KIETH FARM, SEA PALLING, NORFOLK CAMPSITE REVIEW

Location: Norfolk

We visited 9th - 11th July 2021

NEED TO KNOW

Keith Farm is a Camping and Caravan Club Certified Site (CS).

A CS site is a privately ran site by the Farm/Landowner, however, as it meets certain standards of the Club it's 'recognised' and able to advertise as such. Members and non-members can stay. These sites are often small (some only have 5 pitches), with limited facilities so I recommend phoning ahead/booking in advance. The Motorhome and Caravan Club (previously known as The Caravan Club) have CL sites - Certified Locations. These work in the same way. More on these can be found here and here

This particular site had facilities, eg toilets, showers, electric hook up and hard standing pitches available and these pitches range from £14-18 per unit per night. More info can be found on the Camping and Caravan Club website here.

Like other privately ran farms/Campsites CS/CL Sites occasionally also have land available to 'hire' for Temporary Holiday sites (THS)/Club meets/Rallies or as I like to call them 'pop up campsites' and this is where we stayed for our visit to Keith Farm.

There is a gate - but this wasn't locked (we arrived after 9pm)

It's quite a remote location, 1 shop (Premier shop/post office) and 1 bar apx 10min walk from Kieth Farm Campsite so we advise taking all you need with you for ease.

Beach 3min walk away via some steps over the bank

THE BEACH

Sandy

Clean

Grassy dune banks

Few rip tides, and waves are perfect for body boarders

During the months of May to September the beach is manned by Lifeguards who allocate a safe swimming area marked by flags.

Seals are often spotted

Dogs are allowed all season - but only in allocated areas (on far left) - there is a sign on the entry steps

Toilets are located near a small car park, with fish and chip shop, ice creams and gift shop selling buckets and spades etc.

There is a field around the corner for parking and a few folk also park on the country lane however I don't advise this as it's quite narrow.

OUR TRIP

The weather was forecast to be absolutely amazing - and I'd been craving to go to the seaside for almost a year now - so on Thursday evening, we jumped on the Out and About app and searched for a THS (Temporary Holiday site) that was close to the sea.

There were about 4 to chose from - but Sea Palling was one of my favourite beaches from the uni days so even though it had an extra hour drive time - I knew it would be worth it. The Stewards number was on the post - so we checked availability and it was away we go! Setting off Friday straight after work and arriving around 9.30pm. We had pre-warned the stewards of our late arrival, and they just asked us to ensure we had the correct money in a labelled up envelope with our club details and van reg on for ease.

It's useful to note that some THS's may have limited space available, as well as arrival time cut off periods - especially if there are any barriers - so it's always best to contact before setting off. More can be found about THS sites and the out and About app here and here or do get in touch if you have any questions.

It was a long drive – all A roads – but one we're used to and a breeze in a campervan. Halfway for us there was a McDonalds - so we stopped here for a toilet break and chips! Which Wander was very happy about. She is also most definitely a fan of her new car seat - so much more settled as it's given her a sense of security/something to lean on. She was, however, wary of the Kings Lyn bridge - ducking and cowering bless her... but plenty of cuddles and reassurance and she was fine again – More on travelling with dogs can be found here.

A mentioned, we arrived quite late (9.30pm) but the gate wasn't locked and the Stewards were expecting us.

They showed us to a pitch and we set up. It was a gorgeous little site and the THS 'rally field' cost us £10 per unit per night. It was flat, level, freshly cut, and apx a 3min walk from a gorgeous sandy beach seafront. The stewards were so lovely and welcoming as they always are, and you could hear the sea from the pitch.

After set up we headed over for a late evening stroll on the beach to see the sea and it was so peaceful - felt like we were the only ones on there.

Just head out the gate, turn left and follow the road down until you see some wooden steps, climb up, then down the other side and you're at the beach. NB: this access is not wheelchair friendly, and the concrete steps on the other side are quite steep. There is a ramped access to the beach a bit further along, this is also where the chip shop, bar and souvenir shops are.

Unfortunately, we got back to find the whole van smelling of gas. So we disconnected everything and opened all the doors and windows to air it out - and opted to use the BBQ for everything that weekend just to be safe! As we didn't want to blow ourselves up!

Overall we had a really lazy weekend and basically did nothing other than walk back and forth from the beach and the van.. and it was amazing...

Due to the weather, the beach did get really busy during the peak times of the day – but this was predominantly just near the main entrances – the beech is really long so if you keep walking you'll find it starts to ease off and you can get a nice quiet part to settle and swim/paddle in the sea without the noise and chaos of crowds.

There we a lot of swimmers, bodyboarders, rafters and paddle boarders, and we spotted a seal off in the distance too.

Unfortunately, there was also a dead seal that had been washed up (died of natural causes and had been there a while by the look and smell of it!) but what amazed me was how people had set up 'camp' near to it - eating their lunches - it was grim!!

Dogs are allowed on part of the beach even during peak season and this is still a decent stretch of the beach. in fact, it was quieter and therefore nicer than the other part of the beach and as we were so close to the campsite, we didn't need things like the toilets, shops, bar etc.

Just please if you are taking your dog on a hot day - ensure you have plenty of freshwater (Don't let them drink the saltwater - this will dehydrate them more and give them projectile shits - we know this part from experience) and shade for them and you pick up their doo doos!

On the drive home it got to over 30 degrees and I was a little worried about our fury baby as we don't have air-con - but we had plenty of water, I wrapped her in a cooling blanket, and we had the cold fans on max! But again - please be careful when travelling with animals in hot conditions, and if you'd like some tips on this - click here.