We were off just after 10.30, and drove as far as Swaffham before stopping for lunch at the CoCoes Café Deli just before 1pm. Just as we were finishing, Grandma rang from Blickling and we arranged to meet her in the walled garden at 3.
We found Grandma and her friend Bernice with no trouble, and then enjoyed the grounds of Blickling (they'd already been round the house). There was croquet and tennis, icecream and lots of space for cartwheels. At 4 Bernice went back on the coach but we kept Grandma and went for an early dinner at The Bucks Arms, a pub just outside the National Trust property. Then we drove Grandma back to Cromer where she showed us her hotel, the Hotel De Paris.
Finally we headed to Overstrand to our cottage. We beat the Tesco man, but then realised we didn't have the combination for the keysafe by the door. Jeremy and Matthew drove off to find mobile signal and got back just as the heavens opened so we had a quick hurtle inside with the shopping.
We managed a fairly quick start (despite an initial pause when we realised the children's suitcase of clothes was still in the car) and headed off to Sheringham Park. We put the car on charge – we'd done all the way here from home, with a side trip to Blickling, without charging at all yesterday – and headed off into the park on our bikes.
We rode down to the woods and climbed up to the Gazebo, with its view of the sea (we spotted a ghost pirate ship!), then rode back the long way via a quiet road. It was a bit of a pull up but the children did very well.
We had our lunch (homemade sandwiches supplemented with drinks, crisps and biscuits from the National Trust café) and then went into the shop to discover that they were giving away their leftover Easter stock of chocolate eggs to children who achieved some of the 50 things to do before you're 11¾. We reckoned we'd already earned the "11. Go on a really long bike ride" sticker, but we spent a little while and also clocked up "25. Make a grass trumpet", "1. Climb a tree", and "7. Fly a kite". Good use of the facilities!
We went out again on bikes and found some fantastic scrambling trees, then looped round and back to the car, which was by then quite well charged. We drove home via the co-op and watched Early Man before tea.
This morning we'd taken away the phones and tablets, so Matthew read a book and then both children played with an assortment of toys belonging to the cottage. After breakfast we headed over to the local sports club to play some cricket for an hour or so. We cam back to the cottage to change, ready for the beach and a picnic, and it started to rain. This was not the plan. We looked at the forecast (drizzle for an hour or so then heavy rain for another hour) and decided that we could go to the beach and in the sea in drizzle quite happily, but maybe we'd have our picnic in the cottage afterwards. The children got wetsuited up and jumped over waves with Helen, and eventually even swam; Jeremy provided tea and photography. The children loved it and also claimed their "20. Jump over waves" and "42. Go swimming in the sea" stickers.
After showers and a very civilised picnic lunch indoors, we drove to Felbrigg (our nearest National Trust property). The charger was out of order, which is a shame, but the walled garden was absolutely stunning. We had icecreams and watched bees drinking nectar; in the orchard the children even tried "9. Eat an apple straight from the tree" (but they weren't terribly ripe so we downgraded it to a tasting); and there was a sandpit where Laura "cooked" us something revolting-looking in a bucket.
When we got home we played Pictionary and topped up with tea and scones; then the children asked if they could go back in the sea so we had a quick half hour of swimming before tea. After story, Laura wanted to sing herself to sleep so she went to bed in our bed and Matthew read in the top bunk for a while. She was very easy to transfer once everyone was asleep.
We'd arranged to meet up with Cathy & Richard, Pippa and Tim this morning, so (once the rain had stopped!) we headed over to East Runton and down to the beach. They were already there, and within minutes Matthew and Laura were in the sea with Cathy and Pippa. Jeremy went off to put the car on charge at Sheringham Park, and came back by bike.
We picnicked on the beach, looked in rock pools, splashed and swam and eventually, as the tide went out and revealed the sand bar, went over and built bigger things (a mountain and a car). There was lots of changing of clothes, and lots of things left to dry on the rocks above our picnic spot. At one point Matthew even managed to go into the sea up to his waist wearing shorts and pants; and they dried (on the rock) before we left.
While Jeremy went back for the car, the rest of us had icecreams at the beachtop carpark. Then we drove to Cley-Next-The-Sea, where we played football on the green behind the village hall and worked our way around the obstacle course in the playground, before walking down into the village for dinner. We ate at the George, in the garden, plagued by wasps but otherwise enjoying ourselves; and after dinner we walked to Cley Beach where we threw stones in the sea, admired the sculptures and spotted a seal.
Today we drove a little further afield to Upton, where we dropped the bike and parked at the other end of a linear walk along the broads. This was planned as a nature walk and it didn't disappoint! We saw cormorants, ducks, grebes, swans, coots, a heron, a marsh harrier and a pair of egrets; a deer, lots of butterflies; ladybirds, spider, grasshoppers and even a water snail.
We picnicked alongside the water, watching the boats sailing or chugging past. We walked past ruined windmills and saw working ones in the distance. It was beautifully sunny the whole time and the children coped really well with a 5 mile walk. At the end we stopped at the village shop in Upton while Jeremy fetched the car; the children had icecreams (and Laura got a new hat) and there was tea and a quiz about sweets (that lasted well into the car journey home).
Once home, Helen took the children down to the beach for a swim while Jeremy produced pie with roast potatoes (in 40 minutes! amazing!); in the evening we opened the holiday jigsaw.
Today was bike ride day. We drove to North Walsham, where Jeremy put the car on charge at Waitrose and we set off along the Weaver Way, a disused railway line. It was very quiet – I don't think we saw anyone else using the path all day – and full of sunshine and dappled shade.
When Matthew discovered a disused station with platform, we decided to stop for lunch so we picnicked on the platform. Then we headed on along the railway line for about 7km before heading out onto quiet country roads. The last bit before the road was a tricky bit with a narrow cyclable track between ruts and nettles; both children did really well.
We cycled to a pub (the Farmer's Arms) which was shut, but whose owner topped up the children's water bottles; then we went on to the White Lady, which wasn't shut. We ordered drinks and nibbles and ran away from the wasps; then Laura decided that she really wasn't up for any more cycling (we'd done 20km) so Jeremy headed back to North Walsham for the car (and some shopping) while we got fish and chips from the van in the village square. The children ate theirs in the churchyard but we saved the grownup portions for later.
One we got home, there was just time for a bit of jigsaw and cricket highlights, before stories and bed.
Today was Matthew's day to choose, and he chose boating. We drove to Wayford Bridge (where we've been before) and hired two two-man kayaks (the sort with single paddles) for an expedition. The children sat in the front and the heavier, more experienced people at the back. We made our way along the canal towards Dilham, spotting swan families, fish, dragonflies and water snails along the way. It was very peaceful but also quite hard work!
At Dilham we moored up and got out for a snack and a stretch of the legs (and a bit of stone skimming from Matthew) and then set off back, with an explore up a less-inhabited canal along the way. We got back just as our three hours expired, and everyone agreed we'd had a brilliant time.
We drove back to Dilham to the Cross Keys Inn for lunch: they have a lovely big garden for the children to play in, but once the food came the wasps drove us inside. All this was done to the soundtrack of England's tail wagging at Edgbaston against India.
We drove back to our cottage as Matthew wanted to go fossil hunting and Overstrand beach is a good place. Laura has a really long swim (making lots of new friends most of whom came from surprisingly close to home) and Matthew found several interesting stones and shells and at least one potential fossil. Then we all decamped to the cricket ground for a bit of time in the nets before dinner.
Today we went to Blakeney Point to spot seals. We took a boat ride out to the spit where they all bask, and were rewarded with excellent views of a beach full of seals and several playing in the water. One pup was just one day old!
Afterwards we had a picnic lunch in the samphire marsh, where there were lots of tiny crab shells. Then we walked around the marsh, looking at the oyster catchers and the curlews. We got back to the car park just in time to buy an icecream before the café shut, then walked out the other way (towards Cley), throwing the rugby ball. Laura and Helen rescued what we thought was a butterfly from the ladies' toilet – it turned out to be a Magpie Moth.
When we got home, there was a cricket match going on at Overstrand so we offered the children the chance to watch for a bit; they said they'd rather play so we went in the nets for half an hour before tea and cricket highlights.
The children had asked the night before if we could go to the sea first thing, so after breakfast that was what we did. It was high tide, so no beach but plenty of sea, and they both had a good play. We came back up to the cottage for lunch and ate outside on the deck.
After lunch Jeremy took the children to the cricket nets while Helen tidied up; everyone came back hot and tired so we all had a little sit and a drink before going out to Felbrigg: partly to charge the car and partly to claim some more 50 Things stickers. We played in the sandpit, plaited a practice horsetail, had an icecream and went for a walk in the woods – which ended up with pine cone wars and den building.
When we came back they wanted more cricket so this time Helen took them to the nets while Jeremy made lasagne. Very well received.
This morning the first request was for cricket, so Jeremy took the children to the nets while Helen put the finishing touches to getting ready for the day out. We met Rory, Jonathan and Daisy (all together) and Rhys (separately), all of whom we'd seen last night as well.
Once we'd finished with cricket we drove to Weybourne, putting a bike at the station and then driving down to the beach car park. We walked south along the shore. There were lots of WWII defensive installations; the children visited a pillbox in a field. Then we moved back to the cliff top and had our picnic, with swallows flying over us.
After lunch we walked along the cliff top towards Sheringham. We dropped down to put our feet in the water on a very stony beach (and found a lobster tail!) but it was pretty uncomfortable to walk on. We carried on along the top all the way to Sheringham, passing lots of straw-bale fields and a golf course.
In Sheringham, we were just in time for the 4.30 train – not running steam because of the risk of crop fires in the very dry spell – without even time to get a drink first. Luckily the refreshments at Weybourne were still open (as well as the amazing historic loos!) so we had icecream (or tea, according to preference) before despatching Jeremy on the bike to fetch the car from the beach.
It was cricket in the morning again, and then we set off for a bike ride. We drove to Reepham to the end of Marriott's Way, and off we rode. We stopped alongside the path, in a nice open space under a tree, for our picnic lunch.
Mid-afternoon we reached Whitwell Station, where we all had an icecream on the platform. It was very hot! We returned by smaller tracks and some quiet side roads.
When we got home there was cricket for a bit, then Laura decided she wanted beach instead so we split and everyone got what they wanted. Laura even caught a teeny tiny crab to hold for a moment.
The morning began with cricket – quite a long session, with Jonathan but none of the others – and then a trip to the beach. The children were in their swimming kit but somehow we didn't end up swimming, just spent time at the top of the beach catching baby crabs and putting them in a bucket. We met two very small boys who also wanted crabs in their bucket, so we helped; and eventually we opened some mussels for the crabs (which were clearly delighted).
We drove to Sheringham Park for lunch, where we picnicked on a bench while the car got some charge. The next stop was Wells-next-the-Sea, where we bought crabbing lines (we'd brought bacon with us) and went fishing. A kind family gave us their big crabbing net, which apparently someone had given them when they arrived, and that made us much more successful. We caught about 4 decent-sized crabs with the net, but none with the line. Then we moved down to the shallow water, where the line did much better but the crabs were all small. We quickly moved onto holding them as we caught them then releasing them straight away.
Once we'd finished crabbing, and released our catches back into the water, we found a new family to enjoy the crabbing net (they were very grateful!) and walked out along the sea wall, a long spit alongside the water, with a train running alongside. We bought icecreams at the shop at the end, and when there were only two seats left on the train Laura & Helen took them and Matthew & Jeremy walked back.
We drove to Morston, where Jeremy & Matthew were booked on a sailing lesson. They had a great time, sailing past seals and learning lots, while Laura and Helen pootled around Morston and played cricket. Sadly, when we tried to go out for dinner afterwards everywhere was full, so we ended up driving home and having leftover lasagne and egg and bacon sandwiches.
Shock horror, a wet day! We'd earmarked Cromer RNLI Museum for just such a day, so Jeremy drove us there and went on to Felbrigg to put the car on charge. Sadly the Felbrigg charger was out of order (again) so he had to go on to Sheringham Park and plug it in there. He cycled down to Cromer and was thoroughly soaked by the time he got to us.
We enjoyed the lifeboat museum – dressing up, speaking to each other at a distance through the magic tubes, and typing messages in Morse code – and then moved upstairs to the Rocket House Café for lunch. We ordered, and the children started their hot chocolates; then Daddy arrived just before his food did.
After lunch we went to Cromer Pier. We walked along the length and had a look at the lifeboat station at the end; then we discovered that the Pier Show was about to start – so we quickly bought tickets and took our seats. The show was great – a traditional variety performance with dancers (who Laura loved), singers, magicians, an impressionist, and lots of silly jokes that Matthew enjoyed.
After the show we scuttled to the station to get a train to Sheringham. It was a bit delayed, so Jeremy set off on his bike to retrieve the car. That turned out to be a great idea, as they cancelled the train and he was able to pick us up from Cromer instead of Sheringham.
We just had time to stop at the cottage and get Jeremy dry (the rest of us only changing our socks) before it was time to drive to Northrepps for dinner. We'd booked at the Foundry Arms, where we had a fantastic meal (complete with small white poodles for Laura to stroke).
The morning was OK, but we knew the weather was coming so we planned a local, packing day rather than stress out in the morning. The children played cricket with Jeremy and then went to the beach with Helen; when the rain came we came back to the cottage for lunch.
In the afternoon, Matthew did some Microbit, Laura wrote some postcards, we finished the jigsaw, and eventually there was Despicable Me 3 while we finished packing the car. We drove home through the evening, stopping in Norwich for a charge and some sandwiches, and got home just before 11.