A page I add to when I feel joy in Great Yarmouth.
Swimming along the Dunes
It’s a long walk to the sea and the marram grass stings at your ankles but it is worth it. The shingle shelves off quickly and you can feel the current dragging you along the beach. A slick, black seal might just appear in the distance to observe you as you let the waves lift you up and drop you back down.
Wide skies
There are none wider. No mountain or hill will impede your view of cumulonimbus or altostratus. The rain will be no surprise to you when you run along the front. You can look out at the great expanse, feel the pressure change and look for shelter.
Chips (2 types)
There are (fish and) chips and there are chips (on the market). Chips on the market are just chips but they are accompanied by any combination of condiment you can imagine. Blue cheese sauce and onion vinegar is a go to. Grated cheese and curry sauce another.
Snow
It is rare now but I loved the way the orange salt on Haven Bridge flecked the fresh snow when I was a child. To crunch along the seafront and let your face get tingly and numb from the bitter sea air is winter joy.
Huge ships
I don’t know what they do. I suspect it has something to do with oil rigs or wind turbines but I’m in no hurry to demystify them. Here they are, safe on the river but soon they will be rolling into galeforce winds and the great North Sea.
Scroby Elbow 