Sheringham, Norfolk (near England’s longest chalk reef)
Sheringham, Norfolk is a nice Victorian town on the North Norfolk coast, known for its sandy/shingle beach and lying just offshore is Europe’s longest chalk reef (marine alternatives to freshwater chalk streams), providing ideal habitats for many local marine creatures.
If at the coast, keep away from nesting birds and never walk on sand dunes. Learn how to keep dogs safe by the seaside (check beach bans before travel). Join the campaign to ban flying rings, to help local seals.
Bullying government decisions for local shops
A few years back, there was a goliath 13-year battle in the Norfolk town of Sheringham, to stop Tesco building a big supermarket, in one of the towns left without one. When Paul Kingsnorth covered the story in his book Real England, the battle was ongoing.
Things looked hopeful, when a local entrepreneur offered to fund an independent supermarket, even hosting cooking classes above it. And yet the council (the council!) received the proposal, then voted to give planning permission to Tesco.
Today (many locals are likely unaware of the history) it’s a busy supermarket, and of course Tesco ‘gives back’ to the community. But many independent shops there have now gone under, there are no ‘blue tokens’ in the box to help them. A community has been half-destroyed.
And now this beautiful little seaside town has another hit: after the council (this time) refused a licence for Domino’s pizza (the town already has 40 indie food outlets), the national government’s Planning Inspectorate overrode the decision, and it’s due to open in summer 2026.
So now the town will be littered with white plastic sauce pots, and money will go out of the town, and up to head office of Dominoe’s (in Michigan, USA).
How on earth has it been allowed to open, when both local people AND (this time) the council have both refused permission? Their decision stamped on by national quangos who don’t even live there. And Sir Keir Starmer wonders why his government is not popular.
Upper Sheringham (a pretty nearby village)
Upper Sheringham is a quiet historic village that you can walk to from Sheringham, just a mile away. It has sweeping coastal views and near the grounds of Sheringham Park (below).
Dominated by a pretty 14/15th century parish church, it’s full of idyllic tea rooms that look out over the surrounding hills.
Sheringham Park (miles of woodland trails)
Sheringham Park (like so many areas, owned by the National Trust) is an expansive estate that features rolling parkland and miles of woodland trails, with the viewing towers offering panoramic view of the coast.
Read their page for dog guardians. Dogs must be kept on leads in the park between 1 March and 31 July, to protect ground-nesting birds. Only assistance dogs are allowed in some areas.
The park also has ticks (check dogs and yourself after walks), cattle and adders (from February to November). Adders (England’s only venomous snake) can bite dogs, if disturbed.
- Dog-Friendly Cornwall has tips on when to avoid walking (‘safe hours’ were previously before 9am and after 7pm). But climate change has adapted temperatures, so this does not always follow.
- If you think an adder has bitten your dog, call a vet immediately (read more on how to avoid & treat adder bites).
The Wild Garden covers 50 acres and includes mostly rhododendrons (which are toxic to pets anyway) and was developed around a base planting of Scots pine and oak,with specimens brought from Asia by explorer Ernest Wilson in the early 20th century.
The home was owned in the 19th century by Charlotte Upcher, a campaigner to abolish slavery, with her son Henry completing work on the house and garden. She also funded Sheringham’s very first lifeboat The Augusta, named after her daughter.
