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The best places to visit on the Norfolk Coast

The most easterly county in England, Norfolk is known for its beautiful coastline, sandy beaches and grand historical buildings. The British Royal Family famously spend much of their time here, at the spectacular Sandringham House. If you’re looking for a sophisticated holiday destination, look no further than Norfolk!  For lovers of the outdoors, Cromer Ridge, the Brecklands and Norfolk Broads are some of the most of the most distinctive landscapes in England.

The region is also teaming with nature reserves and some unique wildlife. With fantastic museums, galleries and shopping there is also plenty to enjoy if the weather forces you indoors.  With so many towns and villages worth a visit, it’s important to find the best place for you. Whether you’re looking for a classic seaside resort or the bustle and buzz of a big city? please go here Norfolk holiday cottages guide will help you find the perfect place to stay. If you see anywhere you like, make a trip of it, with one of the best holiday cottages in Norfolk.

Glorious beach at Holkham Bay: Residents of north Norfolk can feel justifiably smug. Holkham Bay is one of the most spectacular beaches in the country and it’s right on their doorstep. A vast, sweeping expanse of golden sand, backed by grassy dunes and pinewoods, and part of a nature reserve, there’s space for everyone, even during high season. Low tide reveals miles of empty beach, which is great for long walks and four-legged friends to stretch their legs, as well as the usual bucket and spade activities. You might also see people on horseback cantering along the shoreline. During the summer a delightful blanket of blooming purple lavender spreads across the salt marsh behind the dunes.

Great Yarmouth: Up there with Blackpool as one of England’s most treasured seaside destinations, Great Yarmouth has received holidaymakers since the 1760s. The sandy shoreline is vast, and goes on for 17 miles in the Greater Yarmouth area. If the old-school joys of sand castles and paddling don’t cut the mustard with your kids and teenagers there’s the ever-popular Pleasure Beach a free-to-enter theme park buzzing with rides and amusements. There’s more fun on the Golden Mile, lined with arcades and the marvellous art nouveau Empire Cinema, currently being restored to its former glory.

History and royalty at Sandringham Estate: Not many people receive a country estate as a birthday present. But we have all benefited from Queen Victoria presenting Sandringham as a gift to the Prince of Wales (Edward VII to be) and his wife, Princess Alexandra, in 1862. Although the estate now serves as the Queen’s bolthole, ordinary Joes can visit the surrounding 600-acre country park for free. There are two main trails for walking or cycling, but there are many other woodland paths and open grassland for strolling or laying down a picnic blanket.

Sandringham House itself is open to the public. You probably won’t bump into any Royals in their pyjamas, but you can nosy at the decor and ornaments in the ground floor rooms, which haven’t changed a great deal since Edwardian times. You can also wander the glorious gardens and visit the museum. Home to royal memorabilia, it includes a fantastic collection of vintage vehicles and an assortment of gifts given to the Queen. It’s also worth popping into the beautiful medieval Church of St Mary Magdalene, where the Royal Family worship during their visits to Sandringham.

King’s Lynn: In medieval times King’s Lynn was England’s most important and busiest port, trading with the Hanseatic League in the Low Countries and Baltic. A catalogue of majestic old buildings survive from this time, like the splendid Guildhall of St George, which is both the largest and oldest guildhall in the country. On the quay of the Great River Ouse are Hanseatic warehouses with exposed timbers, and it’s exciting to think about all the goods that have been stored in these historic buildings. And you’ll know that King’s Lynn was a big deal from its fabulous minster and imposing properties like Castle Rising, and the 15th-century Oxburgh Hall.

Wymondham: Just a delightful country town, Wymondham has a marketplace featuring the traditional cross, which is raised on stilts as a means of keeping the town’s charters and other documents safe from vermin and floodwater. This is one of many half-timbered houses in the town, along with many that have the flint decoration that is typical in this part of Norfolk. Wymondham Abbey is the town’s great monument, a marvelous gothic building from between the 12th and 15th centuries. When the monasteries were dissolved in the 16th century it had a fallow spell before becoming a parish church under the reign of Elizabeth I after she visited it in person in 1573.

NORFOLK COAST B&B COTTAGES & CAMPING 72 South Beach Road Heacham, Kings Lynn PE31 7BB 07484734146 hunstanton@norfolkcoast-cottage.co.uk