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Walking in Norfolk.

Everyone loves a walk on the beach and we are blessed at Titchwell with golden sands and huge skies, so the following information my help you decide which beach to visit during your stay at Titchwell Manor:

Brancaster Beach (5mins drive) or a pleasant 20 min walk across the marsh path. A designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and made up of saltmarsh intertidal mud and sandflats, miles of sandy beach stretching as far as the eye can see. Turn left on the beach and 10 minutes will bring you to where the seals bask in the sunshine. At low tide a ship wreck is visable in the water, which was used for wartime target practise. Be mindful that the tide turns very quickly so it is not advisable to walk to the wreck.

Holkham Bay ( 8 miles) This is one of the most beautiful of North Norfolk's beaches made famous by actress Gwyneth Paltrow in the closing scenes of Shakespeare in Love. Holkham Bay is the most extensive, diverse and dramatic nature reserve in Norfolk, with windswept sand dunes, a maze of creek, shady pinewoods, green pastures and marshes. The geese in winter are a major attraction as is Holkham Hall across the coast road.

Wells next the sea (10 miles) This beach at Wells is one of those hidden gems, driving along the road to the beach car park is not inspiring but once parked you can walk through the pinetrees to find a secluded beach, the character of which is entirely dependent on the tide. At low time you see acres of golden sandy beach, at high tide the water laps just a few yards from the line of brightly painted beach huts. The beach huts feature on most of the postcards and pictures of this part of Norfolk.

Hunstanton (5 miles) This beach has the unusual distinction of being an east coast resort that faces west and as a result the beaches get more than their fair share of sun with spectacular sunsets. The famous stripy cliffs and a fabulous beach makes a great walk, with plenty of exhilarating water sports to watch and an ice cream on the green to complete the perfect day.

walks

The Peddars Way National Trail This follows the line of a Roman road, built during Rome's battle against the rebellious Iceni tribe led by the legendary Queen Boadicea. It is an enjoyable mix of country lanes , footpaths and tracks through a varied landscape of open heath, woodland, rich farmlands divided by flower-filled hedgerows and pretty flint and carrstone villages. East of Ringstead the path follows along the fields of Courtyard Farm, owned by environmental campaigner Peter Melchett, who has opened his estate to walkers, there are some 10 miles of paths and circular walks. The farm was transformed in the 1990's from a cereal producing arable site to a thriving organic mixed arable and livestock farm with the aim of enhancing wildlife and improving farm fertility.

The Norfolk Coast Path This runs from the Victorian resort of Hunstanton to the busy fishing town of Cromer, along a coastline that is famous for its remoteness and wild beauty. It is a wonderfully diverse landscape of sweeping sandy beaches, grass tufted dunes, saltings,reed beds,creeks. tidal inlets and unspoilt villages that claim a maritime tradition that saw them send warships to repel the Spanish Armada. Magnificient stately homes, monasteries, medieval castles, traditional windmills that once ground flour or pumped water to keep the fertile fens from disappearing beneath the sea, the spectacular seal colonies at Blakeney Point and the prolific birdlife along the coast add to the charm of this scenic National Trail.

The award winning Coasthopper Bus Service shadows the Norfolk Coast Path National Trail all the way along from Hunstanton to Cromer, so its really easy to take the bus, get off for a good walk, and rejoin the bus a bit farther along the route. Adult day passes cost just £6 and you can catch the bus on the Norfolk Coast Path National Trail, A149 coast road. Coasthopper buses run at least once an hour making it really easy to access the whole of the coast while leaving the car behind. Dogs may travel on the bus but unfortunately bikes are not allowed ! You may download the summer and winter time tables on www.coasthopper.co.uk