the turn so the waves were quite strong. We both ventured into the sea and I managed to get past the breakers but on coming back towards the beach the breaking waves were very strong. I got caught as I neared the beach and got swept into the shallows and nearly lost my trunks. Luckily for everyone else I managed to rescue them before I stood up.

We went back to the campsite at lunchtime and read our books.

Tea tonight was a bbq and while we were eating Sue could hear sirens which we thought were the coastguard or the inshore lifeboat.

Soon after that we heard an ambulance so we thought someone may have got into trouble swimming. Then an air ambulance came over and circled the campsite before landing somewhere in the village.

Sue was gagging to know what was happening so we took the rubbish to the bins and headed out to see if the helicopter was in the carpark. The carpark was empty, so we walked to the village and saw two ambulances and the coastguard.

We walked to the beach and the air ambulance had landed on the beach. We stayed and watched it take off before heading home.

A lady told us the people rescued were in the ambulance and no one needed the air ambulance. A bit of excitement without any loss of life.

We have since seen in the press that it was three young men got caught in a rip tide. Some people eating on the beach raised the alarm and went into the sea to rescue them. Luckily the beach party were strong swimmers.

The inshore lifeboat crew helped get them back onto the beach to the paramedics. All three recovered and they did not need to go to hospital.

We walked along the beach to the steps that took us back to the campsite. We were soon back at the van ready for Masterchef and a drink.

Day 4:

We walked to the beach and spent the morning in the sand dunes reading. We saw a couple of seals in the sea.

When it got to midday we walked to Sea Palling and stopped at the Reef Bar for a couple of drinks.

Hunger got the better of us and we went to the fish & chip shop for some food. Fishcake & chips and sausage & chips were purchased and we sat outside in the sun to eat them.

After lunch we walked back to the campsite and sat outside reading. We took the windbreak down before cooking tea on the Cadac. Once tea was over the Quest screenhouse was taken down ready for tomorrow’s departure.

Another great 4 days away in the motorhome. Next time we head inland and north to Harrogate.