We took the opportunity to take our campervan out again this bank holiday weekend. It was a lot warmer than her maiden voyage and so it felt like we had a bit more space. We stayed at Kelling Heath and had a great family weekend (with a little teenage mood swing sprinkled on top). Here is a little more about Kelling Heath so you can make the most out of your campervan trip.
We booked this campsite last minute as the weather was looking so dismal, we wondered if we should camp at all. But we figured this site would be fun regardless of the weather! I’m glad we did, when we arrived at Norfolk the sun was shining and it ended up being a beautiful weekend.
Things to do from around the campsite
We went for a walk from the campsite down to Weybourne beach. The route is easy and mostly off road, there is one short bit where we had to walk on the country road (<50m) otherwise it was all pathways. The route takes you over the North Norfolk Railway bridge at Weybourne station and there was an event on this weekend. We stood watching the singers and steam trains. The singers were singing 1940’s style songs and dressed in that style too. It was lovely to hear them singing. There are lots of lovely walking routes from Weybourne station and you can stop and enjoy delicious food there too.
The steam trains entertained us. Lots of fun to be had standing on the bridge above a steam train. It blew a loud whistle, which pierced our ears, and after a few big puffs of smoke the train started on its journey. The kids loved it, which made me smile as I thought we were over the amazement of trains at 13 and 11.
The walk to Weybourne beach took us just over an hour, the walk takes you past a lovely pub and cafe. The beach itself is stoney, but proved a nice shelter from the wind, so I can imagine it is a good sunbathing spot. You can walk along the cliffs, I took a lovely photo of Hubby looking out at sea (can you see him below?). If you are following the Norfolk Coast Path you can cut across the beach to pick it up from one side to the other.
Kelling Heath Campsite
Kelling Heath is ginormous. There’s a combination of campsites and lodges, with a large central point (the square) that has restaurant, bar and entertainment in the evenings. Also, a shop and swimming pools. Oh and the WiFi! We had limited signal at the Van, which is nice in some respects, so we downloaded lots of songs and movies to entertain us at our pitch.
There are 3 main camping areas, each with its own facilities block and all pitches have the ability to provide electricity (if you need it). We stayed in the Blue Butterfly area, right by the facilities block and had a huge pitch. Which seemed a little overkill for the van, but we soon filled that with our travel Badminton set! FYI Dogs are only allowed in the red area. Our pitch was surrounded by other caravans, campervans and mobile homes, making it perfect for a campervan trip. We stayed on pitch 280, I think you can specify which pitch you want if you like the look if it.
The facilities are brilliant. The toilet and shower block was very clean and warm, cleaned each day we stayed too. The showers were so hot which is perfect. However, the tap lasts 15 seconds which is highly irritating when you’re washing your hair. A minute would be much more appropriate. There are hair dryers too which is useful for this time of year, they lasted 18 minutes (much better). There are approx 8 showers, 4 hair dryers, 8/10 sinks and 8/10 toilets (I didn’t count so just going on memory). I never had to wait for a shower, toilet or sink.
Washing up and bins are neat and tidy too, bricks for your bbq’s and a bbq bin. Lots of details that make it more pleasurable to stay. The sinks have hot and cold water taps, plugs and a draining rack. You will need to provide your own sponges, washing up liquid and towels.
There is a huge sports field with climbing frames near our pitch too, so it was nice to let the kids go off and have some fun playing whilst we did the washing up! They enjoyed the large climbing frame, timing each other to get across the course. It was nice to see them playing together and being creative, even if they did use their phones to time and video themselves.
The square had a lot going on; the shop sold most things and the prices were reasonable for a campsite. The kids went in there daily to get their sweet fix, we also got a ball game which the children loved to play with at the pitch. There is a restaurant which had the most amazing roast dinner smells coming from it on Sunday, a bar if you just want a drink and a WiFi hub where the kids can download their stuff.
During holidays there are events and pop-up eateries: we saw lots of fun acts and ate yummy waffles during bank holiday weekend. They had some great activities on during the day too, Noah and Hubby did a spot of Archery on Sunday morning. There are table tennis tables all over the site, so don’t forget your bat and balls. The outdoor pool is only open in the Summer months, as it’s cold. The indoor pool was open and quite busy, but you have to pay for a day pass (so you can go in at any time during that day for as long as you want) and it was just over £4.50 for the kids and £7.50 for the grown ups. There is a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room too.
You will not get bored at this site, just walking around Kelling Heath will keep you occupied as there are 300 acres of land. It is a beautiful setting and near some fantastic countryside walks. We will definitely be going again.
You can find all the information on how to book pitches on the Kelling Heath website, or get booking information for the lodges too (some of them look amazing). Have you got any campervan trips booked in?
