All accommodation is situated in the adjacent seaside villages of Hemsby, California, Scratby
& Caister-on-sea.
Situated on the Norfolk coast with superb uncrowded sandy beaches, about 3-5 miles North of the resort of Great Yarmouth and
a few miles East of the famous Broads National Park.
California
& Scratby
A few minutes walk
away from Bella Vista in the village of California is a lovely Pub, the
"California Tavern", where food and entertainment is available.
There is also a swimming pool and club entertainments, beach shop, fish and chip take-away and Chinese take-away open during the main season.
The "Wheelstop Diner" restaurant and the "First and Last" pub are a walk away.
In
the village Scratby, a few minutes walk, there is a local mini
market and post office, garden and antiques centre, the charming "Moments" restaurant,
a bookmakers, all are open all year round. Also available in the
main season are "Abigails Bistro", swimming pool, club entertainments,
there is also a hire store for deckchairs and windbreaks on the lovely sandy
beach.
On May 11th, 1848 a quantity of sixteenth century
gold coins was found at the foot of the cliffs near Scratby by local beachmen.
At the same time the California gold rush in America was much in the news. The
beachmen decided that their new village needed a name – and California, Norfolk
came into being. By 1851 houses were being built there. By 1861 when the next
population census was taking place the population of this new hamlet had risen
to almost two hundred. By 1870 over forty houses had been built, plus the
original California Tavern.
Hemsby Village
Hemsby
has something for everyone - it is split into two main areas – the village and
the beach. The road to the beach has many family amusements and seaside
gift shops. The magnificent golden beaches are great for bathing , sand castles
or just soaking up the sun.
The Hemsby Beach
Café provides a traditional selection of English sea-side food and refreshments
for hungry holidaymakers or day trippers. There are also
swimming pools and evening entertainment in one of the nearby Holiday Parks.
For
a quieter night, you'll find the Kings Head Inn just around the corner from
Nuthatch Cottage, the ideal village pub, with good quality meals at reasonable
prices and Don Luigi's Italian Restaurant. Hemsby offers a wide variety of
restaurants, pubs and cafes, catering for all tastes. Many serve a range of
dishes from a la carte cuisine to fish and chips and ice cream. The Lacon Arms
boasts a lovely family restaurant and serves a fine selection of wines, beers
and soft drinks.
Hemsby was mentioned in the Doomsday book as a hamlet. The Highwayman Restaurant at Winterton offers great value-for-money restaurant meals, bar meals and snacks at
lunchtimes and evenings. In the centre of Hemsby village there is a good
variety of shops and take-aways.The village itself is a gem with a host of
attractive buildings including the 12th century church, St Mary the Virgin. The
name Hemsby is of Norse origin meaning “village of”. Up until this century,
occupations were mainly based around fishing or agriculture – with a bit of
smuggling thrown in.
During the year there are plenty of exciting
opportunities for days out in Hemsby. These include the annual Longshore Herring
Festival, which every September sees the village celebrate its proud history.
Twice a year the village beats to the sound of the 1950s when the Hemsby Rock
‘n’ Roll weekenders take place.
Caister-on-Sea
Caister has quite a surprising history. The first Romans arrived in the town in
the 1st Century AD easily making it one of the oldest settlements in Norfolk.
The remains of what they left behind - including part of a defensive wall, a
gateway and buildings along a main street - have been preserved and are free to
view. The remains of Caister castle - a moated castle with a 100-foot tower
built in 1432 - are also worth a visit. The castle was built on the side of an
earlier fortified manor house where Sir John Fastolff was born. As if that
wasn't enough, the castle today holds the largest private collection of motor
vehicles in the country, stretching from 1893 to the present day. Models on show
include a 1893 Panhard et Lavassor, Christine Keeler's Cadillac Eldorado and the
first Ford Fiesta.
Of course, there are also long stretches of sandy beach to enjoy,
and you might even catch a launch of Caister Lifeboat. The boat lost its RNLI
status in the 1960s but is now one of the most successful independent operations
in the country - comedian Jim Davidson has helped raise a lot of money for it
and is an honorary crew member.
There are a number of pizza, kebab, traditional fish and chip and
Chinese restaurants dotted along the main road through the village, all of which
provide decent snacks at reasonable prices.
If you are looking for something more formal both the Old Hall and
The Grange (on the outskirts towards Ormesby St Margaret) do a good range of
food along with the newly opened Castle pub/restaurant.
