North Norfolk Beach Guide

Exploring the magnificent beaches along the North Norfolk coast

Norfolk is blessed with some of the most beautiful and breathtaking beaches in the UK. From sunsets at Snettisham to seal trips at Blakeney, the funfair at Sunny Hunny to the beach huts at Wells, North Norfolk’s beaches are spectacular and unique. Our essential guide provides detailed information & photos of every beach.

Wells-next-the-Sea Beach

The best beach in the UK!

Wells is justifiably famous for its fabulous beach. Boundless fine, golden sand, colourful beach huts, cool scented pinewoods, plentiful wildlife, a miniature train for tired little legs – Wells beach has something for everyone.

Holkham Beach

The beach for soft sand, blue skies and riding your horse

An immense, shallow beach which seems to go on forever. Holkham has a vast expanse of firm golden sand that’s simply perfect for building sandcastles and taking the horse out for a spin.

Blakeney Point Beach

The beach for seal spotting and bird watching

A 4-mile shingle and sand spit famous for its breeding colonies of common and grey seals. You can visit this National Trust-managed nature reserve by foot or regular boat trips from Morston Quay.

Brancaster Beach

The beach for kite surfing and building sandcastles

A beautiful and popular beach with soft golden sand. Perfect for dog-walking, kite sports and family picnics, there’s a surprising frisson of danger lurking out on the sands.

Old Hunstanton Beach

The beach for kitesurfing, dog walking and lying in the dunes

A wide, sandy beach backed by dunes with beach huts nestled within, Old Hunstanton Beach is quiet and close-to-nature, without any of the noisy amusements or other trappings of a busy holiday resort.

Holme Beach

The beach for long walks and dodging golf balls

A vast and undiscovered sandy beach that’s never crowded on even the busiest summer’s day. Walk for miles and enjoy the peace, isolation and undisturbed natural landscape.

Sheringham Beach

The beach that rewards good timing

A busy seaside resort with a long well-kept promenade and lifeguards on duty in summer. Keep a close eye on the tide times if you want to enjoy the sandy but elusive beach.

Hunstanton – Main Beach

The beach for family fun and amusements

A bustling Victorian coastal resort with a funfair, amusement arcades, pony rides, watersports and amphibious coastal cruises. The classic family seaside experience.

Hunstanton – North Beach

The beach with the striped cliffs and strange boulders

One of the most famous and recognisable geographical features in Norfolk. A designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, this is a place to search, explore, discover and wonder.

Thornham Beach

The beach for discovering the wild beauty of nature

A mile-long walk along the Norfolk Coast Path, through a picturesque landscape of marshes, wild flowers and reed beds, leads to this fine, sandy beach. Wild, remote and beautiful.

Burnham Overy Staithe Beach

The beach with soft pale sand and a beautiful scenic walk

An idyllic walk between grazing marshes and sailing boats, past meandering creeks and grassy dunes, leads to a vast, quiet, breathtakingly beautiful beach.

Titchwell Beach

The beach for bird watching and discovering buried wreckage

On the edge of RSPB Titchwell Nature Reserve, and reached via a walk alongside the lagoons of the reserve, it’s mostly wild and natural, with some reminders of the area’s military history.

Cley Beach

The beach for birdwatching, beautiful views and barbecues

Surrounded by idyllic and unspoiled countryside views, grazing marshes and saline lagoons rich in wildlife, and the raw power of the North Sea, Cley Beach is a place to immerse yourself in nature.

Weybourne Beach

The pebble beach with the golden sandstone cliffs

With deep drifts of smooth pebbles, crashing waves, crumbling iron-orange & white cliffs, and picturesque countryside views, Weybourne Beach is strange, beautiful and full of surprises.

Salthouse Beach

The beach for fishing, walking and contemplation

A place of contradictions – windy and warm, bleak and beautiful, featureless and full of life. A place to tune out and clear your mind, and appreciate being at one with the world.

Snettisham Beach

The beach for sunset walks and “Snettisham Spectaculars”

Wild and natural, a favourite spot for dog walking and enjoying uninterrupted sunsets. Backed by heath and lagoons, the extensive mudflats attract thousands of wading birds.

Heacham – South Beach

The beach for dog walking and sunset strolls

A short stretch of beach backed by dunes, chalets, the Heacham River and fields beyond. It’s quiet and peaceful, relatively wild and undeveloped with gorgeous sunset views across The Wash.

Heacham – North Beach

The beach for watching the evening performance

A favourite beach for dog walkers, the concrete sea defenses provide an easy-access promenade, and the perfect seating to appreciate the evening sun, sea and sky.

Kelling Beach

The secret beach for dog walking, running and fishing

Overlooked by the anti-aircraft gun emplacements of its military museum neighbour, and with a lonely pill-box standing guard, the pebble beach at Kelling is small, quiet and virtually unknown.

Hunstanton – South Beach

The beach for launching watercraft and escaping the crowds

The short stretch of beach that Hunstanton forgot, South Beach lies at the southern end of Hunstanton’s beach promenade, marking the transition into Heacham North Beach.