North Norfolk

North Norfolk district sits along the North Norfolk coast and includes a long stretch of salt marsh, mudflats and shingle. The coastline contains Blakeney Point, a shingle spit that shelters a colony of grey seals, and Cley Marshes, an RSPB reserve where migrating waders and wildfowl gather. Much of the shoreline falls within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with tidal creeks and grazing marshes that support fishing, birdwatching and salt-marsh ecology. Wells-next-the-Sea has a harbour and the terraces of pinewoods behind its beach huts, and the coast’s pattern of spits and channels shapes local navigation and habitat.

Inland, market towns and villages link farms, estates and small ports. Cromer’s pier and lifeboat station are focal points for the town’s fishing boats and the local crab trade. Sheringham sits at the eastern end of the preserved North Norfolk Railway, which runs steam services to Holt and highlights the railway heritage of the area. Holkham Hall and its surrounding estate meet the coast at Holkham Beach, where expansive sands and drainage dykes form part of a working agricultural landscape that meets the sea.