North Norfolk's Best Beaches
Published on
by Keys Holidays Cottages
North Norfolk's fabulous coastline is one of the major reasons people come to visit this part of the world. From Hunstanton and Heacham in the west - offering fabulous sunsets - to Horsey in the east, there is more than 50 miles of glorious beaches to choose from.
Included in these are Blue Flag beaches at Cromer, Sheringham, Sea Palling and West Runton, as well as beaches which are accessible for wheelchair users, some of which have beach wheelchairs available for hire.
Discovering great places for a day by the sea is one of the joys of holidaying in this part of the world. But here are a few of our favourites to get you started.
Cover Image: Ingeborg Korme/Unsplash
- Table of contents
- Cromer Beach
- Holkham Beach
- Brancaster Beach
- Horsey Beach
- Sheringham Beach
- Sea Palling Beach
- Wells-next-the-Sea Beach
- Mundesley Beach
- Heacham Beach
- East and West Runton Beaches
Cromer Beach
A flat, sandy beach, an iconic Victorian pier, fish and chips, amusements - and to cap it all a Blue Flag which means it offers some of the safest and cleanest waters in the country: Cromer has it all.
The town is perhaps most famous for its crabs, and you can enjoy watching the fishing boats launch from the beach to catch them. Cromer crabs feed off the Cromer Shoals Chalk bed, a 20 mile long reef created while the dinosaurs roamed the area.
The Pavilion Theatre at the end of the pier mounts summer and winter seaside special shows, as well as offering a year-round programme of entertainment - it draws audiences from far and wide.
Image: Keys Holiday Cottages
Find out moreHolkham Beach
A frequent location for film and TV producers, the vast open space at Holkham Beach, part of the Holkham Estate, is renowned as one of the county's very best beaches - in fact, it in one poll it was voted the best beach in Britain.
The unspoilt golden sand stretches for miles - at low tide it can be a fair stroll to the water's edge. This means that even in the height of summer there is plenty of space. The sand is ideal for building sandcastles, and the gently sloping nature of the beach means there is ample shallow water in which to paddle and play.
The beach is also part of one of the largest National Nature Reserves in the UK, and is a real draw for wildlife lovers.
Holkham Beach is accessed via Lady Anne's drove, just off the main coastal road, A149, and opposite the entrance to Holkham Village and The Victoria Hotel. Opening times vary throughout the year depending on the season. Access to the beach is free, but parking charges apply on lady Anne's Drive.
Image: © Holkham Estate
Find out moreBrancaster Beach
Another north Norfolk beach with vast stretches of sand is Brancaster beach. As well as plenty of room for sunbathing, it is also popular with windsurfing, kite surfing and wind-powered beach buggies (in designated areas). Brancaster is also one of the best dog-friendly beaches in the area.
At low tide, you will see the wreck of the SS Vina, which was used for target practice by the RAF in the period leading up to D-Day. Don't be tempted to try to walk out to it, though - the tides at this beach are very fast-moving, and it is easy to get cut off.
If you are visiting Brancaster beach, it is wise to check the tide times, as the main access road to the beach car park can be cut off by spring high tides.
Image: Henry Perks/Unsplash
Find out moreHorsey Beach
This is an unspoilt beach which is especially attractive for nature lovers. You are unlikely to feel crowded here - even at the height of summer there is plenty of room on the beach, and in the extensive sand dune system behind it.
Access to the beach is via an unpaved track, and there are no facilities here - this is very much a beach for those who want to escape from the hurly-burly.
If you are visiting between November and January, you will however find the beach crowded - with seals. This is when hundreds of grey seals climb out of the sea to give birth, providing you with the opportunity to see both the mothers and their adorable pups. At these times there are designated paths to allow you to see the seals without disturbing them; please keep to them to allow the nursing seals some space. You will also see seals bobbing around in the sea for the rest of the year.
Image: Semyon Borisov/Unsplash
Find out moreSheringham Beach
Another Blue Flag beach, ensuring the highest standards of safety and water quality, Sheringham beach is below the attractive resort town where keys Holiday Cottages has its base.
This is a beach with a mixture of sand and pebbles, with more sand and rock pools are revealed when the tide goes out. At high tide the beach is considerably reduced in size, so it is worth consulting the tide tables if you are visiting.
The beach itself is surrounded by cliffs and woods, giving it a picturesque feel. The town boasts attractive shops, restaurants and cafes, many with views across the sea. RNLI lifeguards operate during the summer.
You will see fishing boats being hauled up the beach by tractors, bringing ashore crabs, lobsters and other shellfish such as whelks. Sheringham is famous for its seafood - it even has an annual Crab and Lobster Festival.
Image: Keys Holiday Cottages
Find out moreSea Palling Beach
Right at the eastern edge of our area is the Blue Flag beach of Sea Palling - a designation which ensures the highest standards of safety and water quality. RNLI lifeguards are on duty from May to September
This is a broad, sandy beach which has the added benefit of very calm bathing waters, due to a series of man-made coastal defence reefs which have created a number of shallow bays - making it the ideal place for families with children. The beach is dog-free from May to September.
Close to the beach you will find a pub, cafe, amusements and shops, as well as a stall selling locally-caught seafood, as well as toilets and shower facilities.
Image: Keys Holiday Cottages
Find out moreWells-next-the-Sea Beach
Just east of the famous Holkham beach is Wells-next-the-sea, which shares the former's wide-open spaces of sand, with the added advantage of access to the resort itself with its facilities and amenities. There is a lifeguard on duty here in the summer months.
The beach is in fact some distance from the town - about half an hour's walk. However, as well as a car park at the beach end of the road, there is also an electric shuttle bus between the two, and in the summer, an open-top vintage bus make the short journey. The car park has a popular cafe, and toilets.
Wells beach is well-known for its colourful beach huts on stilts, which sit at the back of the beach just in front of the pretty pine woods behind it.
The huge tide on this part of the coast enables visitors to walk out at low tide on 'The Run', which stretches out nearly a mile. Make sure you return to the beach when the warning hooter sounds, to avoid getting cut off by the tide.
Image: Thomas Underwood/Unsplash
Find out moreMundesley Beach
If you are looking for a traditional seaside resort with a real old-world charm, then you won't do better than Mundesley. This is a fine example of a town which was made popular in Victorian times by the coming of the railways.
Its flat, sandy beach sits below the town which is situated at the top of cliffs. The beach is long but fairly narrow (especially at high tide). At low tide the swimming is particularly safe, making it a good choice for families with children; from May to September, dogs are restricted to a designated zone only. RNLI lifeguards are on patrol during the summer months. There are toilets and shower facilities.
The town has attractive clifftop gardens, various cafes and restaurants, and what claims to be the smallest maritime museum in the world.
Image: Keys Holiday Cottages
Find out moreHeacham Beach
One of the few beaches in Norfolk to face west - across the Wash to Lincolnshire - Heacham beach is a sheltered, sandy beach, featuring shallow waters which are ideal for families with children - although there are no lifeguards on duty here. The beach is backed by low dunes.
There are toilets, a cafe and a gift shop close to the beach, and Heacham village has more facilities. Close by is Norfolk Lavender, one of the UK's largest lavender farms, which welcomes visitors all year round.
A promenade offers the opportunity to walk all the way to the lively resort of Hunstanton.
Image: Sakina Faisal/Unsplash
Find out moreEast and West Runton Beaches
Within sight of the famous resort of Cromer is East Runton - you can walk between the two in just 15 minutes. And yet the beaches couldn't be more different.
Backed by sandstone cliffs, East Runton is a long beach which is pebbly above the high tide line, but becomes sandy as the tide goes out. This is more of a beach for active people, with good snorkelling available along one of the largest chalk reefs in Europe, and good surfing. The beach has a Blue Flag, and is patrolled by lifeguards in the summer months.
Next door West Runton is sometimes overlooked, which means it is possible to find some peace here, even in the summer months. Like East Runton, the beach is pebbly at high tide, but a large expanse of sand is revealed when the tide goes out. In the cliffs behind the beach you are likely to find all sorts of fossils - it was here that the famous West Runton elephant - a fossilised steppe mammoth skeleton - was found. West Runton also has a Blue Flag designation, and offers toilets and a cafe/restaurant.
Image: Keys Holiday Cottages
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