Escape to North Norfolk

For big skies, bracing walks on expansive sandy beaches and wide, wintry landscapes, head to this stretch of East Anglia when the crowds are far away

When a failed campaign left rising star Horatio Nelson out of favour with the Admiralty in the 1780s, he was forced to hole up in his childhood home on the north Norfolk coast. These turned out to be the dullest years of his life. A weekly ride down the straight sandy lanes to a card club at Wells-next-the-Sea was as exciting as it got. While he fretted for the freedom of open seas, today the high skies and wide landscapes of this stretch of coast offer their own potent sense of liberation. With its oystercatchers and seals, dunes, reed beds and salt marshes, wherry boats and crabbing, it can air the soul of all but the most hot-headed.

The land expends itself here in dunes and marsh like a wave subsiding on the shore. The chalk ridge that pulls up at Hunstanton’s striped cliffs of carrstone and red and white chalk falls away into mile upon mile of sand and salt marsh all the way east to Sheringham and Overstrand, where marly cliffs have been crumbling for centuries.

As once prosperous wool ports silted up, 18th-century landowners built earth banks and planted windbreaks to reclaim mineral-rich pasture. Later they encouraged the flow of sea-bathing enthusiasts to fishing villages, such as Cromer and Hunstanton, which gave onto suitable beaches, by building grand hotels, piers and golf courses. The stretch west of Cromer, dubbed “Poppyland” by Telegraph journalist Clement Scott, was favoured by late-Victorian poets and even the crowned heads of Europe.

These resorts have choked up with caravan parks and today it is the undeveloped marshy stretch between them, formerly the “wrong side of Cromer”, that is the smart set’s latest playground. There’s not an unrestored building in sight around the former ports of Cley next the Sea, Blakeney and Wells-next-the-Sea, while shops in Burnham Market stockpile gourmet ready meals for the weekend rush. North Norfolk has
embraced the new vision of the countryside, where barns have been converted into art galleries and the dunes are made wheelchair friendly. Yet, incredibly enough, it is still possible to feel that you’ve left the whole world behind.

Heritage
Relive the area’s Victorian heyday by visiting the huge and newly refurbished 1901 Cromer pier. Or take the Poppy Line steam railway (01263 820800;  www.nnrailway.co.uk) from Sheringham through Weybourne to the inland market town of Holt. Another steam journey, from Wells to Little Walsingham (01328 711630; www.wellswalsinghamrailway.co.uk) deposits you at the start of a wheelchair-friendly pilgrim’s walk with wonderful views.
Since the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared here in 1061, Little Walsingham has been Britain’s premier place of pilgrimage. With its candle and icon shops and half-timbered budget guesthouses, it feels quite unlike anywhere else. The candlelit 1931 Anglican Shrine houses a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth.

If it’s high culture you want, head straight for Holkham Hall (01328 710227; www.holkham.co.uk), a monumental shrine to the art collected by Thomas Coke (pronounced “cook”), Earl of Leicester. A staggering Palladian marble hall leads to sumptuous, velvet-hung apartments.

Wildlife
Wildlife preservation and golf courses dominate the coast. The National Trust has a Millennium Activity Centre (01485 210719) on Brancaster Staithe. East of Wells the dunes give way to seemingly endless marshland and reedbeds. Snow buntings, ducks, Brent geese and many rare birds return here to feed as winter sets in. Others arrive to breed from early February. A regular CoastHopper bus stops outside the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Cley Marshes visitor centre (01263 740008), which offers discounts for bus travellers.

The ravenous appetite of Britain’s grey seals for fish has traditionally made them the fisherman’s foe, yet now they’re often economic partners. Jim Temple’s red and white boats (01263 740791; www.sealtrips.easternengland.co.uk) sail from the Anchor pub in Morston to visit the snub-faced common seals and the Roman-nosed grey seals in the National Trust’s Blakeney Point Reserve. Graham and John Bean (01263 740038; www.beansboattrips.co.uk) also sail from Morston; Colin Bishop (01263 740753; www.norfolksealtrips.co.uk) from Blakeney Quay.

Shopping
Shopping here runs the gamut from eccentric to ultra-establishment. There’s the herb garden and lavender beer of Norfolk Lavender (01485 570384; www.norfolk-lavender.co.uk) at Heacham, near Hunstanton and the antiques shops, picture galleries and pukka clothing establishments of Holt and Burnham Market. If you like the eclectic decor of The Victoria pub in Holkham, you’ll love its designer Miv Watts’s two shops – House Bait I in Burnham Market (01328 730557; www.wattswishedfor.co.uk), and House Bait II and Miv Watts Design in Burnham Deepdale (01485 210300). Ring The 1950s Shop in the centre of Wells (01328 711362; www.the1950shop.com) for an appointment to enter a treasure trove of vintage Thermos flasks and fabrics.

Stock up on picnic treats in Holt at Byford’s Deli (01263 714816; www.byfords.org.uk) and visit Larners food hall (01263 712323; www.bakersandlarners.com) for excellent groceries. WJ Weston Fish Shop at Blakeney (01263 741112) sells plates of fresh seafood. Perfect for rainy days are The Brazen Head Bookshop and Gallery in Burnham Market (01328 730700) and The Old Reading Room Gallery and Tea Room (01263 588227) in Kelling - teas, antiques and art.

Outdoor pursuits
Unless you just want to get sozzled on the local award-winning Woodforde’s Wherry beer, this is the region to put your all-weather gear through its paces.

Weather permitting, tentative sailors can take two-hour-long taster sea trips from the RYA-recognised SailCraft Sea School (01485 210236; www.sailcraft.co.uk) at Brancaster, which also offers dinghy lessons for children over eight and adults.

The No 1 National Cycleway runs close to Wells, where you can pick up the Norfolk Coast Cycle Route. Nelson’s Norfolk is a 29-mile circuit within this route, beginning at Fakenham and travelling through North Creake. An alternative is the 21-mile short cut. Hire a mountain bike from £8 a day at ML Walsingham (01328 710492; www.walsinghams.com) in Wells-next-the-Sea.

Armed with a Heritage House footpath map (available from tourist information centres), walkers can explore the long lanes and foreshore for hours on end. There is good sand with dunes one mile from parking on the quay at Burnham Overy Staithe. The huge horseshoe-shaped beach at Holkham Gap is closer to the road and brilliant for kite-flying.

Hidden highlights

•    Visit Stiffkey Lamp Shop, Wells-next-the-Sea for period lamps: brass, ceramic, glass – you name it, they’ve got it (01328 830460; www.stiffkeylampshop.co.uk).
•    The best use of a redundant railway station award goes to the Brotherhood of Saint Seraphim, who converted Great Walsingham’s into a Russian Orthodox Chapel in 1967 (01328 820610; www.saintseraphim.inspiron.co.uk).
•    The isolated church of St Peter’s, North Barningham may be unmarked (OS ref TG 151 372), but has a luminous coloured-plaster interior and an extraordinary floor.

A walk on the beach
Length: 6km. Start: Holkham.
Map: Explorer 24.

•    Take the CoastHopper bus along the A149 to Holkham, or park on Lady Ann’s Drive, opposite The Victoria pub. Walk towards the sea, down to the end of the road and take the signposted footpath along a raised boardwalk suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
•    This twists through the shelter of a band of pine trees, planted by Holkham’s renowned agricultural pioneer Thomas William Coke to push back the sea. You emerge at the centre of the spectacular 11km-long Holkham Beach, where if the view doesn’t take your breath away, the wind will. If it all looks somewhat familiar that’s because the bay stood in for the coast of Virginia in Gwyneth Paltrow’s final scene in Shakespeare in Love.
•    Descend onto the sands from the viewing platform built specially for wheelchair access. Turn right along the sands for about 2km until you reach the lifeboat station at Wells-next-the-Sea. At low tide the sea can be over 2km away, and while the sands are very inviting, don’t stray out too far, since the tide comes in very rapidly indeed.
•    Here you can climb onto the sea wall, known as the Bank, for another spectacular view – windsurfers to your left and Wells’ harbour and the salt marshes to your right.
Pause for a steaming pot of tea and a rummage through the traditional seaside toys on sale at the ranch-style beach café tucked away behind the pine trees. Or, if the tap room at The Victoria is calling, strike back west immediately along the marked Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path, keeping the pine woods on your right and the boating lakes on your left.
•    The next section of the route is easier walking and offers welcome shelter from the weather. If you look inland, you’ll see the raised ridge of the old sea wall two thirds of the way across the sheep meadow, and beyond the dismantled Victorian railway that took the post to Holkham’s very own basement post office. To pick up the CoastHopper from Wells-next-the-Sea, walk another 2km from the lifeboat station into town along the length of the sea wall and up the hill through the shopping streets and Buttlands, a gorgeous leafy Georgian square, where the bus stops. In the far left corner you’ll find The Crown, a gourmet pub/restaurant with a sunny conservatory. This circuit could take you a couple of hours, or most of the day, depending on how many stops for refreshment you make.

Nelson
All Saints’ church at Burnham Thorpe is a shrine to the village’s most famous son, Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805). The lectern is made from timbers from the ship “Victory”, there are transcripts of his letters, tattered ensigns and a bust – but he was buried, against his wishes, at St Paul’s in London.

Where to eat & drink
Near Blakeney (2 miles)
Morston Hall (01263 741041; www.morstonhall.com). A plush Michelin one-star restaurant, offering a no-choice, four-course dinner for £44. Chef Galton Blackiston tours the tables. Seven rooms from £110-£130 per person B&B and dinner.
Burnham Market
The Hoste Arms (01328 738777; www.hostearms.co.uk). The restaurant of this plush 17th-century hotel offers imaginative menus based on fine local produce.
Holt
Byfords (01263 714816; www.byfords.org.uk). A rambling bare-brick-walled café and deli in the heart of Holt with a lingering wholemeal vibe all but dispersed by huge Victoria sponges. Local ingredients are used in dishes with an international flavour. Open all day all week, with a cellar bar that is open on Friday and Saturday.
Stiffkey
Stiffkey Red Lion (01328 830552). A classic, stone-floored country pub. Arrive dead on noon if you want to nab a table for Sunday lunch. The fish pie arrives fast and tastes fresh.
Wells-next-the-Sea
The Crown (01328 710209; www.thecrownhotelwells.co.uk). This hotel, a former coaching inn, overlooks the tree-lined green known as The Buttlands. Meals are cooked to order, and main courses include pan-fried monkfish with roast pumpkin seeds, coriander noodles and mirin sauce.
Old Hunstanton
The Neptune Inn and Restaurant (01485 532122; www.theneptune.co.uk). Angela Paul and Hilary Berriff run this New England-style establishment with seven en suite bedrooms. Seasonal fish, game and vegetables all feature on the restaurant’s menu.

Where to stay
Blakeney
The Blakeney Hotel (01263 740797; www.blakeney-hotel.co.uk). This dignified hotel is right on the harbour. Indoor pool, spa bath and sauna ease tired bones. B&B £77-£119 per person.
Brancaster Staithe
The White Horse (01485 210262; www.whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk).
Eight simple, modern rooms in an undulating flint annex have individual terraces that overlook the marshes. B&B £45-£140 per person. Dogs £5 a night.
Cley-next-the-Sea
Cley Mill (01263 740209; www.cleymill.co.uk). Characterful 18th-century windmill with views over the marshes and bird sanctuary. B&B £25-£63 per person.
Holkham
The Victoria (01328 711008; www.holkham.co.uk). A little bit of west London, without the attitude. Chef Neil Dowson serves local fish and Holkham Estate venison. Music is chilled and staff are young and convivial. Traditional tap room and quiet library. B&B from £95 single £115 double.
Wells-next-the-Sea
Number 2 The Granary (01328 730880; www.sowerbysholidaycottages.co.uk). Prefer long views to cramped cottages? Try this converted flat in the spectacular old granary on the seafront. Sleeps four adults and two children. £395-£655 a week.

General information
Tourist information centres
Holt (01263 713100),
Wells-next-the-Sea (01328 710885),
Sheringham (01263 824329),
Cromer 01263 512497.

Useful websites
www.northnorfolkattractions.co.uk; www.brancasterstaithe.co.uk; www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk (North Coasts Local Products Directory listing farm shops, markets and local foodstuffs).
Roads A11 to Norwich, and then A140 to Cromer, or A10 to King’s Lynn, from where A149 takes you along coast to Cromer via Hunstanton, Wells-next-the-Sea, Blakeney and Sheringham.

Transport
Bus Call Travel Line (0870 608 2608) or visit www.traveline.org.uk. The CoastHopper bus (no 36) runs hourly in summer, two-hourly in winter, from Hunstanton to Sheringham. There are 30-minute connections from King’s Lynn to Hunstanton.
Rail One Railway has fast trains to Norwich, from where the Bittern Line runs to Cromer and Sheringham.

Maps
OS large scale 1:25,000 Explorer map 250, 251 & 252, Landranger 132 & 133.

 

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