Norfolk's coast looks gentle from a car park and considerably more serious from halfway along a shingle ridge with the tide filling the creeks behind you. The good news is that it breaks down beautifully into short days. The Norfolk Coast Path runs from Hunstanton round to Hopton-on-Sea — about 84 miles, or 133 if you count the Peddars Way, which joins it at Holme — and you can sample the best of it in three- or four-mile pieces without committing to the whole thing. What you need is a pair of boots, a tide table you actually understand, and a plan for getting back to the car.
Four easy starter routes
These are flat, well waymarked and served by bus or train at both ends. Distances are approximate; add time on shingle and soft sand.
Hunstanton to Holme-next-the-Sea — about four miles
The classic first taste. Start on the cliff top near the lighthouse, follow the acorn waymarks south-west past the golf course, and drop onto the beach at Holme. Firm underfoot, sea on one side, and a bus back to Hunstanton if your legs have had enough. There are steps at the start and at Holme, so it isn't pushchair territory.
Thornham to Brancaster — about three miles
Park at Thornham harbour or in the village, walk out along the raised path above the saltmarsh, and cross the creeks behind the dunes into Brancaster. This is the walk to do if you want birds rather than beach. It is also the one to think about properly: the creeks fill early and there is no higher ground for a long stretch, so start on a falling tide and keep glancing behind you.
Wells-next-the-Sea to Stiffkey — about five miles
Beach Road car park, through the pines, out across Holkham's sand, then along the top of the beach or the inland path through Warham to Stiffkey. Big skies, no shelter, and a pint at the end if the pub is open. The sand is firmest in the two hours either side of low water.
Cromer to Overstrand — about two and a half miles
A surfaced cliff-top path with benches, a lighthouse and a steep drop into Overstrand. If you want a bit more, carry on to Sheringham over Beeston Bump — a short, sharp climb with a view that justifies it.
What to pack for a Norfolk coast walk
The weather here is rarely dramatic and rarely still. Wind catches people out on the marsh; wet clay and slippery boardwalks catch them out underfoot.
- Boots or grippy shoes. Trainers are fine on the cliff path in July. They are not fine on the marsh after rain.
- A windproof layer and a waterproof, even on a bright forecast.
- Water and food. Villages have cafés and pubs, but there are long empty stretches and nothing is guaranteed open out of season.
- A map. Paper, or an offline version on your phone. Signal is patchy in the marshes and behind the dunes.
- Sun cream and a hat. Shade is scarce on beach and saltmarsh alike.
- Cash or card for parking and a bus fare, plus a charged phone.
- For dogs: a lead, water, and a check of seasonal restrictions — several beaches ask for leads in spring and summer to protect nesting birds and seals.
- Leave at home: jeans, and a bag full of things you will not use.
How to read a tide table
Tide tables look like a spreadsheet. They are not complicated once you know what you are looking at: they give high and low water for a named port, and everything else follows from that.
- Use the right port. A table for Hunstanton is not a table for Cromer; high water can arrive more than an hour apart along this coast. Use the one nearest your walk.
- Check GMT or BST. In summer, mixing the two is the most common mistake there is — and it is an hour in the wrong direction.
- Plan to be off the beach or tidal section two hours before high water. That margin costs nothing and covers the fact that the tide floods quickly across flat sand.
- Know your escape route before you need it. Steps, a slipway, an inland path. On the creeks between Thornham and Brancaster, and on the marsh crossing between Burnham Overy Staithe and Holkham, there is no second option at high tide.
Tables are posted at harbour offices and in car parks, and published by the Environment Agency and the National Trust, among others. If you are walking the shingle between Cley and Salthouse, check for storm damage and diversions first — that ridge sometimes breaches, and the inland route through the village is the sensible choice when it has.
Where to park at the main trailheads
Almost all of these are pay-and-display, and most fill by mid-morning in summer. Do not park on verges: the ground behind the sea wall is often soft marsh.
- Hunstanton: cliff-top car park near the lighthouse, or the town centre.
- Holme-next-the-Sea: the Norfolk Wildlife Trust car park at Holme Dunes — small, so arrive early.
- Thornham: the village car park, or the harbour car park at the end of the lane.
- Brancaster: the beach road car park, and the quay at Brancaster Staithe.
- Burnham Overy Staithe: the quay, with the path heading out over the marsh.
- Wells-next-the-Sea: Beach Road — the big one, and the busiest.
- Stiffkey and Blakeney: a small car park by Stiffkey green; Blakeney quay, or the National Trust car park at Morston.
- Cley, Sheringham and Cromer: Cley Beach Road; Sheringham station; Cromer's clifftop Runton Road car park.
Getting back to the car — and picking your day
The simplest trick on this coast is to walk one way and ride back. The coastal bus service links the villages from Hunstanton through Wells and Blakeney to Cromer and Sheringham, and the Bittern Line train runs from Norwich through Cromer to Sheringham, so a linear walk costs you a fare and nothing else. Check timetables the day before; evening services thin out quickly out of season.
Walk into the wind on the way out if you can and save the tailwind for the return. On a spring tide, treat the shingle and the marsh crossings with respect — the sea does not negotiate.
Before you set off
Tell someone which stretch you are walking and when you expect to be back. Re-check the tide table the night before, not the morning of. Allow roughly three miles an hour on firm paths and less on shingle, and turn round earlier than you think you need to if the wind picks up — the last mile is always longer than the first. Keep well back from seals and nesting birds, and give the mud at Brancaster and Holkham a wide berth; it is deeper and softer than it looks.
If you have a heart or lung condition, or you are walking with someone who does, keep the first route flat and short and take advice from a GP before tackling a longer stage. Beyond that, the coast does the rest. Start with Holme, learn how the tide behaves, and the rest of the path will look a great deal less daunting.
Photo: InfiniteThought / Pixabay
