Trade booms as sunshine greets Easter weekend

Glorious Easter weekend weather saw visitors flocking to tourist attractions in the area.

Businesses saw an influx of trade as people enjoyed what was the hottest Easter Monday on record.

Temperatures reached up to 24C in Lynn, as it proved to be a productive weekend for tourism.

Pensthorpe Natural Park at Fakenham saw attendances up by 96 per cent this year.

Jo Atherton, marketing manager, said: “Over the four days compared to the same days last year, we are 96 per cent up so we have had a cracking Easter.

“The weather has helped massively and a lot of other businesses will have benefitted as well.

“It’s one of the main holidays of the year so people want to get out and local residents are using services like ours on the doorstep.”

Ice cream also proved a popular treat in the warm weather, especially for those visiting the beach.

Daisy Wallis, of The Pavillion ice cream parlour in Hunstanton, said: “We were really, really busy and sold loads of ice cream.

“The weather helped with bringing tourists into Hunstanton and we could not have wished for it to be better.”

She added the parlour also did well during the Easter weekend last year too.

Damien Boy, a barman at Hunstanton pier Family Entertainment Centre, said: “It was absolutely heaving to be honest.

“It’s always like that if it’s nice weather. We had people using indoor and outdoor facilities.

“People were out on the Green then coming in for a drink.”

The weather is not looking as good this weekend with the Met Office forecasting light showers in Lynn by Saturday lunchtime, and heavy rain on Sunday. Temperatures will drop to a high of11C on Sunday.