Great Yarmouth Beach

The seafront at Great Yarmouth stretches for miles - proper old-school British seaside, the kind where you can still smell the salt air and hear the gulls before you see the beach itself. It's a working town rather than a manicured resort, which means actual character: amusement arcades next to chip shops, donkey rides (if you're into that), and enough sandy space to avoid the crowds even in peak season.

What you get is a traditional pebble and sand beach with a long promenade behind it. The pier's been through its ups and downs over the years, but there's still the seafront amenities - deckchairs, refreshment stands, the usual. It's free to access, naturally, and you can spend as little as an hour or an entire afternoon depending on whether you're after a paddle and an ice cream or a proper seaside day out.

Families with young kids will get a solid few hours here. Teenagers might find it dated. But if you're staying at one of the Haven parks dotted around - Seashore's barely two miles away, Caister-on-Sea even closer at four miles - then Great Yarmouth Beach is an obvious half-day addition. It's not going to blow your mind if you've seen Mediterranean coastlines, but for what it is, it's genuine Norfolk seaside without the pretension. Walk the promenade at dusk when the light's decent. That's when it works best.