_Visit the seals by boat
The seal colony at Blakeney Point, Norfolk
If you're coming to Norfolk and want to experience the natural world, you must visit the seals – Norfolk is home to the country’s largest colony. The seals are there year-round, but come in Winter and enjoy one of England’s most extraordinary wildlife spectacles, the Grey seal pupping season.
The seals are very inquisitive and often pop up and swim around the boats which can usually sail close to the basking seals on the beach, providing a great opportunity for taking pictures.
How many seals are at Blakeney?
The colony at Blakeney Point is made up of Grey seals, the Common seals having gone elsewhere on the Norfolk coast as the Greys have become dominant. In recent winters Blakeney has been the biggest colony in England with up to 9,000 pups born around Christmas. You’ll be amazed at the sheer scale of the spectacle, with tender moments between mothers and pups, playful interactions, and fierce fighting between male seals, which can weigh up to 400g.
The Greys have their pups between November and January, suckling for about three weeks during which time they grow very quickly because of the richness of their mum’s milk. When they've developed a layer of blubber, after about 16 days, they moult the fluffy white fur they are born with, leaving a grey, smooth coat behind.
The water off the Norfolk coast is rich in herring and sprat for the seals to eat.
A cow with a young pup at Blakeney Point
The long-term growth of the Blakeney Point seal colony, and its status as England’s largest Grey seal colony, has been confirmed by data from the Seal Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews, which was attended by Norfolk resident Prince William, The Prince of Wales.
• Pup numbers have increased by more than three-quarters (77%) in just five years from 5,036 in 2018 to 8,946 in 2023.
• Over the past decade, pup production has increased more than five-fold from 1,614 in 2013.
• With no natural predators, growth at Blakeney Point has outpaced national increases, making it England’s largest Grey seal colony.
Grey seals are the larger of the two species, with big speckles on their coats and longer pointed heads with parallel nostrils. The Common – or Harbour - seals have a more rounded face with 'v' shaped nostrils.
The seals travel on land at just 3 or 4 miles an hour but can reach 30mph when swimming submerged. They can dive up to 160ft and stay underwater for up to ten minutes.
Aerial shot of Blakeney Point Nature Reserve
How do I see the seals in Norfolk?
Boat trips go from Morston Quay with Beans Boats, usually lasting about an hour, or two in the summer when the boats might land if tides and light make it permissible. There is one trip a day in winter and two in summer.
“With no natural predators, growth at Blakeney Point has outpaced national increases, making it England’s largest Grey seal colony.”
Blakeney Point, with its distinctive blue-painted Lifeboat House, is a four-mile sand and shingle spit and is part of a National Trust reserve. It is accessible by foot from Cley Marshes car park, but the westernmost end will probably be fenced off from April to mid-August to protect nesting Terns.
In the summer you might see Common Terns, Sandwich and Little Terns and also Arctic Terns. Many of them begin to arrive from West Africa in April and breed into the season. They make a small scrape in the shingle where they lay their eggs.
On the sands you might also see Oyster Catchers, Ringed Plovers, Turnstones and Dunlin. During the winter months, you might see numbers of duck and geese including Mallard, Widgeon, Teal, Pintail, Pinkfooted Geese. Greylag and Brent Geese usually arrive from October onwards.
There are also seal trips from Hunstanton to see the group of Common seals in the Wash. This area has a large expanse of shallow tidal sandbanks and is fed by four tributaries.
There are also trips from South Pier, Lowestoft with Jet Adventures to see the colony at Scroby Sands off Great Yarmouth.
There are now also significant colonies at Horsey and Winterton-on-Sea and you might also see seals turning up in the water or on the beach around the Norfolk coast, in Wells-next-the-Sea harbour, or you might spot them bobbing around at Sea Palling and other beaches on the eastern coast.
Please, if you are watching by land, take extreme caution, stay well away from the seals, and look out for advice on noticeboards. Please don't bring dogs but if you do keep them on short leads – dogs and seals do not mix.
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