_Plan your stay on the Norfolk Coast

Plan your stay on the Norfolk Coast with recommendations for places to visit, places to stay and things to do.

Why do people visit the Norfolk Coast?

People visit the Norfolk Coast, a National Landscape of outstanding beauty, because of the variety of coastline including seaside Cromer, huge sandy beaches, soaring cliffs, a shingle spit with the UK’s largest seal colony and some of the best birdwatching nature reserves in the country.

Where is the Norfolk Coast in England?

The Norfolk Coast is in East Anglia in the East of England. The Norfolk Coast is around 140 miles from London and 150 miles from Birmingham.

Is it easy to get to the Norfolk Coast?

It’s easy to get to the Norfolk Coast from across England and there are excellent rail services from London with railway stations at King’s Lynn, Cromer, Sheringham and Great Yarmouth.

What is the Norfolk Coast famous for?

As well as beaches and coastline, the Norfolk Coast is famous for a Victorian pier at Cromer with the UK’s last end-of-pier theatre doing shows throughout the year, Holkham Hall, Estate and beach, and the 200 higgledy-piggledy, multi-coloured beach huts at Wells-next-the-Sea.

Don’t miss Thornham and Brancaster mussels and oysters, the eponymous crab from Cromer and lobster from Sheringham. The latter two feed off the rich chalk reef just offshore, at 25 miles the longest in the world. There's also Stewkey Blue cockles from the saltmarshes of Stiffkey.

This is the Deep History Coast where a 550,000-year-old flint axe and near million-year-old human footprints were found at Happisburgh and a 600,000-year-old mammoth skeleton was found at West Runton. Behind West Runton is the Beeston Bump, a remnant of the terminal moraine that created the Cromer Ridge.

Where is the Deep History Coast in Norfolk

What are the best beaches on the Norfolk Coast?

Cromer sits in the middle of the Norfolk Coast and has lovely sandy beaches with lots of amenities. To the east is an unbroken stretch of sandy beaches, including Overstrand, Mundesley, Happisburgh, Cart Gap, Eccles-on-Sea, Sea Palling, Waxham and Horsey.

What are the best beaches in Norfolk

To the west from Cromer, there’s sandy beaches at Sheringham (where you can learn to paddleboard), Wells-next-the-Sea and Holkham. West Runton, between Cromer and Sheringham, is great for rock pooling and fossil hunting.

Rockpool and fossil hunt on the Norfolk coast

What are the Norfolk Coast’s top historical sights?

National Trust Blickling and Felbrigg are magnificent stately homes. National Trust Sheringham Park, designed by Humphry Repton, has lovely views along the coast.

Holkham Hall is an impressive venue that includes Palladian house, walled garden, museum, nature reserve and huge beach.

Visit Little Walsingham, one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in the UK, and Georgian market town Holt with great independent shops and eateries. There's enjoyable journey on the Wells-next-the-Sea to Walsingham Railway.

Take the North Norfolk Railway, known as The Poppy Line, from Sheringham to Holt, a perfect Georgian market town with good shops and eateries.

Is there anything to do on the Norfolk Coast?

Birdwatching at nature reserves such as Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley and Salthouse Marshes and Holkham National Nature Reserve. Pensthorpe Nature Reserve is also a great family attraction close to the source of chalk river Wensum.

Explore the streets of quayside Wells-next-the-Sea – this is a great place for crabbing at high tide.

The Quiet Lanes on the Cromer Ridge at Kelling Heath are great for walking and cycling and have fabulous views of the coast – this is the highest sea view in the East of England.

Between shingle and sand spit Blakeney Point and the chalk rivers and marshes of the Glaven Valley explore picturesque villages such as Stiffkey, Wiveton, Cley-next-the-Sea, renowned for its distinctive windmill and winding streets, Morston where you can take a boat trip to see the seal colony, and quayside Blakeney.

Explore the Burnhams: Burnham Market has been dubbed ‘Chelsea-on-Sea’ for its upmarket shops, Burnham Thorpe is the birthplace of Lord Horatio Nelson, and quayside Burnham Overy Staithe is where Nelson learnt to sail – in front of you is Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve.

Frequently asked questions about the Norfolk Coast

What is the best part of the Norfolk Coast Path?

Walk through tidal saltmarshes from Stiffkey to Morston and Blakeney; enjoy the soaring heights of the cliffs at Sheringham – look out for the steam trains coming through on the North Norfolk Railway to Holt. But any stretch is a great opportunity to relax on stunning coast, take in the fresh air, and be at one with nature. The Norfolk Coast Path is part of the national King Charles III Coastal Path.

How to book a boat trip on the Norfolk Coast?

Book a boat trip with Beans Boats or Bishops Boats to see the seal colony at Blakeney Point.

Is Sheringham or Cromer nicer?

They’re both equally nice, with good pubs and restaurants, beaches and each year share the Crab and Lobster Festival.

Did Albert Einstein live in Norfolk?

On the run from the Nazis, Albert Einstein fled to Norfolk in 1933, before going to the USA. He lived for a month in a small hut on Roughton Heath near Cromer on the Norfolk Coast as a guest of Oliver Locker-Lampson, who guarded the genius with two secretaries armed with rifles.