25 Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth - 01493 846 346 info@LoveHemsby.co.uk

Hemsby along with much of the Norfolk coast was targeted by the Vikings, who initially raided the area in search of precious materials and slaves. The village was founded at some point during this time. The settlement grew steadily and is listed in the Domesday Book under the name of Haimesbei with a description of "a hamlet covering 43 meadow acres with 50 households, 3 slaves, 2 salt pans and 160 sheep."

The beaches are one of the major tourist draws in the village, with miles of sandy coastline. Large sand dunes form a natural barrier between the beach and the village behind it. One of the more unusual features of the beach is a scattering of anti-tank blocks across the beach, and a concrete bunker, left over from the World War II coastline defences. Erosion is a major problem in the surrounding villages of Winterton-on-Sea and Caister where sandy cliffs are being destroyed by the forces of the sea. Hemsby's dunes are also being eroded, previously the wide beach has made the effect less noticeable, but the rate of erosion has increased significantly in the past two years, threatening homes, the local lifeboat station and the villages tourist industry. In 2013 a campaign was started to 'save hemsby beach': 'DIY' Sea defences are being built in attempt to stem the erosion.

Hemsby is split into two parts: Hemsby Village and doomsday Beach. Hemsby Village is mainly the residential area located about a mile inland. Kingsway is an area of the village which includes a SPAR shop, hairdressers and Chinese restaurant. This is also the main location for buses into Great Yarmouth and Martham. St Mary the Virgin Church was built in the 12th century and is a landmark in the village. The Scroby Sands wind farm was built in 2003 and is clearly visible from the village and the beach. The Blood Hill wind farm is also near the village in Winterton.

The tourist-based part of the village lies along Beach Road and is commonly known as Hemsby Beach. It features funfairs, crazy golf courses and children's rides. The beach end of the road has cafes, shops and amusement arcades, while at the upper end are houses and accommodation parks, consisting mainly of chalets and caravans. The largest of the accommodation parks was a branch of Pontins, but this closed suddenly in January 2009 after a review from Pontins new owners Ocean Parks.

Following the Pontin's closure in 2009, Hemsby's traders started a fight-back to prosperity by engaging brand expert Simon Middleton, known as The Brand Strategy Guru, to re-invigorate the resort's image. Focusing on the village's Viking origins, Middleton proposed a new strapline for the resort "1200 years of seaside fun" with an accompanying logo showing a laughing Viking brandishing a bucket and spade. The Viking theme was continued with the announcement of Norfolk's first Viking Festival held in June. The festival included a Viking encampment and re-enactments of battles, as well as a Scandinavian market and music. Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA, was invited to perform at the festival, and to judge an ABBA tribute band competition.

Hemsby got further attention from the media and from politicians when plans were announced for an "Eden of the East" project involving an eco-tourism park based on the old Pontin's site. The project, designed to be environmentally friendly will provide revolutionary 'open air' camping all-year-round inside giant geodesic domes.