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A Guide to the Major Carnivals in Norfolk
All around the country, summer often means local carnivals – communities coming together to celebrate everything that makes their area a great place to live and work in. Carnivals are a long-standing tradition in the country, bringing together local authorities, businesses, schools, sports clubs and more for parades, fetes, fireworks and more (weather permitting…).
There are plenty of local carnivals and festivals to look forward to if you are moving to Norfolk. As experts when it comes to removals to Norfolk (our home county), here’s our handy guide to the major carnivals held throughout the county.
Wells-next-the-Sea
If you are thinking of moving house to Wells-next-the-Sea, then the North Norfolk’s annual carnival is usually in late July or early August – this year it is on Friday 1st-Sunday 10th August.
As with many carnivals, the parade is the centrepiece, with the procession around the town – the floats are joined by push-and-pull along vehicles (and the Carnival Royals are crowned as well).
However, there’s plenty of other activities going on as well – making use of the coastal location there’s a sandcastle competition, as well as gillying (crabbing on the quay). There’s also plenty of other events which cater too adults as well as children; in previous years there have been craft workshops, guided walks around the town, and plenty of concerts from local artists.
Sheringham
The Sheringham carnival has been going on for around 100 years, dating back to the time when the town first had its own railway station and became a popular seaside resort. If you are interested in removals to Sheringham, then this event too is usually held in early August – this year it is from August 4-10.
However, there are also fundraising events laid on by the Carnival Committee throughout the year – for instance this year there is a Classic Car and Bike Show coming up on June 9th.
The main carnival event includes many of the carnival staples, with a parade, and plenty of activities for the youngsters including a funfair, a puppet show and face painting. There’s also usually a street party.
Cromer
The Cromer carnival is usually held slightly later in August – this year it will be on August 17-23.
There has been a street fair in the resort for many years, but it wasn’t until the 1950s and 1960s that it took on something like its present form. Initially, the carnival all took place on the pier, but now the parade moves around the town and has a Carnival Queen and attendants.
This year the focus will be on the spectacular, with a flypast from the Battle of Britain flight, as well as a display by the Bolddog FMX Motorcycle Display Team – at the Carnival Field in Runton Road.
Appropriately for the resort, there are plenty of traditional contests such as children’s fancy dress, Bonny Baby and Glamorous Granny.
Norwich
Norfolk’s county town has a Lord Mayor’s Weekend, which is probably the nearest equivalent to a carnival; it started in mediaeval times when the Norwich Guild welcomed the new Lord Mayor.
This year, the event is being held on July 13 and 14. Norwich’s Lord Mayor’s Weekend has many of the components of a traditional carnival – such as a procession and floats – as well as a giant street party, bands, dancers, acrobats and giant puppets.
This year’s event will end with a concert in Chapelfield Gardens in the city centre on the Saturday evening followed by a duck race on the Sunday.
Removals to Norfolk with Hamiltons Removals
If you are interested in removals to Norwich, Wells-next-the Sea, Cromer, Sheringham or any part of Norfolk, then Hamiltons Removals can help.
We have more than three decades’ worth of local experience in helping homeowners and businesses move to the county. Follow this link if you’d like an online quote to set the whole process in motion. You can also book a video survey if that’s more convenient for you.
Key Trends from the UK’s Self Storage Industry’s Annual Report
Although the UK’s self-storage industry has had to cope with a number of challenges in the past year, the overall picture is still a healthy one; it’s now officially a £1billion business which continues to adapt and grow throughout the country.
Here Hamiltons Removals, who offer secure self-storage in the heart of East Anglia, take a look at the annual report which has just been issued by the UK’s Self Storage Association.
The Overall Picture
The overall occupancy rate of all self-storage facilities is down 2.5 percentage points compared to last year. This may be down to high rate of inflation and a depressed housing market, both of which impact the demand for house moves – a key driver for any self-storage business. Commercial customers have also been finding it tough, not just with inflation, but also with high energy prices in their main premises, meaning they may have less cash to spare for any storage.
However, the self-storage sector now has a £1.08bn turnover across the UK (up from £990million in the previous 12 months) – and falling inflation (as well as predicted cuts in interest rates) should mean 2024 is an even better year for the industry.
The past 12 months has also seen an 8% increase in the total amount of storage space on offer; and there has also been a small but significant change in the customer base. Previously, domestic customers outnumbered commercial ones by almost three to one (73% to 27%), nowadays it’s nearer two to one (66% to 34%).
The Use of Technology
Self-storage companies are increasingly making use of the latest technology. This is not just in the booking process, with more of the admin completed online, but in the security systems as well. Although many businesses still have traditional forms of security such as keypads, locks, CCTV cameras and internal alarms, more and more facilities are using biometric identification as a form of security, as well as digital locks to help keep belongings safe and secure.
The report also notes that some companies are investigating drones and driverless cars as a method of getting the possessions (or stock) in or out of the storage unit autonomously.
The Main Reasons to Use Self Storage Remain the Same
For all the changing economic landscape, and the hi-tech advances, the main reasons for using self-storage remain the same. So many domestic self-storage customers have experienced a major life event such as a death in the family (so their items need to be stored somewhere) or an elderly relative moving back in (and so more space needs to be created). The report notes this accounted for 12% of the total percentage of users.
Other homeowners needed more space while they carried out a renovation project (24%). Moving house is still a key driver for the industry – either because the customer is between homes, or they have downsized and haven’t got enough space for everything (in total, 32% of those surveyed cited either of these two reasons).
Commercial users who responded to the survey often needed somewhere to put excess or seasonal stock, or to just create more space at work generally (13%). And sometimes the people use a storage facility for a mixture of both commercial and domestic reasons – a lot of people are still working from home after the coronavirus pandemic and so need more space to create a home office.
Safe ‘n’ Stored – Secure Self Storage in East Anglia from Hamiltons Removals
At Hamiltons Removals, whatever reason you need self-storage for, you are guaranteed a high-quality, purpose-built facility with a high level of security. We have two Safe ’n’ Stored sites at Harleston and Aldeby, both on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Our Harleston facility offers self-storage rooms of varying sizes, while Aldeby has self-storage containers ranging from 5’ to 20’ in size, making it ideal for larger items and vehicles such as motorbikes and caravans. Both sites are protected by CCTV cameras.
Our Harleston site also sells a range of high-quality packing materials via our online shop. We would recommend these if you are moving house or using self-storage – we stock various specialist products such as sofa covers and wardrobe cartons. You can also buy packing paper in our online shop as well.
- The SSAUK annual report was completed by 72 different self-storage businesses, who own 688 storage facilities between them. It covers the 2023 calendar year, but all the data was collected between January and February 2024.
The public element of the survey was conducted by polling firm YouGov on behalf of the SSAUK. The information was collected on two days in January this year and more than 2,000 self-storage customers took part.