Bands In The Park – Hunstanton
VENUE : The Green, Hunstanton, Norfolk
LOCATION : On The Green, right in the centre of Hunstanton
TIME : 2pm to 4pm, Sundays
TRANSPORT LINKS : Trains run from King’s Cross to King’s Lynn, where you can catch a Norfolk Green 35 bus straight to Hunstanton.
If you are not travelling from London, getting to Hunstanton is difficult. Sadly, finding accommodation is an even greater nightmare. This is sadly not a place you can just decide to go to on the day, because the sun is shining. You need to book months in advance, and with Bands In The Park that is rarely a good idea.
On the positive side, the Coasthopper bus service run by Norfolk Green can get you all along the Norfolk coast for £6 a day. There is plenty to see and do, including the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway, and the North Norfolk railway (Poppy Line).
COMMENTS : Hunstanton is unique, and is probably the finest setting of all for Bands In The Park on a perfect summer’s day. You are facing south west as you look at the bandstand, and you will be able to enjoy both the sunshine and the sea view, in the only place where such a combination is possible.
After the band, you can grab a pint of cold beer from the Golden Lion, and sit in the gardens looking at the most spectacular sunset you will find anywhere.
The standard of bands booked is very high. Considering that East Anglia is rural, there are some very good bands in the region, and many of them play on the Hunstanton Bandstand. You won’t find Black Dyke or Grimethorpe playing here, but I was certainly impressed with the standard. Put some of the names of the bands who play here into a search engine, and I think you will be impressed as well.
Although Hunstanton has been a popular seaside town since Victorian times, the bandstand only dates back to 1994. It was donated to the town by a private company, and a very welcome addition it is too. Combine the Sunday band with the rest of what is on offer and the trip is well worthwhile.
MARK : 8/10
WHAT HUNSTANTON COULD DO TO IMPROVE : One thing above all else which is needed in Hunstanton is a back up indoor venue for the bands which play on The Green.
This is a holiday resort, and needs to be providing facilities to people other than those who live in the town. From anywhere which needs you to travel down to London and then back up again, the journey on the day is both expensive and torturous, and we need to know that even if the sunset won’t be there, at least the music will. If you are booking a holiday months in advance, you are already taking enough risk with the weather without having to worry about not hearing a single note when you get there.
Holidaymakers expect to put up with “If Wet – In The Ballroom”, but it is a bit much to put up with “If Wet – Go Home Because You’ve Just Wasted All Your Money”.
The need for a back up wet weather venue is a constant recurring theme throughout the country, but it is needed here more than anywhere.
THE 2010 SEASON
There are some highly rated bands on The Green again in 2010 -
http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=24404&theme=default