There are lots of things we could list as the perfect holiday home treat. There’s the freedom of having somewhere of your own to go to, whenever you want. There’s that feeling of knowing the area, and exploring it at your own pace. Or then again there’s that real treat of not exploring at all; just chilling. We all need that once in a while. But, we are talking holidays here. And what do we love to do on holiday? Have an ice cream of course.
Wherever you have your own UK holiday home you’re never far from an ice cream - and you wouldn’t want to be.
You’re in Suffolk ice cream territory at Broadlands Park & Marina
And that’s good news. Suffolk is a super place to have your own holiday home, like at Broadlands Park & Marina. It’s a county of seaside and countryside; a holiday home here means you’re close to the Broads and well within reach of secluded byways, as well as great attractions. The absolutely lovely town of Southwold is a must when you’re in Suffolk. It’s renowned for its super shops, magnificent pier, art galleries and historic beach huts. And of course there’s Adnam’s Brewery. But, if you fancy something a bit sweeter than award winning bitter, you can find some wonderful ice cream in Suffolk.
Check out Alder Tree Fruit Ice Cream from Alder Carr Farm. Made from natural and local ingredients using artisan methods, these tangy creations come in a range of a dozen or more flavours.
Look out too for Parravani’s Ice Cream, founded in 1898 and East Anglia’s oldest independent ice cream producer - in fact they’re the longest established ice creamery in the UK! Their range of premium ice cream is stunning, offering traditional Italiian gelato and they even offer ice cream for the dog as well. Parravani’s is just across the border from the Waveney River Centre in Norfolk, so where better to have a holiday home than just a few short miles away from an ice cream factory.
Some of Norfolk’s finest food producers include Ice Creameries
Speaking of Norfolk, the fine city of Norwich has long been a purveyor of fine foods, like the long-gone Caley’s chocolate factory (where the first packet of Rolo’s was created) to the iconic Colman’s mustard and Kettle chips.
Today, Norwich is home to a variety of ice cream producers, like Lakenham Creamery with their factory shop and longstanding spot on Norwich Market, and Ronaldo Ice Cream who you’ll spot in many restaurants and shops around Norfolk and Suffolk. There’s even the award winning Booja Booja, a vegan confectionery company making delicious dairy free ice cream since 2007.
Or if seaside ice cream is more your style, there’s plenty to be had along the coast of Norfolk. Caldecott Hall Country Park is the perfect base to explore the best of Norfolk’s seaside towns and villages (and in turn explore all the ice cream flavours), just a short drive away from Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.
Mablethorpe Park, Lincolnshire is somewhere you’ll like if you like ice cream
On the coast road between Mablethorpe and Skegness you’ll find Farmer Browns Ice Cream in Alford. This ice cream parlour is the place to savour an outstanding treat - it’s ice cream made from the dairy of the company’s own Holstein Friesian cows.
Just down the road and being the classic British seaside resort it is, Skegness is rather well served when it comes to cafes and ice cream parlours. Away from the coast, historic Lincoln has plenty of choice too - look out for The Ice Cream Parlour between the Castle and Cathedral.
Redcar Beach, North Yorkshire has a place in ice cream history
Your own caravan holiday home at Redcar Beach gives you the best of the seaside in Teesside AND one of the best ice creams ever. The legendary Lemon Top was created here on Redcar sea front; a nostalgia trip for locals and and a serious treat for all of us. This dairy ice cream in a cone with a big blob of lemon sorbet on top is sheer bliss.
Just over an hour inland from Redcar Beach you’ll find High Jervaulx Farm, the home of Brymor Ice Cream. Some would say is the home of real Yorkshire ice cream. We couldn’t possibly enter into the discussion but let’s just say it’s good. Really good.
South Shore, East Yorkshire is another spot on the ice cream map
Burgess Ice Cream have been around since the 1920s and their range of flavours covers the traditional favourites and some modern twists. That blend of modern and traditional pretty much sums up the benefits of a holiday home at South Shore. All the up to date facilities you need are on hand and you’re right next door to all the traditional charms of a seaside town like Bridlington. Charms like strolling along the sea front - with an ice cream.
The 99 ice cream - a quintessential British treat
Celebrating the diverse regionality of the UK is important, but there is one thing we should perhaps add to this list of ice cream treats. Something that’s rather more national than regional. In fact it’s universal in its appeal. Let’s hear it for ’99’.
There are perhaps more sophisticated ice cream treats available to us, but the ’99’ is always in the top 10 favourite seaside food treats. There are rules - a ’99’ has to be served in a cone, It has to be made from soft serve ice cream and vitally, it has to have a Flake in it.
It was rapidly disputed and disproved that the name came from the price it once was - 99p. The name comes from the Flake bar itself - in the 1930s, Cadbury’s introduced their ‘small Flake for ice creams’, calling the Flake ’99’ because the ice cream trade was dominated by Italian’s and in Italy ’99’ meant elite, from when the king’s elite guard consisted of 99 men.
Across the country, from Norfolk to North Yorkshire, from Lincolnshire to Suffolk, you can rely on a ’99’. Even now, in a world of artisan and hand made ice creams, the ’99’ is the defining cornet full of happiness. Being happy is what being on holiday is all about. And you’ll be really happy in your own UK holiday home. With an ice cream.
That whistle stop tour of some great UK holiday home locations and their ice cream connections shows how varied and interesting the UK is nowadays. Local producers make food and drink more interesting than ever. Farms, breweries, wineries, butchers, bakers and all manner of businesses, large and small, mean we have more choice, more food markets and more independent shops than ever.
Having a holiday home in the UK gives you the chance to explore all of that. Greener than flying to other countries and financially more sensible than many other investments, a holiday home here is a great opportunity in so many ways.
