Holkham Beach

Holkham Beach is part of Holkham National Nature Reserve, which combines beach, dunes, salt marsh, grazing marsh and pine woods in just under 40 sq km. The pines were planted in the late 19th century to stabilise the dunes. You reach the beach from the car parks on Lady Anne’s Drive along paths through the woods. From the top of the road it takes about 10 minutes, and from the beach entrance to the water’s edge you should allow roughly another 30 minutes, depending on the tide.

Plan around the tides: strong currents are dangerous, you should swim only between the red and yellow flags, and you should leave the sandbanks at least four hours before high water. When it is busy, an overflow car park opens on grass. Toilets and refreshments are at the visitor centre, The Lookout, at the top of the road. Camping, barbecues and open fires are banned. Vehicles over 4.8 m count as “long vehicles” and have their own parking rules.