TIM HUGHES’ great expectations are rewarded as the penny really drops at Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth

THIS summer the country has been celebrating the best of British.

The Jubilee and the Olympics have all had us pinning up bunting and waving the Union flag.

Along with that has come a new-found pride in other, unsung, yet quintessentially British inventions; fetes, street party, and, now the sun is out, the great British seaside.

Deck chairs, candy floss, arcades, breezy beaches, piers and proper fish and chips; the traditional seaside resort is back. More of us are revisiting our favourite stretches of coast for a taste of nostalgic fun. And what better way than that other British institution – the caravan?

Once cheap and cheerful, though somewhat lacking style, parks have raised their game to woo holiday-makers spoilt by Spain and Greece’s delights. And they are succeeding.

At the edge of Great Yarmouth, Vauxhall Holiday Park is a classic example of how the once-humble caravan park is attracting families (and it is mostly families) forgoing the Med in favour of the British briny.

Here, between the flatlands of the Norfolk Broads and East Anglia’s brashest resort, is an oasis of uncomplicated fun. It may be short on fine dining, high culture or boutique accommodation – it’s a caravan park for heaven’s sake – but those mobile homes are fine; kitted out like small cottages, with comfy lounges, flat-screen TVs and stereos, and adjoining kitchen/ diners with spanking new fittings.

If you were brought up on caravan holidays, it’s a nice surprise.

The focus of the park is its swimming pools. Again, dismiss any dated notions of cold water and knobbly knees contests. Vauxhall’s high-roofed, glass-walled Waterworld features toddlers’, children’s and adult areas, with a little rapid kids’ chute, a small water slide for the tots and a truly terrifying one for only the brave.

If you are lucky with sun there’s a fun outdoor splash area. But we weren’t – though the heated indoor pools more than made up for it, along with the mini-karting track, bowling alley, a new and, according to our seven- and nine year-olds, Danny and Eddie, “pretty awesome” treehouse adventure playground, and, to their delight, and my dread, a cavernous, luridly-lit, amusement arcade.

Fearing bankruptcy I was pleased to see even this was aimed at nippers, with fun, and cheap, penny falls and good old-fashioned air hockey. My initial reluctance to shell out dissolved as I dropped one, then another tuppence into the copper cascade which surely just needed one more coin to push the whole lot into my hands... maybe one more... Okay, it is addictive, but stakes are small and winning is so sweet.

More healthy fun can be had at laser combat, archery, or bungee trampoline – acrobats fastened to rubber cords and spinning into the sky with hoots of delight.

It is unlikely you would pitch up at a caravan park for a romantic break (unless you have a serious penny-fall habit). But there is plenty for grown-ups: tribute acts, singers, discos, comedians and a cheap bar (important for a captive audience).

But younger revellers are the real winners, with a popular evening kids’ club of party games, talent contests and dancefloor strutting, hosted by surprisingly talented comperes, and the star... park mascot Louie the Lion.

While this camp leonine monarch, with his cloak, crown and ringlets was lost on me, hundreds of normally sensible kids turned into starstruck devotees.

If it all gets too much, get out. Great Yarmouth has a pier, pleasure beach, and all the kiss-me-quick fun you desire. It also has traces of its glorious past as a thriving herring port – and an enlightening European award-winning museum in an aromatic old smokehouse.

Great Yarmouth Sealife Centre is unmissable – stunning luminous jellyfish, and an overhead shark tank. Head the other way, and you have the Broads’ reed-fringed, watery loveliness. BeWILDerwood, near Wroxham is a beautiful complex of treehouses and aerial walkways, sllides, ladders, climbing frames and swings draped, reached by boat. It feels like entering the realm of hobbits or elves.

The best nature reserve is at Ranworth Broad, where the Norfolk Wildlife Trust has laid boardwalks through the fens to its floating visitor centre to spot birds and elusive otters. It’s nice to get a break from the relentless fun - until you are drawn back by the sound of tumbling pennies and the hoots of laughter from children having the time of their lives.