Blog : My home-from-home holiday!

Words and Photography: Mike Humble

Great Yarmouth: the official AROnline seaside resort.

Well, Summer time is well and truly here and in the ‘Swiss’ household that signals the time to pack a case or two and head off towards the sunshine. Traditionally, we have ventured onto a plane usually heading for the Canary Islands as we are both very much sun worshippers. Last year, we decided to go British in the holiday sense and owing to where we live in leafy Sussex with both Eastbourne and Brighton on our doorstep, we opted to venture somewhere a little further.

Straight away I suggested the Norfolk resort of Great Yarmouth owing to some laughs there in my late teenage years and ‘er indoors having never been. What we both really needed was a proper bucket and spade-cum-fish and chips type of break – Yarmouth is just the ticket.

Having enjoyed our week there last year so much, we opted to book the same Guest house and even secured the same room this time around with its view looking over the beach and sea. Arriving at said hotel, I was greeted by the sight of a trio of R40 models – a brace of 75s and a ZT190 which did make me chuckle, to which ‘er indoors quipped that it was just like being at home.

It then transpired that the guest house proprietor Bob Junker had moved on from his elderly Renault Espace and plumped for a pretty 75 CDT Club SE Tourer. Following a chat after breakfast, I made good a loose carpet sill cover and secured the loose fitting rear seat cushion on his motor (they all do that sir) and again, she made the remark about being at home once again!

Class examples seemed everywhere. Even the leisure centre is called The Marina!

But it didn’t stop there either. We took a walk into the town centre and within the space of less than 100 yards from the hotel, I spotted another 75 and a tidy looking ZR160. So I can confidently report that in the Great Yarmouth area, MG Rover products seem to be the chosen product for the Guest House/Hotel keeper.

And then while wandering along the sea front, I noticed another pair of 75s parked up, so imagine my surprise to then witness a young couple pile into a diesel Rover 75 taxi that swung into an adjacent layby. Its amazing considering the time which has passed since the demise of our beloved Rover and its previous incumbents, that MGR vehicles continue to ply their trade in a professional capacity – I noted three Rovers as taxis.

Anglia House proprietor Bob Junker with his stunning 75 CDT Club SE

So there you go folks, should you be crying to get away to the sea side and be a devoted fan of legacy MG or Rover products, get on the A12 or A47 to Great Yarmouth – you’ll love the fact its clean, tidy and has mile upon mile of unspoilt sandy beaches. Shop-a-holics will note that the fine County City of Norwich is less than 20 minutes by car too!

Bob and Ann Junker run a cracking little Hotel called Anglia House situated on Wellesley Road, of which more information can be found at www.angliahouse.co.uk – they are also devoted petrolheads too by the way.

Mike Humble

12 Comments

  1. Nice to hear something positive about GY albeit mainly 75 based.

    I was in the Marina Centre just yesterday !!

    IMO, GY, Norwich and the villages on the Broads inbetween are all quite spectacular.

  2. There are many MG/Rover products being used as mini-cabs up here in Castleford, both petrol and diesel. Many now with genuine leatherette seat covers fitted, adding to their ambience. It makes getting a ride home on a Saturday night more tolerable and says something for the reliability of the much abused cars, they wouldn’t use them if they were always letting the drivers down.

  3. Try the Beachhouse restaurant (not the cafe) on the seafront close to Princes Street. The Supagrill is like one of those meals on Man Vs Food. You get a platter of meat, eggs and mush plus a bowl of chips on the side.Loverly!

    Other than that Great Yarmouth is my favourite destination (probably as its a freebie with my grandad having a caravan there) as it is such a laid back area to relax.

    Also if you visit Norwich try the Sir Walter Garnett pub in the market square. Great selection of beers and nice home made grub, while the best roasts can be found at the Greyhound Inn at Hickling Broad!

  4. Ah, so Yarmouth is the Rover equivalent of Bournemouth or Eastbourne, where elderly Rovers go to eke out their retirement years…

  5. If you go to the market square, you cannot move for chippys! There must be about 6 practically next door to each other.

  6. Very interesting to read, Mike. It was only last week that I returned home from your spiritual sunbed, the Canary Islands. Or rather Tenerife, to be more precise. That, too, is a Rover Cars/MG Rover Group paradise.

    On day two I got rather excited at the sight of a White Maestro saloon with metal bumpers being driven through Las Christianos (which could have been rather a dangerous sight given I was on the sixth floor of the hotel and the balcony was rather low).

    That was followed over the remainder of the week by spotting half a dozen R3 Rover 200 Series (most with a basic trim spec but definitely fitted with air conditioning), two Rover 25s, a very tidy Sienna Gold 45 saloon for sale on a garage forecourt as we ventured out of the town onto the dual carriageway, a facelift MG ZS finished in Firefrost, two Ignition Blue MG ZRs, a prefacelift MG ZR in Trophy Blue and, to cap it all, one facelift Rover 75 in Royal Blue.

    For fellow Land Rover fanatics, there were quite a few Series 1 Freelanders and Discoverys (1994 – 1998), three 38A Range Rovers (all pre-2000 Model Year), several Range Rover Sports and an example each of the Discovery 3 and Freelander 2.

    But the surprise for me was seeing two examples of the underrated Rover Streetwise and even a Longbridge-built Mini, the former of which really did put a smile on my sunburnt face.

  7. Mike, good to see that you had a good time – both holiday and MGR wise!

    Hope this brings a smile to your face – On Saturday I’m picking up a mint MG ZR 105 (3dr, brg, 29k miles). So my mother could see a picture I introduced her to AROnline this morning. I could not belive it – I’d only been at work an hour or so when I got a text from Mum saying “have you seen Mike Humble’s blog” !!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.