Family Fun At Bowling House, Norwich

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Something you may not know about me is that before I had Erin I was the manager of a leisure facility that included a bowling alley. However, since leaving I have only been bowling once that was a couple of years ago. Erin was only about 1 at the time so she didn’t really get to join in but we decided that it was time to take her for a real game of her own. For this, we chose to go to Bowling House in Norwich.

As a non-driving family we always make sure that we choose places that easy to get to by either public transport or within walking distance. On our visit to Norwich we’d used to train so we had a walk from the train station. This took us about 20 minutes and it’s a really easy and straightforward route. From somewhere in the city like the lanes you can expect roughly a 10 minute walk to Bowling House.

Upon our arrival we were greeted with a friendly smile and welcomed like we were long time friends. John and I got ourselves some bowling shoes and our lane was set up really quickly. As Erin was with us, we had a lane with the bumpers up but to be honest, I probably needed them just as much. Our booking was for 12:30 and at this time there was no one else bowling so we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Just before we really started bowling I headed to the bar to order us all a nice cold soft drink and a couple of small plates of food. We had a big meal booked for later in the day but we wanted something to snack on while we bowled. Our drinks were kindly brought over to us at the lanes so that any waiting time didn’t cut into our game.

Not really knowing what kind of a mood that Erin was in with food, we went for Southern Fried Chicken and Skin on Fries. As soon as the food was brought out Erin jumped up on a high stool and tucked in to the fries. You would think that fries are pretty average where ever you might order from but this was particularly nice. The thyme salt added something that little bit extra and next time I will be ordering more so that I don’t have to share. Southern fried chicken is favourite of mine and ours came drizzled with BBQ sauce. This chicken definitely had a kick to it but the amount was just right.

Even though this was Erin’s first time bowling it didn’t take us long to explain what she had to do and she got right to it! There are plenty of ramps available for children to use and there was a couple of lighter balls on each lane as well. Although we tried to help Erin each time she’s far too stubborn and independent so she was adamant that she would do everything herself.

As expected, Erin didn’t quite stick to just having her turns and instead took a few of mine and John’s as well. The fries sat on the bar behind us were a big distraction and she kept going back for more in between throws! I think we were quite lucky to go at a quiet time as this meant Erin had a bit of room to spread out and we didn’t have to worry about getting in anyone’s way.

Although I used to manage a bowling alley I am absolutely rubbish at it and just hope for the best. It was nice to be in a bowling alley again without having to worry about something going wrong, having to fix it myself or worry about what other people were doing. The chilled out atmosphere made it possible for me to enjoy bowling again and even better that it was with my family.

John loves bowling and always said we don’t do it enough. He couldn’t wait to get a pair of bowling shoes on and to see if any of us could get a strike. I think we all actually managed it with the help of the bumpers and Erin’s ramp! As expected, Erin won both games but we wasn’t really keeping track of the score as we were just having too much fun together to care.

Instead if the impersonal experience you expect from a chain, the boutique Bowling House offers service with a smile, a fantastic atmosphere in a unique setting and somewhere that’s also really family friendly. This might have been our first visit to Bowling House but it certainly won’t be our last.

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