We thoroughly enjoyed it! I had a mad rush getting everything together including some stuff from the loft.
The A11 traffic was dreadful then after we passed Norwich the weather was alternating between sunny then torrential rain but sunny on arrival, I made the mistake of dawdling about getting the tent out and letting the kids play when the weather decided to change yet again .
OK the tent was out with two of the three poles in so how hard can it be? Fine weather would be easy so give me a thunder storm and torrential rain! I did get offers of help but seemed pointless two people getting soaked so declined, I ended up holding the tent up without the poles in 100% and water was now gushing in the tent. All this still with a smile, my 5 year old discovers the horn and starts tooting so after two 'tooting' sessions I go over to the car and invite her to the tent. Finally the weather changed and mission 'errect tent' was completed with two big puddles inside the SIG and one pole too short but over the bedroom so not a big deal.
Mission 2 'dry tent' would seem relatively easy, had the plan be to stay a few nights towels would have been packed but for one night I decided against it as they can be bathed and I can shower when we get home so no towels. We had driven passed an asda on the way in so drove back and picked up a pack of 6 plastic cups (as I'd also forget some of these) and rather than a towel (which I have several of at home so begrudge buying) they had a heavy cotton bath mat reduced for £2.25 so picked this up. Back to the tent again but time is pressing on and we still haven't been fed! This mission now takes a back burner for mission 3 'fill tums'.
There were no food facilities on site and the reception closed at 5pm but thankfully my trusty phone & google helped to find a chip shop within walking distance (albeit uphill). Put the youngest in the pushchair and followed directions to find it was closed and talking to a local was open as & when but luckily there was another within a short distance.
We arrive back at the tent with our sausage & chips at dusk, our solar lights around the tent cheer up my hungary children but aren't really adequate lighting so I put the car headlights on (the magnetic one I had on the fridge had a dead battery, no doubt one of my little angels enjoyed its light for a while!). I hastily eat my food and while the little ones are still on mission 3 I start to bail the water from the bedroom. Approx 12 cups later the floor is now ok to wipe with the bath mat and prepare for the beds etc so mission 2 now completed and bath mat hung from the guylines.
We finally roll into bed around 10pm with the living area still a mess and hear the neighbouring tent still laughing and talking, my 5 year old asks what the noise is to which I reply 'its someone laughing' and she responds 'it sounds like a witch!' only from the mouths of babes .
I'm woken several times during the night by my youngest moving about but nothing too bad, everyone wakes around 7am so the late night and sea air had worked wonders as I was dreading a 5.30am start. Although it hadn't rained during the night the tent was still wet so after a morning trip to the beach we go over to reception to ask if we can stay a while which was ok. I slowly started emptying the tent bedroom first, the floor is still wet at one end so I remove everything and put them in the sun to dry and wipe the floor again. I had a little wrestle with the tent in the wind but got everything in the car ok.
So back home again and although I enjoyed it would not go for just one day alone (with a late start) again, I need two or three days to be able to really enjoy it. I will be buying a couple of poles for the tent and I need a carpet .
Our makeshift toilet 'toodle-loo'
the old site
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