Happisburgh Beach

Looking for somewhere new to go to on one of our summer holiday days out I suggested Happisburgh (pronounced Hays-bro) on the Norfolk coast. We had only driven through Happisburgh once before with a brief stop in the car to look at the famous red and white striped lighthouse.

We were looking for Cart Gap car park as we had a season ticket for parking on NNDC car parks this summer but we must have missed a sign and we ended up at Beach Road car park instead.  We parked up on the cliff which had a lovely play area, picnic tables and small toilet block and we were really close to the lighthouse. Heading down the sloped earth path on the cliff side we went for a wander on the beach which was surprisingly busy.

Trying to skim stones

I wonder how long it will be before this pillbox is at the bottom of the cliff

Coastal erosion has really taken effect in Happisburgh. Many properties have been lost to the sea over the years and it's quite heartbreaking seeing the photos of the devastation and land lost to the waves. The children found it really interesting walking along the shore finding remnants of houses long gone. We found bricks, pieces of path, tiles from a kitchen or bathroom and more. It was quite poignant thinking about the homes that these pieces once were part of. We even found what looked like a piece of tarmac with a yellow line on it. It was like a really sad scavenger hunt.

Charlie was hoping to find treasure in here. All he found was someone's rubbish :( 

Charlie loved the pink lines running through this rock and wanted to take it home!

We walked along the beach towards Eccles-On-Sea before turning around. Charlie is becoming a keen bird-watcher and was fascinated to see a large black sea bird perched on a groyne, which turned out to be our first ever cormorant spotting. There was another one further down and he loved watching them sitting there with their wings out which they do to dry them apparently. I squealed a bit too loud when I spotted a seal in the sea close to us but no-one else saw it and the blasted thing never resurfaced! I started to wonder if I had imagined it....

Guess who had been watching Titanic the weekend before!!

After heading back up the cliff hubby and I sat while the children spend 20 minutes or so playing on the play area. It wasn't huge but there was enough to keep them happy. The zip wire was the most popular, as usual.

It was a lovely few hours out and next time we'll try harder to find Cart Gap so we can go to that part of the beach!

Molly wanted a photo of her 'holding' the lighthouse. My camera battery was about to die and the sun was in my eyes so I couldn't see what I was actually taking so we were quite pleased with this effort!