At the Beach
Near some of the best beaches in North Norfolk for you to enjoy all year round. Many being awarded blue flag status and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
Choose from beaches at… Wells Next the Sea – Holkham – Brancaster – Titchwell – Holme -Cley & Weybourne – West & East Runton – Horsey
You have many truly magnificent beaches on the North Norfolk coast within easy driving distance of Cornflake Barn.
Clean, unspoilt and uncrowded benath big skies.
Wells Next The Sea
Perfect for swimming, sailing and windsurfing. The beach is bordered by the pine woods which run all the way to Holkham, a delightful 4.5 mile walk to Holkham beach. The sea here is formed of a large basin which at high tide fills to form a beautiful shallow lagoon, perfect for children.
There is a beach car park (fees apply) or you can park in the town and catch the Wells Harbour railway miniature train which takes you to the beach and pine woods. The train is very popular, especially in peak times so check out the website for the timetable here.
The town of Wells offers a wide range of shops, cafes, restaurants and great fish & chips. There is also the Wells Maltings Theatre with regular shows.
Holkham Beach
This is a truly spectacular beach where the sea meets the sky. Part of the Holkham Natural Nature reserve.
A popular beach for film sets and 3 miles long. This beach is perfect for building sandcastles and flying a kite, or just soaking up the sun under Norfolk’s big skies. There are large amounts of seashells to be found.
To get to the beach, you can park at the beach car park (fees apply), sat-nav NR23 1RG. You can then take a short walk along the board walk through the pine wood to reach the beach.
There is a visitor centre that has recently been built which houses a café and interesting information about the reserve. Please be aware there is a nudist section on the western side of the beach!
Holkham Hall is opposite the beach car park and well worth a visit.
Stay at Cornflake Barn and enjoy some of the best beaches in England – clean, unspoilt and uncrowded.
Titchwell Beach
Titchwell is a relatively unknown sandy beach. With low sand dunes leading to the RSPB Titchwell Marsh nature reserve.
The reedbeds, saltmarsh and freshwater lagoons harbour avocets, bearded tits and marsh harriers nest. The area also offers extensive views across The Wash.
Brancaster Beach
Officially recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty. It has miles of golden sand and is great for dog walking. You will see kite surfing and nearby are the tidal salt marshes of Scolt Head. It houses a half-buried ship wreck of the SS Vina, which is visible when the tide is out. Brancaster Staithe Sailing Club has a beautiful natural harbour and welcomes visiting craft.
Cley and Weybourne Beaches
Known for the exceptional views and amazing wild life, this stretch of the coastline is shingled. The shingle beaches are popular spots for fishing too. Take a trip to the Cley nature reserve which has a café, shop and visitor information as well as the famous Attenborough Way to reach the bird hides.
Have lunch at the Dun Cow in nearby Salthouse, fantastic local pub food and great service with spectacular views across the marshes and coast.
Cley (pronounced Kly) has some great local shops and a second-hand book shop. Both beaches have car parks (fees apply).
Image by David Merrett
©National Trust Images/Rod Edwards
West & East Runton Beaches
These beaches are a Site of Special Scientific Interest as well as being blue flag beaches. The famous West Runton Mammoth Fossil was discovered in 1990 and you can still find fossils along these coastlines. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust have regular activity sessions for children to explore this fossil coast, see their website Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Explore the Deep History Coast along the Discovery Trail which follows the coastline from Weybourne to Cart Gap. To dig a bit deeper into history, you can download the Deep History Coast App to follow the guided walks and meet a Hominin family and the animals they shared their life with. Walk the Deep History Coast Discovery Trail (visitnorthnorfolk.com).
Both beaches have car parks (fees apply). The nearest towns are Cromer & Sheringham which also have blue flag beaches. Cromer has a pier which is perfect to take the kids for a spot of crabbing.
Harbour seals can be found at Blakeney Point and Morston.
If you wish to see the seals at Blakeney, catch one of the scheduled boats from Morston Quay to view them on Blakeney Point. Booking in advance is advisable, see Blakeney Point seal boat trips
Please note: It is not possible to see the seal colony on Blakeney Point on foot, though the walk itself is delightful. Start at Cley beach car park.
Blakeney Point Coastal Walk
Horsey Beach
A 1 hour & 30-minutes’ drive but well worth the visit to see the Grey Seals. If you go between the months of November- January you will see seal pups! Enormous sand dunes, unspoilt beaches and amazing views. Be aware though that most of the time it is better to view from the dunes to respect the seals.
Horsey beach car park has plenty of parking (fees apply).
Stay at Cornflake Barn and enjoy one of the best holidays available in England.
