Hemsby
Hemsby is a village, civil parish and seaside resort in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 12 km north of the town of Great Yarmouth.[1]
The civil parish has an area of 7.14 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 2973 in 1221 households. Hemsby borders the towns of Winterton-on-Sea and Scratby. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Great Yarmouth.[2]
A Norfolk county map dated around 1610 shows a headland, called Winterton Ness, extending into the sea north-east of Hemsby. This headland has now almost entirely disappeared through coastal erosion.
Culture
Beaches
The beaches are one of the major tourist draws in the town, with miles of unspoilt sandy coastline. Large sand dunes form a natural barrier between the beach and the town behind it. One of the more unusual features of the beach is a scattering of anti-tank blocks across the beach, left over from the World War II coastline defences.
Town facilities
The main part of the town centre lies along Beach Road, approximately 1.5 miles long and running from the residential part of the town right to the beach.
The upper end of the road is populated by houses and accomodation parks, comprising primarily of chalets and caravans. The largest of the accomodation parks is a branch of Pontins.
At the beach end of the road are a large number of cafes, shops and amusement arcades. A growing number of facilities are owned by the company Bevans of Hemsby Limited, and operate under names Bevans, Mrs B and Mr B.
Hemsby is renowned for its amusement arcades, and at the peak of arcade video gaming in the 1980s and 1990s had a huge selection of games on offer. The major arcades include the Oasis, Sands, Saturn Palace, The Mirage, Crystals. Today, as with virtually all of the other amusement arcades, the video games are nearly all gone now, with just fruit machines taking their place.
A variety of seaside-style cafes and restaurants are available, offering everything from sit down meals to take-away fish and chips. Many of the arcades have cafes inside them, offering snacks and ice creams as well as hot food.
Fun fairs, crazy golf courses and childrens rides also feature on a number of sites along the street.
Institutions
Charities
Hemsby is home to the Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service (better known as Hemsby Lifeboat), an independent and voluntary lifeboat service that operates within the nearby coastal areas and the broads. The institution is independent of the RNLI, relying entirely upon public donations in order to operate.
Each year a fund raising day, Hemsby Lifeboat Day, is held on the beach, with a variety of stalls and booths to attract visitors.
Testimonial
Hemsby is a beautiful town with many exciting and interesting features, such as the large sand dunes and the old church. It is a perfect place for people of all ages to take their holidays.
Its where The festival BLOC-WEEKEND is to take place, Roughly 2500 Hardcore Ravers will cause intense vibrations of energy that will be felt for miles. As a fourteen year old girl who has been going here all her life, it is a magical place that life is unimaginable without.I seriously suggest anyone who reads this to take a holiday and see the magic for themselves. It is very close to places such as Potter Heigham, where children can feed the ducks and Wroxham where there are several shopping malls ( Roys of Wroxham ). This town has it all: chinese food, a beautiful beach, more slot machines than you can throw a stick at and of course the magic that must be included in any seaside town.
I cannot put any pictures of hemsby on at this time but will return and add them when I ask my mum where she put them.
Lauren Steele Aged 14 and 7 months Mexborough, South Yorkshire.
References
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads. ISBN 0-319-23769-9.
- ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.
External links
- Map sources for Hemsby.
- Information from Genuki Norfolk on Hemsby.
- Hemsby Parish Council website
- Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service website
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