Wild and dramatic or Victorian seaside-chic, here are our top choices for the best beaches to discover in Norfolk for a memorable day by the sea.
From postcard-pretty Victorian seaside haunts with darling beach huts to unapologetically wild expanses home only to birds and shipwrecks, there’s a beach that’s bound to satisfy every kind of beachgoer. Dust off the beach towels, here are our top picks of the best beaches in Norfolk...
North Norfolk
Holkham Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (May to September)
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Disabled facilities, but no ramps or access provision
• Facilities: Toilets, shop and café
Boasting several Hollywood appearances (such as Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love and The Eagle has Landed), Holkham Beach is one of the most unspoilt and expansive sandy beaches in Norfolk. It’s wonderfully spacious, even at high tide, and is often voted as one of the best beaches in Britain. Holkham Beach is a great spot for horse riding, and in summer, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment can be seen practising here. Backed by a nature reserve, pine woods, salt marshes and dunes, it’s great for long walks, birdlife, and peace and quiet. It’s dog-friendly all year round (there is a dog-on-lead policy between the 1st of April and the 30th of August around the nature reserve to protect ground-nesting birds). It’s also worth noting that a section of the beach is set aside for naturists.
Wells Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (July to September)
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Disabled facilities
• Facilities: Toilets with showers, shop, and café
Just a hop, skip, and a jump from the harbour town of Wells-next-the-Sea, this is an oh-so-scenic beach backed by candy-striped beach huts and rolling high-backed dunes. At low tide, the beach stretches out into ‘The Run’, which is a wide sandy expanse that’s great for walking and paddling. The tide comes in quickly here, so when you hear the ‘hooter’, it’s time to come back, pronto! Great for families, it’s a wonderful spot for a day on the beach, and you’ll spot beautiful birdlife too - terns, oystercatchers, and other waders call this beach home. If you want to swim, wait for high tide, as when it’s low, you’ll have trouble seeing the sea at all! It’s also dog-friendly (although they’re not allowed around the beach huts).
Cromer Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (May to September)
• Parking: Yes, at the cliff top car park
• Accessibility: There’s a slipway onto the beach, plus a lift from the town down to the promenade and beach
• Facilities: Toilets, shops, and a good choice of places to eat
The epitome of a Victorian seaside town, Cromer has been a favourite holiday destination for centuries. With its iconic pier that stretches out over the North Sea with the Pavilion Theatre at the end, and backed by a pretty promenade and cliffs, this is for those looking to soak up some traditional theatre and local food (the town is well known for its excellent crab). Flat and sandy and boasting Blue Flag status, it’s a great beach for swimming, with lifeguards during the summer months, as well as rock pooling, water sports, and sea angling for cod and bass. A walk to the east leads through Happy Valley and up to Cromer Lighthouse, perched atop the fossil-rich cliffs. There are dog restrictions during the summer months (the 1st of May to the 31st of September).
Brancaster Beach
• Lifeguard cover: No
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Accessible toilet, but no ramps or easy access
• Facilities: Toilets and a beach kiosk
Long, flat, golden sands await at Brancaster Beach, perfect for long walks in peace, with stunning views over the salt marshes towards Brancaster Harbour and Scolt Head. Owned by the National Trust, this dog-friendly beach is also home to Branodunum, a Scheduled Ancient Monument that was once home to the Roman army. This beach is great for kite surfing and wind surfing, though the strong tidal waters make it unsuitable for swimming, and it’s best to visit at low tide for beach combing and collecting shells. This beach is also incredibly rich in wildlife, with the salt marshes home to many species of birds, such as over-wintering pink-footed geese. The impressive site of the shipwreck SS Vina can be seen at low tide, too.
Sheringham Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (July to September)
• Parking: Yes, various locations in Sheringham
• Accessibility: You’ll need to be able to walk over the pebbles to get onto the sandy beach, not accessible at high tide. The promenade is a lovely alternative
• Facilities: Toilets, showers, and places to eat
Another of Norfolk’s beloved traditional Victorian seaside towns, the beach here has Blue Flag Status, making it a great family-friendly spot. Adorned with excellent facilities, you can hire a beach hut for the week for that ultimate seaside experience, while spacious golden sands at low tide make for games and sandcastle building. The tide comes in close on this beach, so at high tide, take a walk along the promenade (which forms part of the Norfolk Coast Path) and over the pretty cliffs for amazing views over the town and out to sea. Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach during the summer months between the 1st of May and the 30th of September.
West Runton Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (May to September)
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: There’s a concrete slipway onto the beach
• Facilities: Toilets, café
This sand, shingle, and cobble beach is backed by impressive cliffs, with a good array of rock pools to explore when the tide is out. Well-known for being the site where Britain’s largest nearly complete ice age mammoth skeleton was found in 1990, the cliffs are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and are a well-known spot for fossil-hunting. While dogs aren’t allowed on the beach between May and September, it’s a great spot for a dog walk during the wintery months. In summer, its Blue Flag status makes it perfect for swimming – just make sure to time your visit for when the tide is out. Nearby East Runton Beach is also worth a visit, with its own Blue Flag sands to enjoy.
West Norfolk
Hunstanton Beach
• Lifeguard cover: None
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Disabled facilities
• Facilities: Toilets, café
Hunstanton Beach faces west, making it great for romantic sunset picnics. Shallow, calm waters make it family-friendly with interesting rock pools to explore, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to find a fossil or two. Backed by strikingly striped pink and white cliffs, it’s a favourite beach for kite surfers and body boarders, while the beautiful sandy beach is great for games and sandcastles. At low tide, the beach is huge, but be aware that the tide comes in rapidly – it’s worth picking up a local tide timetable so you can keep an eye on the sea. As with other Victorian seaside spots, there’s a promenade that’s home to a mini-train during the summer months and a sea life sanctuary that’s worth a visit.
Old Hunstanton Beach
• Lifeguard cover: None
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Disabled facilities
• Facilities: Toilets, café, shop and pub nearby
Set to the north of Hunstanton, this great beach enjoys a wide expanse of honeyed sand, rolling dunes, and the same candy-striped cliffs as its neighbour. With so much going for it, it can get busy on a sunny day, but being so large, there’s plenty of space for everyone, and at other times of the year, it’s extremely peaceful. With a gentle slope into the sea, Old Hunstanton is great for families who want a day on the beach, and beach huts are available to hire should you want to. Dogs are allowed here all year, so fantastic if you have a four-legged friend in tow. A popular spot for kitesurfing, the beach is also backed by Hunstanton Golf Club, which has an 18-hole course – perfect for those who might want to partake in a game or two!
Snettisham Beach
• Lifeguard cover: None
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: No ramp or easy access
• Facilities: No, although occasionally an ice cream van in summer
A mix of sand and shingle, Snettisham Beach is wild and unspoilt, with sand and mud flats loved by birdwatchers due to the thousands of wading birds that gather here to roost at night. Known as the ‘Snettisham Spectacular’, the beach is also accompanied by huge flocks of dunlin and oystercatchers. It’s a beach for sea fishing, dog walking (dogs are allowed all year, but please keep them on a lead between April and the end of August due to ground nesting birds), wildlife spotting and fantastic sunsets. With views over The Wash towards Lincolnshire and backed by the lakes of RSPB Snettisham, it’s a pretty spectacular place for a tranquil meander, and facing west means it’s pretty well protected from strong winds too.
Titchwell Beach
• Lifeguard cover: None
• Parking: Parking available at RSPB Tichwell Marsh
• Accessibility: Pathways through the reserve, but no ramps onto the beach
• Facilities: Toilets at the car park, and the nearby RSPB Visitor Centre has a café
Wild and remote, Titchwell Beach is a haven for nature lovers. Part of the RSPB Titchwell Marsh Reserve, the beach boasts a series of freshwater pools, reed beds, tidal lagoons, mysterious woodland and salt marshland - making it a great spot for birdwatching and getting back to nature. With a wide sandy beach at low tide, rolling dunes, a demolished WWII control tower and mud flats, it’s a beautifully unpolished spot that’s teeming with wildlife. Perfect for walks, dogs are welcome too, but are to be kept on leads due to the ground nesting birds and other wildlife.
East Norfolk
Horsey Beach
• Lifeguard cover: None
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Access is across steep sand dunes
• Facilities: No, but there is a tea room a few minutes’ walk from the car park
Famous for its seal colony, Horsey Beach is definitely more of a wildlife haven than a sandcastle and picnic beach. In winter, you may spot seals on the shoreline, while during pupping season, they can head into the dunes for protection (please always keep your distance and dogs on leads). Rugged and wild, this is a great beach for nature lovers seeking a bit of seaside serenity, as it backs onto Horsey Warren, the largest dune system in East Anglia – a haven for birds and insects – and Horsey Mere, home to wintering wildfowl, Marsh Harriers, Bitterns and butterflies. The best time of year for seal spotting is between November and February.
Mundesley Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (May to September)
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: Ramp down to the beach and a lovely promenade that’s wheelchair friendly
• Facilities: Toilets, café, shower, shop
Mundesley Beach boasts a beautiful, long, sandy beach backed by cliffs and colourful beach huts (available to rent on a weekly basis), and is considered to be one of Norfolk’s finest. Great for families and swimming at low tide, the beach has Blue Flag Status with lovely soft sand and plenty of space to run around and a beautiful promenade that’s great for a stroll, whatever time of year. With gardens on the cliffs, a promenade, and home to the smallest maritime museum in the world, there’s lots to see and do, making it a great destination for a day on the beach. Dogs aren’t permitted on the promenade section of the beach from the 1st of May to the 30th of September, but they are welcome on the rest of the beach all year round.
Sea Palling Beach
• Lifeguard cover: Yes (May to September)
• Parking: Yes
• Accessibility: There are disabled facilities and a slipway on to the beach
• Facilities: Toilets, café, first aid point, deck chair hire
Set between Cromer and Great Yarmouth, Sea Palling is a lovely sandy beach that benefits from nine artificial offshore reefs to prevent flooding. With its own Blue Flag status, this beach is often on the quieter side and is famed for its clear, calm waters. Combined with amusements nearby and great places to eat, it’s fantastic for little ones to safely swim and play. The beach also has a ramp for small boats, the RNLI Lifeguard Station right next door, and is backed by rolling dunes. The beach has a seasonal dog ban in place, but there are lovely dog walks to be had along the coast should your four-legged friend be with you. If you enjoy wildlife, pay a visit to nearby Hickling Broad, managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
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