Alix
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Balder BEEP BEEP
As mentioned on one of Matt N’s threads, the Chimp and I visited deepest darkest East Anglia this week, party to catch up with @MattyH, but also to catch the creds.
After the success of our last road trip, I’d planned a couple of extra bits along the long route from Bristol to Lowestoft and back - so this trip report will contain a small amount of non theme park business.
Day One: After dropping MC off at the cat spa, we headed in the direction of Lowestoft but via Bletchley Park to break up the journey. We were thwarted somewhat by dodgy Siri directions and traffic so only had 3 hours there instead of 4, however it is a very interesting place and well worth a visit. Tickets are annual so we hope to pop back another time to catch the bits we didn’t manage. They do vegan cake and non dairy frothy coffee too - so a very successful little diversion on our way to the main event.
We had booked a 4 night stay in the Broadland Sands holiday park. The caravan was clean and functional - nothing fancy and we had to visit the cliffs for wifi, but it was a fine base for the 3 Esses.
Day Two: Great Yarmouth. I was 4 off my 100th cred, so the cunning plan was to go to GYPB and do the rides in the correct order so I got Roller Coaster as my 100th. Things did not look good as Family Star was surrounded by engineers and no sign of any movement. We headed on to the Big Apple and Whirlwind, then did a couple of flats whilst we waited hoping Family Star would come back to life to be my 99th before the main event. Unfortunately, even after doing Sky Drop (not bad!) the Haunted Hotel (very good) Ghost Ship (also very good) there were still no signs of life, so after a bit of cajoling and the offer of ice cream, Chimp agreed to walk up to Britannia Pier to catch Racing Coaster as my 99th before heading back to GYPB to do Roller Coaster. They’re not that far apart tbh, so although there was a small amount of Chimpy complaining, we went up, did the racing coaster (+1) and the ghost train (terrible!) before walking back for the main event. I loved Roller Coaster. Not only because it’s my 100th, but also because of the history and the brake man. I also really liked the way it interacts with the Snails and the monorail - great stuff. Roller coaster done, Family Star had reopened so we got on it and mopped up the other interesting rides before meeting up with Matty and heading off to Windmill Crazy Golf and Joyland. We bought our bag of tokens, and had enough between us for 4 rides. The creds and the snails were a must, then we also did Neptune’s Kingdom just for a giggle. Creds done, we went for a paddle in the sea and then had very tasty (vegan) sausage and chips from HJs Fish and Chips on the front.
Creds: 7
Ice creams: 2 (Lucky Chimp)
Day Three: Pleasurewood Hills. I’d be warned not to expect too much from PWH, and I’m glad I used Tesco vouchers to pay for it. The staff were lovely, but the place looked tired and the queue for Cannon Ball was ridiculous. We got the creds, Chimp did the carousel and the flying chairs, the train wasn’t running, the birds were closed, and we left after about 3 hours and went to Lowestoft beach and Ness Point (most easterly point of the UK). Wipeout was the best thing there for me, £5 for a magnet is steep. In the evening, we met Matty again for the Great Yarmouth Fireworks (@Matt N - these are on every Wednesday at 10pm and worth it) and then headed back to the caravan.
Creds: 3
Ice Creams: 1 (Sad Chimp noises)
Day Four: Nothing much planned today so we went back to Great Yarmouth and had another wander. We had a cake at the cat cafe (Darling Darlings Cat Lounge) which was a very odd place. It’s a retro 80/90s junk shop vibe run by mad cat ladies who bring their cherished cats to work each day. The cats were free to roam about and interact with customers, or sleep in the many beds and chairs specially for them. Not 100% vegan, but the cats were very lovely and the cake was tasty. Then we did the model village, old penny arcade and the beach, again. Chimp came a cropper in the ocean and we had to break out the first aid kit for a scraped knee and dented pride when she was swept off her feet by a wave and lost her snorkel.
Creds: 0
Naked miniature men: 2
Chimp Damage: Slight
Day Five: The drive home. Again, to break up the journey I’d found Redwings Horse Sanctuary had a visitor centre just outside Great Yarmouth so we popped in there. It’s free to visit, and they have a very nice cafe (vegan cake plus non dairy frothy coffee 10/10) and plenty of rescued horses, ponies and donkeys for smooving. After we had smooved, we headed off on our way home via Wicksteed Park. I’d last visited here back in the 80s before it had creds (there is a photo of a very small me on a trike there) so wanted to go back and catch those creds this time. We were short on time so just bought 3 tokens, had a little wander, did the creds then finished off our journey back to Bristol. It’s a nice place - much bigger than I expected, and ideal for smaller kids. Vegan ice creams too so gets a another tick from me.
Creds: 3
Ice creams: 1
Equines Smooved: Too many to count
All in all, another good trip. Thanks as always to @Poisson , @MattyH and @GooseOnTheLoose for trip support - makes me much braver knowing there’s people on the end of the phone who’ll advise good ideas and what to do if things go a bit awry.
Edit: tried to put photos in the right place, it didn't work. They are: poster from Bletchley Park re drinking (who would drink on a Monday?!!), The cliff edge were the 4G signal was, Great Yarmouth illuminations, the crazy cat lady cafe and 2 of the staff, one of the many ponies smooved.
After the success of our last road trip, I’d planned a couple of extra bits along the long route from Bristol to Lowestoft and back - so this trip report will contain a small amount of non theme park business.
Day One: After dropping MC off at the cat spa, we headed in the direction of Lowestoft but via Bletchley Park to break up the journey. We were thwarted somewhat by dodgy Siri directions and traffic so only had 3 hours there instead of 4, however it is a very interesting place and well worth a visit. Tickets are annual so we hope to pop back another time to catch the bits we didn’t manage. They do vegan cake and non dairy frothy coffee too - so a very successful little diversion on our way to the main event.
We had booked a 4 night stay in the Broadland Sands holiday park. The caravan was clean and functional - nothing fancy and we had to visit the cliffs for wifi, but it was a fine base for the 3 Esses.
Day Two: Great Yarmouth. I was 4 off my 100th cred, so the cunning plan was to go to GYPB and do the rides in the correct order so I got Roller Coaster as my 100th. Things did not look good as Family Star was surrounded by engineers and no sign of any movement. We headed on to the Big Apple and Whirlwind, then did a couple of flats whilst we waited hoping Family Star would come back to life to be my 99th before the main event. Unfortunately, even after doing Sky Drop (not bad!) the Haunted Hotel (very good) Ghost Ship (also very good) there were still no signs of life, so after a bit of cajoling and the offer of ice cream, Chimp agreed to walk up to Britannia Pier to catch Racing Coaster as my 99th before heading back to GYPB to do Roller Coaster. They’re not that far apart tbh, so although there was a small amount of Chimpy complaining, we went up, did the racing coaster (+1) and the ghost train (terrible!) before walking back for the main event. I loved Roller Coaster. Not only because it’s my 100th, but also because of the history and the brake man. I also really liked the way it interacts with the Snails and the monorail - great stuff. Roller coaster done, Family Star had reopened so we got on it and mopped up the other interesting rides before meeting up with Matty and heading off to Windmill Crazy Golf and Joyland. We bought our bag of tokens, and had enough between us for 4 rides. The creds and the snails were a must, then we also did Neptune’s Kingdom just for a giggle. Creds done, we went for a paddle in the sea and then had very tasty (vegan) sausage and chips from HJs Fish and Chips on the front.
Creds: 7
Ice creams: 2 (Lucky Chimp)
Day Three: Pleasurewood Hills. I’d be warned not to expect too much from PWH, and I’m glad I used Tesco vouchers to pay for it. The staff were lovely, but the place looked tired and the queue for Cannon Ball was ridiculous. We got the creds, Chimp did the carousel and the flying chairs, the train wasn’t running, the birds were closed, and we left after about 3 hours and went to Lowestoft beach and Ness Point (most easterly point of the UK). Wipeout was the best thing there for me, £5 for a magnet is steep. In the evening, we met Matty again for the Great Yarmouth Fireworks (@Matt N - these are on every Wednesday at 10pm and worth it) and then headed back to the caravan.
Creds: 3
Ice Creams: 1 (Sad Chimp noises)
Day Four: Nothing much planned today so we went back to Great Yarmouth and had another wander. We had a cake at the cat cafe (Darling Darlings Cat Lounge) which was a very odd place. It’s a retro 80/90s junk shop vibe run by mad cat ladies who bring their cherished cats to work each day. The cats were free to roam about and interact with customers, or sleep in the many beds and chairs specially for them. Not 100% vegan, but the cats were very lovely and the cake was tasty. Then we did the model village, old penny arcade and the beach, again. Chimp came a cropper in the ocean and we had to break out the first aid kit for a scraped knee and dented pride when she was swept off her feet by a wave and lost her snorkel.
Creds: 0
Naked miniature men: 2
Chimp Damage: Slight
Day Five: The drive home. Again, to break up the journey I’d found Redwings Horse Sanctuary had a visitor centre just outside Great Yarmouth so we popped in there. It’s free to visit, and they have a very nice cafe (vegan cake plus non dairy frothy coffee 10/10) and plenty of rescued horses, ponies and donkeys for smooving. After we had smooved, we headed off on our way home via Wicksteed Park. I’d last visited here back in the 80s before it had creds (there is a photo of a very small me on a trike there) so wanted to go back and catch those creds this time. We were short on time so just bought 3 tokens, had a little wander, did the creds then finished off our journey back to Bristol. It’s a nice place - much bigger than I expected, and ideal for smaller kids. Vegan ice creams too so gets a another tick from me.
Creds: 3
Ice creams: 1
Equines Smooved: Too many to count
All in all, another good trip. Thanks as always to @Poisson , @MattyH and @GooseOnTheLoose for trip support - makes me much braver knowing there’s people on the end of the phone who’ll advise good ideas and what to do if things go a bit awry.
Edit: tried to put photos in the right place, it didn't work. They are: poster from Bletchley Park re drinking (who would drink on a Monday?!!), The cliff edge were the 4G signal was, Great Yarmouth illuminations, the crazy cat lady cafe and 2 of the staff, one of the many ponies smooved.
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