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Any tips for the Norfolk/Suffolk parks? (Pleasurewood Hills/Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach)

Matt N

Matt N

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Hi guys. After I got an 85 in my undergraduate degree dissertation earlier today, my parents revealed to me earlier that they wanted to buy me some form of gift for finishing my undergraduate degree. As there was nothing specific I wanted them to buy me, my parents then proposed taking me on a trip to one of the semi-major UK parks I haven’t visited yet, and their idea, which I thought was a good one, was to take a trip to visit the duo of parks in Norfolk/Suffolk; Pleasurewood Hills in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth. We live 250 miles and at least a 4.5 hour drive from the Norfolk/Suffolk region, so it would require a multi-day trip for us. My parents’ idea for such a trip, leaving on a Sunday and coming back on a Tuesday as an example, was something akin to the following:
  • Sunday: Drive from our home in Gloucestershire to Great Yarmouth and potentially do Joyland (I had told my parents about Joyland and Tyrolean Tubtwist in a previous conversation about places I hadn’t been)
  • Monday: Do Pleasurewood Hills
  • Tuesday: Do Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, with an aim towards leaving for home by the early afternoon (Mum and Dad thought that Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach looked as though it could be done in a few hours)
My parents were thinking of doing the trip in August to ensure that all of the parks are open. However, we have never been to this region before, let alone any of the parks, so we were seeking some advice.

Firstly, does our rough trip plan sound good for the region’s parks? Have we allocated sufficient time to each of the parks? Is Pleasurewood Hills doable in a day, and is Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach doable in a few hours?

Secondly, I’d also appreciate any general tips or things to know about any of the parks or the area in general. Is there a particular ideal way to tackle these parks? Are there any hidden gems or things to particularly prioritise? Is there anything absolutely crucial for us to know before visiting?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I must admit, I am quite looking forward to ticking off another two semi-major UK parks! Of the potential trips to UK parks I haven’t yet done, the Norfolk/Suffolk duo seem like the least easy to tie in with anything else and the trip that would offer the most bang for buck in terms of the amount of draws relative to travel time, so me and my parents thought it might be a good one for the three of us to do together.

It’ll also be interesting to visit an entirely new part of the UK. Me and my mum have never been further east in the East of England than London Stansted Airport, and while my dad has been to Great Yarmouth once before, this was way back in the 1980s when he was a child and still lived in Kent, so I’m sure the area has changed quite a bit since then!
 
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Congratulations on your score - which I assume will get you First Class Honours?

Your itinerary looks absolutely fine for a car-based trip. It could be busy but likely a great atmosphere in August. Enjoy!
 
Tom said:
Congratulations on your score - which I assume will get you First Class Honours?

Your itinerary looks absolutely fine for a car-based trip. It could be busy but likely a great atmosphere in August. Enjoy!
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Thank you! Yes, it should hopefully lead to a first class degree; my average pre-dissertation was around 79%, and the dissertation mark has tipped my average above 80%, so I now pretty much only have to have passed my three other assignments to get a first. And that’s before you consider that the uni has now changed the degree calculation method to exclude our worst two assignments from each year…

That’s good to know! We’re quite aware that August could be busy (as it often is on the Great British seaside), but we’d rather go at a peak time than go down during an off-peak period and have one or both of the parks be closed, which we’re all too aware is a possibility in a remote coastal place like East Anglia. With just how far away this region is from us, we’d ideally like to hit all of the draws in one trip.
 
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In all seriousness, we did PWH, Hemsby, GYPB and Joyland in 1 day. Easy enough in 2 days, including Britannia Pier in Yarmouth for the cred. Would do PWH first, the Schwarzkopf first there, then go from there.
 
@MattyH is probably best placed to elaborate further on specifics about the area, but I don't think you'll need a full day at PWH. You can do it and Great Yarmouth on the same day - there's not tons there.

If you wanted, on the Tuesday you could head back via somewhere like Wicksteed Park? Would help to break the journey up and there's a couple interesting things there.

I'm looking to do something similar but it'll be all three parks in one day on a Saturday.
 
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
Is it not too late to convince them to book some cheap flights from Bristol to Cologne and treat you to a couple of days at Phantasialand instead as a treat?
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We’re already off to PortAventura together in September, so I don’t think it would be fair of me to ask my parents to go abroad!
Poisson said:
Don't
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Of the semi-major UK parks I’m yet to visit, I thought that this might be the most fulfilling trip in terms of bang for buck (amount of draws vs distance) and also the hardest to do without driving and the hardest to tie in with anything else (hence why I’d choose to do it as a dedicated trip with my parents).

The other new-for-me semi-major UK options are Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire, Adventure Island in Essex, and Dreamland Margate in Kent, so compared to those, I thought a Norfolk/Suffolk trip seemed like the best to do with my parents when considering the various factors.

It is interesting to know that Pleasurewood Hills may be doable in half a day as well as Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. I did have my suspicions from looking at the lineup that it might not be a full-day park, but I didn’t like to assume that without having been. Rightly or wrongly, my non-visitor’s impression of PWH has long been that it’s somewhat akin to Oakwood in terms of scale and calibre, and I definitely wouldn’t call that park a full-day affair.
 
I filled my day quite nicely at Pleasurewood hills last year, I wouldn't be trying to squeeze PWH and Pleasure Beach into one day.

There isn't too much at pleasure Beach though. Rollercoaster is worth a few laps, not much else of any great importance.

I adore Joyland. It is tiny, but the snails and tubs are an absolute must. Spook express is worth a ride too.
 
Often travelled that way in the past, to visit good friends who lost all sense and reason and moved to Yorkshire.
The song you sing...
A47, there's only A47...A47, theres only A47...
A very long road to the coast, bits of dual carriageway, bits of single carriageway, lots of tractors...
200 miles from Brum Matt...go that way just to say you have done it all, and probably your most direct route.
I like motorways me.
But the A47 holds many memories...long ones.
 
rob666 said:
Often travelled that way in the past, to visit good friends who lost all sense and reason and moved to Yorkshire.
The song you sing...
A47, there's only A47...A47, theres only A47...
A very long road to the coast, bits of dual carriageway, bits of single carriageway, lots of tractors...
200 miles from Brum Matt...go that way just to say you have done it all, and probably your most direct route.
I like motorways me.
But the A47 holds many memories...long ones.
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I’m not sure which is our best route… it’s an interesting place to get to from here in that you can go to both London and Birmingham and get a reasonably direct route.

The three route options for us appear to be:
  • London: M4 - M25 - A1(M) - A505 - A11
  • Birmingham: M5 - M42 - M6 - A14 - A11
  • Country roads from Gloucester: A trip along various country A roads through the villages of counties like Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire before joining the main route towards Norwich/Great Yarmouth.
All of these appear to be somewhere in the ballpark of 4.5 hours. Country roads from Gloucester is the shortest in mileage while London is the furthest, but the drive time appeared to be broadly similar when me and my parents looked yesterday.

That would be a useful question; if anyone has ever done this region from South West England or South East Wales before, what do you feel is the best driving route?
 
Probably cross-country actually, not likely to be very much quicker but probably a more pleasant route than the M25. Avoid going around Birmingham if you possibly can, the M42 is miserable right now!

I was tempted to point out that you can get flights to Gothenburg for £20 from Stansted airport, but I guess if the purpose of the trip is to make use of your parents' driving ability you can always do Liseberg another time!
 
NuttySquirrel said:
, but I guess if the purpose of the trip is to make use of your parents' driving ability you can always do Liseberg another time!
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Well it would most certainly be making use of their driving ability by getting them to drive to Stansted in order fly to Liseberg and have a fantastic time.

I’m just joking a little Matt and of course it’s your trip to do whatever you and your parents would like to do (and you’ve already explained that you are already looking at a trip to PortAventura). But definitely bear that suggestion in mind, I think you and your parents would absolutely love the place and the city of Gothenburg as well. Sorry I can’t help with the journey planning as I’ve never been to PWH or Great Yarmouth, but certainly the latter looks to have a lot of charm about it. There’s nothing wrong with a classic British seaside holiday at all.
 
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Now come on Matt...you should do it at least once in your lifetime...no question, go to Brum, get on the 47, sit it out for a couple of hundred miles, end up with a paddle in the sea and a big smile in Yarmouth...not that great.
Then the slow cruise home, knowing you never have to do that drive again.
 
I’m planning almost the same trip in July @Matt N and going from Bristol via Bletchley Park to break the journey up a bit. Staying for 4 nights though so we can do other things as well as the creds like Redwings and the transport museum then coming back via Wickstead park.
If you’re interested in Bletchley going via there might be a shout?
 
If you’re going to go the Birmingham route Matt along the A14, I would definitely pop into Wicksteed Park on the way or way back. You will almost be driving past the entrance to it. It’s a lovely park with (I think) the oldest water chute in the country and 3 coaster creds you can get. (Sadly they did remove the double pirate ships a few years ago now which were the best ones in the country)
 
Sorry to bump the thread, but I'm off to Great Yarmouth tomorrow, and I just had one final curious question.

If I don't generally like riding kiddie coasters, is Whirlwind at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach one to miss? Or is it enough of a non-kiddie family coaster that adults don't look too embarrassing riding it?

I've been mildly put off by its small size on RCDB, but I wasn't sure whether it was expressly a kiddie coaster or not in the same way as, say, a Wacky Worm. Does anyone have any insights?
 
You’d be alright. SBF Visa Figure 8 spinners are actually okay (one of the few coasters in their portfolio I would consider acceptable, actually)

Pretty much the same thing as the one on Clarence Pier in Pompey if you’ve done that
 
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