Take a coastal walk: Holkham Beach, Norfolk :: Coastal walks :: UK walks

123 Holkham Bay, Norfolk - Take a coastal walk - Country & travel - allaboutyou.com

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.

Need a map? Ordnance Survey Explorer Norfolk Coast Central 251