Great British beach activities: 10 best coastal runs

For splendid isolation

Holkham Beach, Norfolk

The ten-mile stretch of Holkham sands, known locally as the Holkham Meals, seems to go on for ever. In summer, the beach - graced by Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love - is popular with families and tourists, but even then it's so expansive that you can enjoy the delicious loneliness of the long-distance runner. Part of a coastal nature reserve, Holkham and its rolling dunes, saltflats and pine woods are inhabited by a wide variety of birds and wildlife (www.holkham.co.uk).

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