Kessingland Beach Holiday Park | Parkdean Resorts
Have you been following me on Instagram? You may have been sitting at home, nice and cosy during the course of the Beast from the East taking over the U.K. however we were on a beach holiday. Yep, that was a first for us… a U.K. beach holiday in the snow. Still, we had a wonderful time, especially thanks to the amazing staff as Parkdean’s Kessingland Beach holiday park. Here’s why we had such a lovely time despite the snow.
The Caravan
As with all our Parkdean holidays up and down the U.K. we booked our holiday in a caravan. When it was booked, we hadn’t anticipated the massive storm that would head our way. The first few days were spent there however and we had a very pleasant stay (albeit rather windy and noisy during the storm!) We were just a few steps away from the beach, and could see the sea from the window.
Sadly they are not really equipped for the ridiculous amount of snow that we had to contend with during our stay and the pipes kept freezing over which meant no flushing toilet, no running taps and no showers. With small children it wasn’t ideal. The first couple of nights we filled up buckets, saucepans, the kettle and the sink with water to prepare for it. On the second day, however, as the weather continued to get worse, the team at Kessingland Beach decided it was best to move us.
The chalet
Thanks to the mad snow, we were relocated to the (luckily) mostly empty chalets where the heating was working properly and thankfully still had running water. The chalet was actually really lovely, and would definitely be on our list of options for booking in the future. It was also a short walk from the shops and facilities, which was good as my car was snowed in back at the caravan.
The facilities
We didn’t really get a chance to properly check out the facilities thanks to the snow. Mostly we tried to stay indoors out of the insane wind and stormy weather. The closed the pool too thanks to the Beast from the East, so we missed that out entirely.
The restaurant
The restaurant we did use a few times however. Although we had made it to the local Morissons before the snow, we made the decision to have our final meal at the on site restaurant and it was so lovely. The meal was beautiful, it was great to have a few drinks as I wasn’t driving, and the girls loved being able to get out and crunch through the snow on the way there.
Arcade games and soft play
I actually forgot to take pictures of the arcades and soft play, but the girls loved it there. A short walk through the deep snow and they could run around in the warm interior of Kessingland Beach holiday park’s main complex exploring a variety of games and of course the soft play. John’s favourite thing was being able to get a Costa there!
Outdoor play area
I’m pretty sure somewhere on site there was outdoor play equipment. However, with the Beast from the East bringing in so much snow everywhere was a play are to my girls. They loved stomping through the fresh snow to leave behind footprints and Squidgy had her first experience of making snow angels!
On site entertainment
Whilst we don’t usually stick around for the on site entertainment, Squidgy was so excited to actually get to meet one of Parkdean’s mascots… even better she was a pink, girl rabbit with a princess crown! It’s so nice to see Squidgy enjoying characters like these, as she used to be absolutely terrified of them.
The beach
Although we only went to the beach over the first couple of days before we were relocated to the chalets, it was so nice to be so close to it! We enjoyed a couple of very cold walks down to the beach, enjoying the totally bizarre experience of seeing a snowy beach with waves crashing into it.
In spite of the Beast from the East trying to put a downer on our holiday, we still had the most amazing time. I am so grateful to the amazing staff at Kessingland Beach, who went out of their way to offer free tea and coffee, relocate us in their own 4x4 that could move through the snow and did such an amazing job of looking after us all.
For more posts about our family adventures, from UK staycations to days out for kids visit my Travel blog. If you have any questions about Hill Farm pick your own and farm shop, feel free to ask in the comments section below.
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