Disclosure- I paid for our Easi grass service. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My personal preference when it comes to having real grass or artificial grass will always be artificial grass. My reasoning…
View PostDisclosure– We received gifted tickets in return for a review however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Another attraction we visited whilst we were on our mini holiday at Great Yarmouth was the Sea Life centre which is also located along the sea front not far up from the Merrivale model village.
Whilst visiting Great Yarmouth with my family, my main focus was on accessibility as my son has limited mobility and is a wheelchair user. I think taking some time to properly plan your trip reduces a substantial amount of stress and worry when there is an adult or young person in your party who has mobility issues. There is nothing worse than getting to an attraction and finding out that there not accessible.
Like many attractions, Sea Life offers a free carer policy which allows admission for a carer to go free with a full paying ticket upon proof. This could be a PIP or DLA award letter, blue badge, letter from a professional body or a letter from a certified NHS professional dated within the last two years.
It has been many, many years since visiting an aquarium and the last time we came the children were all very small and even though they enjoyed seeing all the different sea life they were disinterested by the fact screens. It was really nice to go back with them being much older and now more interested in learning more about the the different sea life as well as seeing them.
Visiting a Sea Life centre as an adult with older kids too is an all round different experience as we now also had the time to read the information screens with them and learn without having to hurry off to the next tank.
I think the green screen photo is a thing now with attractions as the Sea Life had one upon entering. I wore a green dress that day so I blended in beautifully in every background. It didn’t stop us spending £10 on a fridge magnet, thanks Lyds!
At reception the kids were given little activity packs that consisted of a:
Lydia really enjoyed going through the facts quiz, especially as you can receive a prize at the end when you have handed it in at the gift shop. It really helped to keep the kids engaged by making them read the screens to get the answers and they loved going through it.
We spent around two hours taking our time looking around the different zones of the aquarium. My personal favourite would have to be the jelly fish. Emily was fascinated with the sea turtle, it was humungous despite only being a teenager, I never realised just how big they can get.
The rock pool was a big hit although Emily was a bit unsure about touching a starfish until I had touched it first. The water was freezing and it didn’t feel like I thought it would. I thought it would feel smooth and bit spongey but it was hard, bumpy and rough, I also don’t like cold water and couldn’t tolerate my hand being in there for more than a few seconds so It was a quick in/out for me. You are required to wash your hands before and after touching the starfish. I also noticed sinks in some of the areas for you to wash your hands as your going round to reduce bacteria spread.
One thing I did enjoy, was watching the children playing in the tunnels and being able to look at the fish more intimately through the ‘submarine’ windows and the big overhead fish tank that you walk through where sharks are swimming above your head and you can see everything.
The fact screens were great and going around we learned how to do sign the name of the fish using British sign language. There are interactive boards, and flip boards to play with and underwater telescopes so that the kids can look as if they are in the water at the fish.
Overall we had a lovely morning and learnt so much.
Read more of my Great Yarmouth attraction reviews here.
I found the attraction to be very accessible for wheelchair users with the walkways being wide, level and flat. The only part that was not accessible is the penguin platform where there is a few steps to go up and see an overview of the penguins within their enclosure. You can still see the enclosure from below but you do get an overall better view if you go up top, it also depends on what the penguins are doing at the time.
This attraction does have toilets which are located next to the café and gift shop.
Whilst we were at Great Yarmouth we parked in St Nicholas car park which is opposite the sea front attractions. It is a long stay carpark as we were visiting the sea front pretty much all day so that it why we decided to park here.
£6.00 for up to 4 hours
£9.30 for over 4 hours
Try find another working pay machine if one is not working, It will suggest you pay using there app but this adds an additional charge of 20p (It’s not much but it’s a bit cheeky if you have to do this because of there faulty machine).
We parked in the disabled bay however, we did discover on the second day that blue badge holders can park on the sea front for free for however long they needed.
Disclosure– We received gifted tickets in return for a review however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have been collating a variety of different attractions in Great Yarmouth in which we have visited and can personally recommend to you, our readers. This post will tell you all about our recent trip to Pleasure beach.
On the coast of Great Yarmouth is Pleasure Beach, an amusement park with various rides, stalls, games, and activities. The kids were super excited when we arrived and keen to jump on the rides as soon as possible. Once you have your pass and access to the amusement park, you can have unlimited rides.
There were only two rides that Emily was unable to get on due to her height, so plenty of choice for all kids, as well as enough danger and safety to account for the more daring and more cautious visitors. We went on all of the rides bar one, and that was simply because we had run out of time.
Lydia, who is now big enough to go on all of the rides, challenged herself to do everything and boy did she. She even went on the Pendulum – a swinging ride that does a full 360° rotation – despite my fears for her going on it. Leo unfortunately made himself feel quite sick on the spinning teacups so was less inclined to do any further spinning rides.
We ended the day with the 4D cinema which was really good. Lasting around 12 minutes, the movie was very good and the effects were amazing causing the kids to gasp and jump in equal measures. For those who don’t know, a 4D cinema is a 3D movie where the chairs move, wind blows, water sprays, etc., so you get a real immersive experience.
We had taken our own lunch and eaten before we went in, so did not purchase any food whilst there, other than an ice-cream at the end of the day. From what we saw, the prices were as expected in any amusement park, but we cannot comment on the quality. However, the children’s cone, charged at £1.30 at the time we went, was a really good size and come in a teddy bear cone, which the kids loved.
Overall the kids (and us adults) had a fantastic time. The park closes at 4pm and we arrived shortly after 1pm and that gave us just about enough time, so you could easily spend the good proportion of the day there with lots to keep you entertained. Access was really good and we had no problems getting around with the wheelchair.
Read more Great Yarmouth attraction reviews here.
Access to the Pleasure Beach is straight off the strip and apart from Gate A, all other gates could be accessed via a wheelchair. We entered at Gate D, which was the furthest entry point right at the far end of the park. Whilst this was a walk away from the carpark, the entrance meant that we could move across the park, accessing all of the rides, finishing at the exit nearest the carpark – something to consider for anyone going.
The entire venue is wheelchair accessible, although some rides did have steps, the vast majority had either ramp or floor level access. Staff are available to help where needed as well. The design of the park means that it is really easy to move in one direction and access all of the rides, and there is a good mix of rides to accommodate the older and younger child.
Accessible toilets can be found at the following locations:
A radar key is needed for entry and can be borrowed with a £5 deposit from the Food Court (for the Haunted Hotel), from the Pleasure Beach Inn (for the Pleasure Beach Inn toilets) or from the Log Flume photo booth (for the Log Flume toilets).
Alternatively, a radar key can be borrowed with a £5 deposit from Gate A for the Pleasure Beach Inn toilets and for the Log Flume toilets.
Whilst we were at Great Yarmouth we parked in St Nicholas car park which is opposite the sea front attractions. It is a long stay carpark as we were visiting the sea front pretty much all day so that it why we decided to park here.
£6.00 for up to 4 hours
£9.30 for over 4 hours
Try find another working pay machine if one is not working, It will suggest you pay using there app but this adds an additional charge of 20p (It’s not much but it’s a bit cheeky if you have to do this because of there faulty machine).
We parked in the disabled bay however, we did discover on the second day that Blue badge holders can park on the sea front for Free for however long they needed.
Disclosure– We received gifted tickets in return for a review however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Windmill Adventure golf, is along the same road as the St Nicholas car park. It is about a ten minute walk from the car park to the attraction.
As a kid, David loved crazy / miniature golf, but he always complained that most miniature golf courses we had been to were too simple, without enough craziness. Enter Windmill Adventure Golf, a Hollywood themed golf course which has been converted from the historical Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth.
At Windmill adventure golf, each hole has a different theme with some amazing props and gimmicks to entertain you whilst you walk round the venue, taking multiple shots (certainly in my case) to get the ball in the hole. There are 13 holes in total. A warm up hole, which is just a simple ramp to get you into the swing of things, 9 holes within the venue, a ‘gambling hole’ – which is basically a large roulette wheel where whichever number your ball lands on you have to add it to your score – and finally a pinball hole, which if you are skilled enough could earn you a free game.
There were lots of shortcuts and little tricks that you could use to improve your score, provided you looked close enough, and the props were amazing. We loved the second hole (tomb raider), which has you walking into a Jurassic Park themed area with an amazing velociraptor greeting you as you come into the room. Dracula’s lair had a scary warlock in a cage that shook and spoke as you got near to it – and even made Emily move her ball back away from the hole so she didn’t have to go close to it!
Posters of famous stars and interesting pictures are all over the place to recognise the history of Hollywood and even a really cool mirror with a challenge to curl your tongue… you will have to go to see why that is funny.
All of us had an amazing time and the kids loved it. We all got really competitive and even though Leo and I are really bad at golf, we had such a laugh (and a cry at times) playing through. The Las Vegas roulette wheel was a lovely touch and can help to balance the playing field if you are lucky enough to land low – unfortunately David did, so he managed to keep his smug face and win!! – but it helped Emily come second, which she was really chuffed about.
There are tonnes of photo opportunities, really clever (and complex) holes, and amazing props to keep you entertained throughout, with good access for any wheelchair users. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely go again.
You can read more of my Great Yarmouth reviews here.
The building is wheelchair accessible and there is an elevator on the side of the building to allow access for those who cannot leave their chair. There are two holes that cannot be accessed by wheelchair, unfortunately, but that should not deter anyone interested in going as the rest of the venue does make up for this.
This attraction does not have public on-site toilets however, there is a safe crossing just outside of the building and the toilets are across the road along the sea front. They are free to use and were kept in good, clean condition on our visit. I would make sure you visit the toilets before you start playing as it would be quite disruptive if you had to pause the game.
Whilst we were at Great Yarmouth we parked in St Nicholas car park which is opposite the sea front attractions. It is a long stay carpark as we were visiting the sea front pretty much all day so that it why we decided to park here.
£6.00 for up to 4 hours
£9.30 for over 4 hours
Try find another working pay machine if one is not working, It will suggest you pay using there app but this adds an additional charge of 20p (It’s not much but it’s a bit cheeky if you have to do this because of there faulty machine).
We parked in the disabled bay however, we did discover on the second day that Blue badge holders can park on the sea front for Free for however long they needed.
The biggest littlest adventure in town
Disclosure– We received gifted tickets in return for a review however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
We recently explored The Merrivale model village during our long weekend stay at Great Yarmouth. I can’t remember the last time I had visited the seaside in Great Yarmouth however, I do remember walking past the signs for this attraction and always wondering what it looked like inside.
Leo, my son has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for distances so part of this weekend away was to explore accessibility for wheelchair users or people with limited mobility. Fortunately for Leo he did not need the wheelchair around this attraction as there were plenty of seats to stop and rest on and he held on to David’s arm for support. We kept his wheelchair behind reception ready for when we finished.
Upon entrance you are asked if you’d like your photo taken in front of a green screen background, If you did they would give you a ticket to take the the gift shop at the end of your visit where you can view and purchase your photo’s if you wish.
Recently, we have been playing a lot of crazy golf wherever we go and was really surprised when we saw that they had a free crazy golf on site. The clubs and the balls are in buckets for you to use and there are 10 courses to complete. You are advised to wash your hands after you have played which is what we did and would of have done anyway.
We started our visit with a trip through the royal exhibition which was very fitting considering the Queens Jubilee is coming up. Buckingham palace looked incredible with all the mini guards marching in front of the beautiful, iconic building. Emily spotted the Queens corgi within the grounds which made her day as she adores dogs, there were plenty of little model dogs around the village for her to find.
There is so much to see here. Everywhere you look something is happening in the village. The kids enjoyed pressing the buttons to make the models become interactive, and there were quite a few buttons to press which kept young children engaged. I particularly enjoyed finding all the little Banksy artwork around the village, it was fascinating.
We came across an opticians called Spectaculars with Dr I. Lash and a Dentist called Dr McCavity which made us adults laugh as well as the kids. Not only did that make us laugh but if you looked closely at some of the mini characters not all of them are obvious unless you are really looking to see what they are doing but, they will make you chuckle (especially the streaker) so make sure you look at everything. It was all very captivating and we easily spent a good few hours there looking around at all the different scenarios happening, there is definitely something here for everyone and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
There is plenty of benches around for you to sit down and take a breather whilst lapping up the overhead views of this magnificent model village. The entire village is landscaped to showcase beautiful flowers beds for you to appreciate whilst you are there.
In the middle of the village there is a pond full of large, colourful, majestic Koi carps which you could feed. There is a little candy type machine of fish food which costs 20p per turn. The kids really loved doing this and the fish loved it too so I recommend you bring some change with you.
When you have finished looking around you will exit via the gift shop. The green screen pictures that were taken of us upon entrance looked great but Emily had blinked on ours so we didn’t purchase any, the lady behind the counter did say to us that we could have them retaken if we went back to reception but by this time the kids were all hungry and Leos legs were really aching so we decided not to.
In the gift shop I was expecting to be able to buy little mini figures like the ones we had just seen in the village but was surprised that they didn’t sell anything like that. Maybe this is something they could considering doing? Not only did I have my own girls telling me how much they would like to create something similar in our garden but I also heard other peoples children telling their parents the same.
Once you have finished in the gift shop you will then walk into the past to an old penny arcade which Leo absolutely loved, he loves retro stuff like this and it was pretty cool to be able to see how arcades used to look. £1 would get you 12 coins but the kids wanted to go through to the more ‘modern’ arcade with the 2p machines as they got more coins for their money, fair enough. We spent a good half hour in here and it completed our visit perfectly.
To summarise our visit to Merrivale model village I can honestly say we all had a great time here, this attraction is definitely worth a visit if you are planning a trip to Great Yarmouth.
You can read more of my Great Yarmouth reviews here
As I mentioned earlier in the post I am looking particularly at accessibility during our adventures. The model village is set on a platform with the reception, toilets and crazy golf being at the top. There is a smooth path taking you down into the village, this is a steady path down so there are no steep hills to worry about. The only steps here are at the opposite side of the smooth path leading you back up to the toilets but you can still get back to the toilets using the the side you came down on.
The paths can get narrow at some points and in my opinion you can can’t cross other wheelchair users if you are in a wheelchair, you would have to wait at a wider part of the path for your turn. Double buggies will not fit but it is very much accessible for wheelchair users.
Let’s talk about the cost of entrance for a moment. No only is it affordable but you can also re-enter for 7 consecutive days for free (upon proof of purchase) and there is so much to see here.
If you are anything like me I like to know if the places I am visiting have toilets. When your out and about with little ones the last thing you want is to be caught short and have to go on a mad dash to find one. This attraction does have toilets and a slightly larger disabled toilet. They weren’t great but they were clean and did the job.
Whilst we were at Great Yarmouth we parked in St Nicholas car park which is opposite the sea front attractions. It is a long stay carpark as we were visiting the sea front pretty much all day so that it why we decided to park here.
£6.00 for up to 4 hours
£9.30 for over 4 hours
Try find another working pay machine if one is not working, It will suggest you pay using there app but this adds an additional charge of 20p (It’s not much but it’s a bit cheeky if you have to do this because of there faulty machine).
We parked in the disabled bay however, we did discover on the second day that Blue badge holders can park on the sea front for Free for however long they needed.
See more of my Great Yarmouth reviews here.
