Favourite childhood holiday memories

Whenever holiday time comes about, it’s always a chance to remember back to the good old days when there never seemed to be childcare problems because our mums were predominantly stay at home mums, and we could go out all day with whatever friends were about, only coming back for meals and when dark.

We lived on a new housing development at the edge of a village with a massive green in the middle where all ages of children would go out and play, and there are numerous memories from those times spent outdoors with friends…bike races round the green, huge rounders games, gymnastic ‘classes’, watching a big thunderstorm from inside our neighbour’s garage while we played a table tennis tournament.

But the best holidays we had as children were going to North Norfolk to stay in a family friends’ static caravan.  We went several times, and there were so many little things that made those holiday memories:

• Stopping at the Happy Eater on route for lunch
• Trying to be the first to spot the sea (living in the middle of the country as far from the sea as possible, this was always an exciting time)
• Seeing the seals at Blakeney Point
• Walking Beeston bump from the camp site to Sheringham (going over or round was always a big decision)
• Watching the fisherman bringing the crabs in on Sheringham beach
• Making friends at the campsite swings
• Buying jelly shoes and shell suit (embarrassing now, but it was the late 80s/early 90s!) from the market
• Wearing said jelly shoes to walk in the sea
• Visiting the Shire Horse Centre and getting to ride in a cart pulled by the horses.
• Standing on the promenade during stormy weather and trying to avoid the spray from the waves beating against the coastal wall

The biggest holiday memory that we all still remember now is my mum’s decision that we should walk to Cromer along the sand one evening.  I love walking on the beach, but not  when there could be a possibility of the tide coming in if you’re walking a long way, so I was a bit nervous.  But off we trekked.  And a trek it seemed.

The pier at Cromer didn’t seem to be getting any bigger, even though we seemed to have walked for miles and ages.  Me being a worrier, wondering whether we’d be able to get back up off the beach to the cliffs if needed.  But eventually we arrived, feeling like it must have been about a 9 mile walk.

Despite it being summer in a seaside town, extended opening wasn’t in evidence with only Woolworths open for us to get a drink.  Luckily, we were told we could get the bus back…but we find the bus station and see there’s no buses for another 3 hours.  Maybe a train…no train for another 1 ½ hours.

So it was a case of walking back again, this time via the road.  We did get to stop for chips on route, sitting on a wall to eat them.  Of course the route home didn’t seem to take quite as long as the walk there, but it was an adventure and one that’s created a lot of laughs amongst our family whenever we hear Cromer mentioned by others or on television.

Simple holidays can create such brilliant memories, so I really want to make sure N has similar memories as he grows up (mind you, that involves persuading the OH to take some time off, otherwise it’ll be holidays for 2!)