HISTORY-pontins holiday park hemsby on the norfolk coast announced its closure on january 5th 2009 due to rising costs , decline in future bookings and escalating costs in the maintainence of the aging camp . the holiday camp covers 22 acres aprox with accomodation for 2440 holiday makers run by a staff of 55 , when pontins announced the closure of its camp in hemsby near great yarmouth , the shocked staff at the camp were told to pack there belongings and vacate the premises ! this was also a blow to the local community who relied on the holiday resort as a reliable source of seasonal employment , the self catering camp was set up in 1971 with around 500 chalets , the future of this site is uncertain , arguments between locals n councillors carry on to this day , the pontins site like camelot theme park has been designated for leisure purposes only in any redevelopment plans , plenty of housing projects for the site have fallen by the wayside as hemsby councillors try in desperation to bring back the once thriving tourist economy , various tourist plans have also come to no avail , a viking themed visitor park backed by a millionaire and a domed all year camping site resembling something from" logans run" has also fallen by the wayside !
THE EXPLORE- visited with fellow member @Cazel#HT (trusty sidekick) , after gaining access to this wonderful site , we found a lot of previously boarded buildings were now accessible to us , walking round the site was strange ! as in the past i had visited places like this in its bustling prime , we walked round imagining the memories of past holidays in the glorious sunshine in carefree days !
we must of spent a good 4-5 hours checking everywhere out ! we had come a long way ! (5.5hr drive) ...it was sad to see how the camp had soon fallen into disrepair aided by vandalism , we did come across other urban explorers and local youths who used some of the chalets as a drinking den , but the site is big enough for everybody to enjoy it !.....i cannot see anything happening to this site in the near future and it should provide a place for future exploring adventures for years to come ! if your thinking of doing it ? then i would highly recommend it ! i can now tick off a holiday camp on my to do list of abandoned places !
PICS- i used a wide angle lens to give you a better idea of the size n layout of the facility
THE EXPLORE- visited with fellow member @Cazel#HT (trusty sidekick) , after gaining access to this wonderful site , we found a lot of previously boarded buildings were now accessible to us , walking round the site was strange ! as in the past i had visited places like this in its bustling prime , we walked round imagining the memories of past holidays in the glorious sunshine in carefree days !
we must of spent a good 4-5 hours checking everywhere out ! we had come a long way ! (5.5hr drive) ...it was sad to see how the camp had soon fallen into disrepair aided by vandalism , we did come across other urban explorers and local youths who used some of the chalets as a drinking den , but the site is big enough for everybody to enjoy it !.....i cannot see anything happening to this site in the near future and it should provide a place for future exploring adventures for years to come ! if your thinking of doing it ? then i would highly recommend it ! i can now tick off a holiday camp on my to do list of abandoned places !
PICS- i used a wide angle lens to give you a better idea of the size n layout of the facility
