Car-free adventures alongThe Norfolk Coast PathNorfolk
Exploring the 22 fabulous miles of coast between Cromer and Wells-next-the-Sea, you can happily leave the car behind and travel by bus, train, boat, bike or on foot. Tidal marshes, sandy beaches, shingle, pinewoods and pasture: the varied landscapes of the Norfolk coast are linked by an acorn-waymarked footpath and a scenic bus route. And there’s plenty to do here besides walking. Visit Cromer Pier or Felbrigg Hall, wander round the wooded park at Sheringham or take a seal-watching boat trip from Morston Quay.
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1. Cromer Pier
Regular buses and trains from Norwich head to Cromer and Sheringham. It’s a short walk from Cromer railway station down to the seafront, where Cromer Pier stretches 151 metres into the dramatic North Sea.
- Damaged by storms and wartime defences, the pier has had a turbulent history and been repaired many times, but the traditional Victorian structure is still going strong today and boasts the world’s only full-season end-of pier show in one of the UK’s five surviving pier theatres.
- Arrive by train or bus and you can get 20% off the Cromer Pier Show. See Good Journey’s directions for more details on claiming your discount and getting to Cromer Pier without a car.
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2. Felbrigg Hall and Sheringham Park
There are two fabulous National Trust properties nearby. At Felbrigg Hall, three miles inland from Cromer, you can visit an opulent country house with stained-glass windows, a royal teapot, Chinese wallpaper and lots more. There’s a walled garden, landscaped park and waymarked trails through the woods.
- How do I get to Felbrigg by public transport? Follow Good Journey’s directions. Arriving car-free also means you get 10% off your ticket and a 10% discount in the tea room.
- Heading five miles westwards from Cromer along the Norfolk coast by train, bus, bike or on foot, you will pass close to Sheringham Park, landscaped by celebrated eighteenth-century designer Humphry Repton and now famous for its colourful rhododendrons and azaleas.
- You can climb the viewing towers to look across summer flowers or autumn leaves to the coast. You can explore the park’s thousand acres of woodland, cliffs and butterfly-rich meadows. And arriving without a car means a 10% discount in Sheringham Park’s café
- So how do I get to Sheringham Park without a car? Follow Good Journey’s directions
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3. Walk the coast path
There are not many long-distance paths in the UK that are as well served by public transport as the Norfolk Coast path. The coastal walks between Cromer and Wells-next-the-Sea are easy to break into bite-sized portions using the hourly Coasthopper bus service.
- Tickets on this bus currently cost no more than £2. If you’re travelling westwards beyond Wells-next-the-Sea, a £12 Day ticket gives you unlimited bus travel from Norwich to Cromer and then all along the coast.
- The coastal walk from Sheringham to Cromer is about 4½ miles. The path climbs over the hill known as Beeston Bump, and passes West Runton, where a mammoth skeleton was unearthed in the 1990s. This map shows where the bus stops are.
- The 3 miles from Weybourne to Sheringham hug the coast with skylarks singing above headlands patched with thrift and clover. At Weybourne, you can take a closer look at the windmill and ruined priory. At either end, you could go for a ride on the North Norfolk steam railway. This map shows the bus stops and stations.
- Read on for more great walks and things to see along the coast.
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4. Salthouse to Blakeney
With saltmarshes, reedbeds, sandy rivers and flowering downs, the landscapes in this part of the Norfolk countryside are beautifully varied. Start in the village of Salthouse, where the old church of St Nicholas is luminously airy and the flint-walled Dun Cow pub serves outstanding locally-sourced food. From the bus stop in Salthouse, walk past Cross Street along the main road and turn right opposite Grouts Lane onto the footpath towards marshes and sea.
- The opening half of the 6-mile tramp from Salthouse to Cley runs along a seemingly-endless stretch of shingle beach with birds to spot and coastal flowers (look out for yellow horned poppies) and the timeless sounds of the sea.
- The path heads inland beside a creek to the windmill at Cley-next-the-Sea, which is now a lovely hotel. The bus stops here too so you can divide the stretch or stop for refreshments.
- Between Cley and Blakeney, the wild miles of reed beds and sea lavender are broken only by an occasional isolated cottage, wrecked boat or small pond.
- You could also follow the Blakeney circular walk, one of many great circular walks along the coast. The route is marked by waymarks (white arrows on a bright blue background) and leads from the coastal marshes through a longer inland loop past flint-walled villages, banks of gorse and views across farmland to the sea.
Discover more car-free adventures and discounts at attractions around Norfolk – the UK’s first Good Journey County.
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5. Wells-next-the-Sea to Morston
Another uniquely beautiful 6½ miles of coast path runs along the wild coast path from Wells-next-the-Sea to Morston, where you could book a boat trip to see England’s largest grey seal colony (as featured in David Attenborough’s Wild Isles).
- This stretch of the path runs mostly beside marshes and creeks rather than sea. The landscape is alive with birdsong and purple with summer sea lavender. Look out for spoonbills flying overhead – large white birds with a distinctive blob at the end of their beaks.
- From Buttlands bus stop in Wells-next-the-Sea head towards the sea and turn right along the quay with the water on your left. Following the coast path beside water, samphire-carpeted saltmarsh and boats, there are signed paths leading right to Stiffkey and the Coasthopper bus stops if you need a shortcut. Walking on towards Morston, look out for bird-rich North Fen on your right (there’s an info board by path). There’s also a lookout tower above the seasonal National Trust kiosk on Morston Quay.
- There are plenty of refreshments in Wells too and the Anchor pub in Morston village.
- If you’re looking for a place to swim, start by detouring the mile or so beside East Fleet to Wells-next-the-Sea beach, with its huts on stilts and pinewoods. There are also new electric buses to shuttle visitors to the beach in summer. A circular walk leads through the Holkham Estate and back to the bus stop.
