The Bungalow

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

Beaches, Boats and The Doggy Diner! 

Review of The Bungalow, Cromer (Crabpot Cottages) by James Waters

As a family we visited Norfolk a couple of years ago. We hadn’t quite got Stanley at this time, but weren’t sure if he would be coming with us so I booked a dog friendly place to stay anyway.  A bit of test on his behalf.  It was a lovely trip to Mundesley on the East Coast of Norfolk just after Christmas 2018 and we were surprised at how dog friendly the area was (not having ventured to Norfolk before) and delighted when we went into a pub which had more dogs than we had ever seen in a bar before (The Ship Inn).  We thought to ourselves, “We are definitely coming back when Stanley arrives.”

A couple of years later, we were hoping to take 2 year old Stanley and family to Norfolk after Christmas, but all was cancelled due to Covid so we had to wait until April this year.    So here we are, moving out of lockdown restrictions and heading to the North Coast of Norfolk to the popular seaside resort of Cromer.  Would it live up to our expectations?

The journey up I had decided to stop half way at a country park somewhat into Suffolk so we could give Stanley a proper walk and get a coffee in a nice environment.  Unfortunately, that was somewhat abandoned as the road to the country park was completely closed with only a navigation expert being able to decipher an alternative route in.  Then at a nearby second choice the park was closed due to a “incident”.  The police guarding the park entrance could only tell us “to look at the headlines for further information”.  We soon discovered coming out lockdown was not all going to be plain sailing.

Undeterred, we gave Stanley a little walk in a country lane and headed on for the rest of the journey.

A few hours later, we arrived at Cromer and made our way to our cottage.  I had booked through Crabtree Cottages after seeing they had some nice dog friendly properties. “The Bungalow” did really give away the general layout of the property. It’s a pretty traditional plot. However, the building itself has been greatly extended giving a good amount of space for a visiting family of 5 or 6.  There are 3 good sized bedrooms and a large diner-come-living-room as well as delightful large garden which wraps around the house creating 3 little areas for their own use.   The real treat of The Bungalow we found was the fresh décor.  This isn’t super luxury, but a lovely, simple refurbishment that makes you feel you are on holiday.  A good space for eating and nice space for gathering to watch the TV with the family.  Stanley, was very taken with it all.  But the garden really was his absolute favourite thing.  The sun would find its place in the afternoon and he was quite happy sitting on the lawn to while away the hours. It’s also completely enclosed with 3ft+ fencing so no ways for him to get out. 

The property is also in quite a good location. It’s away from the busyness of the town/beach, but only about half an hour walk so quite suitable for the daily stroll with your dog.  Certainly most days we ambled into town with Stanley and stopped by the beach, had a drink or headed up towards the cliff and lighthouse.  There are quite a few little walking routes to get your head around.

Cromer itself is quite a traditional seaside resort, with some style to it.  There are a few of the regular high street names but there’s plenty of small independent shops and it’s not been over-developed.  One great thing we did on the first day is take our kids to the putting which they enjoyed and they have a few golf options around the town. Stanley needs to be taken for a walk separately as he gets far too excited by balls moving towards holes!  The beach at Cromer is great, mostly sand with some pebbles.  Also, they have relatively small sections divided with groynes which is good for Stanley as this prevents him running off to far. 

Cromer has a pier that dogs can walk down and there are some beach restrictions during peak season, but they are generally very relaxed.  As we were in Cromer we thought it was only right that Stanley visited the Doggy Diner. Highly rated in our DogFriendly Awards in 2020.  This is a small franchise from the original Doggy Diner in Northumberland.  Lockdown restrictions mean the café was not open inside, but they had created an outside area with benches and tables.  There was a range of options for Stanley’s treat lunch (as well as human paninis/sandwiches which we enjoyed).  However, we thought it only fair that he have the Afternoon Doggy Tea.   A 2 tiered doggy snacks extravaganza including sausage, yummy Cheese Chunks, Woofin, Bonescuit, Pupcake and Tennis Ball. Stanley loved it and we had to take one of the items home just to make sure he didn’t over do it. 

As well as Cromer we also visit Overstand which is only a couple of miles away and there a plenty of other nearby beaches to enjoy for different walks.   On one of the days we drove over to Wells-Next-The Sea.  This has always been a regular feature in votes for the most popular dog friendly beach.  I didn’t want to be disappointed (neither did Stanley).  There is a great café there, as reported, and good little town for having an amble.  I was at first shocked to see a sign saying dogs not allowed on beach.  However, it was just for the right hand section and indeed the good bit of the beach is all dog friendly and a great expanse for Stanley to get rid of his energy.   

On other trips/activities we popped to Norwich on one day and visited the Catherdral which allowed dogs in.  As it was only early April not a huge amount of shops or the Castle was open so we couldn’t visit a lot of places, but sure in time things will all be open again to enjoy.

One of the last days of our holiday we hired a boat from Martham Ferry Boatyard. They are listed on our DogFriedly website (so I was assured they accepted sailors of the more furry variety).   We rented a 6 six-seater electric boat that launched from their base in Martham on the East Coast side of the Broads.  To be honest I didn’t know electric boats existed, but perhaps because some of my limited boating experience has been on the sea.  But it certainly is an easy way to travel, particularly with 3 kids and a dog.  We were super lucky with the weather and on a bright sunny day we pootled around a part of the Broads for half a day.  We went up to a Hickling where there is a small pub.  We got there at 11am and I thought of course it won’t be open until at least 12.00.  However, further disappointment. Due to lockdown it opened on 1st June! Never mind, we headed on to Horsey Mill for the further part of our journey where there was a nice café serving drinks and snacks and during the season you should be able to visit the Mill which is run by the National Trust.

We all had a great day and Stanley certainly got his sea legs – with the help of his doggy life jacket.

The time at Cromer was really good.  After a long winter lockdown it felt great to back out travelling.  There were still some things that weren’t quite open, but it was nice being a little bit quieter.  Stanley definitely enjoyed his time there – The perfect garden, beach walks every day and not forgetting the doggy diner!

BUNGALOW REVIEW BY JAMES WATERS APPEARS IN DOGFRIENDLY MAGAZINE ISSUE 65. FOR  MORE INFORMATION ON THE DOGFRIENDLY MAGAZINE VISIT WWW.DOGFRIENDLY.CO.UK/MAGAZINE.