Norfolk: Sandy Beaches, Windmills and the Broads
Blakeney, Geraldine Burles
Norfolk is one of England’s quieter counties, on the east coast. The sandy beaches face the cold North Sea (opposite Belgium and The Netherlands). While inland you have windmills on marshy lands, and the Norfolk Broads.
This is one of England’s driest (and coldest) counties. It’s also flat. There’s a local joke that if you parked your car and walked five miles, you could turn back and still see your vehicle!
When out walking, always follow the Countryside Code, to keep all creatures safe. If at the coast, read our post on keeping dogs safe by the seaside.
The Walkable Green City of Norwich
Norwich is one of England’s most walkable and cycling-friendly cities, and one of its greenest too (with a strong vegan movement). With medieval roots, it has two cathedrals (one Catholic, one Anglican) and is the only city in England where a national park (in this case the Broads) runs through it.
Elm Hill is Norwich’s most picturesque street, lined with timber-framed houses and cobbles. Many of these lovely buildings date to the Tudor era.
The Norfolk Broads: England’s Amazon
Known as ‘England’s Amazon’, the Broads are home to many creatures you likely won’t find elsewhere in England these days: bitterns, marsh harriers, swallow butterflies and fen raft spiders all find safe haven here. As do avocets, wading birds with unique upturned beaks.
The Norfolk Broads (manmade wetland waterways) are home to 25% of England’s birds and native wildlife (including rare Swallowtail butterflies). There are seven rivers and over 60 broads (bodies of water). They span over 120 miles of rivers and lakes, created from flooded medieval peat diggings.
Wherry boats are the traditional way to get around here. Most rely on human power or wind, so they don’t pollute the water either. They also don’t have engine noise, a bonus for local wildlife. Read our post on how to be a sustainable sailor!
Home to Many of England’s Wild Seals
Like most of England’s East Coast, Norfolk is where wild seals visit and give birth to their pups.
Never disturb these beautiful creatures, you could spook pups into the sea, before they can swim. Never walk on sand dunes (seals often hide pups here – keeping yourself and dogs away also protests nesting birds and endangered natterjack toads).
Cromer’s Interesting Lifeboat Museum
Cromer sits on the Norfolk coast, drawing families with its sandy beach and Victorian pier. You can also visit the local lifeboat museum, dedicated to the quiet humble lifeboat volunteer Henry Blogg.
Having never got over the tragedy of losing his young children), he saved 873 lives (including many birds and a large dog from the sinking ship Monte Nevoso in 1932 – who he adopted and they became best friends).
Wells-next-the-Sea: North Norfolk Seaside Charm
If you want the quintessential Norfolk town, this is it. Situated on the North Norfolk coast, this is all sandy beaches and pastel-coloured beach huts, perfect for enjoying a cup of tea, while watching children build sand castles. And seeing boats drift past.
The pinewoods behind the beach add shelter and are great for shaded strolls. The tidal creek means the view changes with the day and the time of year. The Wells & Walsingham Light Railway is the world’s smallest public railway, and links Wells with the village of Walsingham.
The town suffered many casualties in the great 1953 flood (which killed many people on the East Coast). Police officers Charles Lewis and Leonard Deptford received George medals for heroic rescues, including of a bedridden elderly couple, and a local dog.
Walsingham, Norfolk (religious history and mystery)
A few miles inland from Wells is the village of of Walsingham, a popular pilgrimage for religious retreats. Read Paul Kingsnorth’s lovely piece on visiting England’s Nazareth.
Norfolk boasts more churches than anywhere on earth, so you won’t have to look for to spot a medieval church or spire, even if some lay abandoned. This is due to the strong history of the Catholic faith, before Henry VIII came to power.
A Year Surrounded by Marshy Wildness
On the Marsh is a lovely book by Simon Barnes (who used to be a peaceful troublemaker writing for national newspapers). On hearing a Cetti’s warbler sing in Norfolk as he looked at a house for sale, he decided to move there with his family, as he feared that marshy land nearby would end up being lost to developers or intensive farming.
As he and his wife rewilded the area, this had beneficial effects for their son, who has Down Syndrome. A place of calm and inspiration for all.
The book follows triumphs (two harrier families arrive to use the marsh as hunting ground). And disappointments (chemical run-off from neighbouring farmland creates a nettle monoculture).
