8 Best Norfolk Seaside Towns to Live or Visit

Are you thinking about living or visiting one of the best Norfolk seaside towns?

If you are thinking of moving to one of Suffolk’s many excellent seaside towns, this is the article for you.

Norfolk offers residents some exceptional rural locations.

As with all the best coastal counties, Norfolk is home to some extremely top draw locations.

Norfolk seaside towns possesses a riveting history, some spectacular countryside and gorgeous properties.

If you have chosen to move to one of the best Norfolk seaside towns, you will certainly be aware of the numerous attractions they offer.

Now that you have made the ruling to move to one of the best Norfolk seaside towns it is time to ask which one?

In this article, we explore some of the top Norfolk seaside towns in detail!

We hope to provide a thorough guide to some of the best Norfolk seaside towns that are currently on offer.

This is the perfect blog for you if you are thinking of moving to any of the best Norfolk seaside towns!

Here are our 8 best Norfolk coastal towns to live or visit.

Hunstanton

A classic Victorian seaside destination. It is also one of a very few places in the UK in the unique position of being able to watch the sun set over the sea.

Initially known as New Hunstanton to distinguish it from the adjacent village of that name.

The new town soon exceeded the village in scale and population.

The town is not as popular as it was during the 1980’s.

However, Hunstanton still receives a fair share of holidaymakers throughout the year.

The surrounding area is quite beautiful.

Home to a long sandy beach backed by white chalky cliffs.

These form part of the Norfolk AONB Coastline.

It is your typical family-friendly holiday village.

Visitors make the most of the local fairground, pony rides and the seal sanctuary.

Like so many families visiting in the past, the amusement arcades along the promenade are also a popular draw.

Unless you are a tennis enthusiast, you might be forgiven for not knowing that Hunstanton is the host for the ITA Hunstanton Lawn Tennis tournament.

This is the biggest in England after Wimbledon.

Held generally in August each year it is a very well attended event.

The town of King’s Lynn is close by as is the royal Sandringham Estate with its historic house and woodland walks.

Hunstanton makes a superb base from which to explore the whole of the Norfolk region.

Thornham

Sited roughly halfway between the popular seaside town of Hunstanton and the picturesque collective villages of the Burnhams.

Thornham can certainly be considered as one of the best of Norfolk’s villages.

Home to sweeping beaches, windswept marshes and plenty of local wildlife.

Thornham is a favourite holiday location and a special place in which to live.

Part of its attraction is that it is remote, quiet and off the beaten track.

Not everyone’s cup of tea but it does obviously appeal to is nearly 500 residents.

Thornham is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It offers an enviable lifestyle split between country and coast.

It doubles as an idyllic work from home location!

However, with larger towns nearby most notably King’s Lynn a journey of 19 miles or 43 miles to the city of Norwich, both posing opportunities for employment not too far away.

There is plenty to do nearby too. RSPB Titchwell Marsh is home to migrating waders, shy bearded tits, nesting marsh harriers, and booming bitterns.

A little further along the coast are Cley Marshes and Blakeney Point, home to colonies of common and grey seals.

Burnham-Overy-Staithe

Burnham Overy Staithe’s name means ‘homestead by a stream’. A very tiny village/parish located in an extremely attractive harbourside setting.

The village is about 1 mile from the larger Burnham Market in one direction and Burnham Thorpe, birthplace of Admiral Lord Nelson, in the other.

Once a bustling harbour town, during the end of the Middle Ages trading ships were able to reach right up to the village.

However, following heavy silting of the river commercial traffic switched downstream to Staithe.

Accessed via the A149, Burnham-Overy-Staithe is known for being frequented by hikers.

There are some fantastic walks along the coast.

Birdwatchers arrive in search of some of the elusive and rare wild birds nesting on the local marshes.

Fundamentally a summer destination, a lovely walk of about one and a half miles leads from Burnham Overy Staithe to the beach.

Once there, miles of golden sand and clean water which, even in the hottest months has plenty of space for all.

If you are wondering how much it would cost to live here, sadly, there is only one property for sale, but it is outstanding!

A three-bedroom 18th Century Grade II listed watermill for the sum of £650,000.

Happisburgh

Hugging the far side of the North Norfolk coast, the village of Happisburgh is overlooked by its extraordinary red and white lighthouse, the oldest and the only independently operated lighthouse in Great Britain.

Pronounced “Haze-bruh”, and spelt ‘Hapesburg’ in the Domesday Book, the name means ‘Haep’s fort or fortified place’

As you would expect from a UK North coast village, it offers panoramic views of the North Sea from a long stretch of sandy beach.

For centuries, fishing came second only to agriculture as the main occupation in Happisburgh.

These days many residents choose to travel to the larger towns and cities in the region to work. Whilst North Walsham is the nearest substantial town (6 miles) some go further to Norwich (19 miles) or Great Yarmouth (22 miles).

Although idyllic, unfortunately, coastal erosion is rampant at Happisburgh and over the last 20 years dozens of houses have been lost to the sea as the cliffs crumble.

Away from the coast there are some very lovely homes for sale with one, a three-bedroom cottage currently on the market for a guide price of £200,000 overlooking the lighthouse.

Holkham

The coast of Norfolk has some extraordinarily picturesque places to live and to visit and Holkham is one of them.

A small village sitting to the North of Norfolk, Holkham is located on the coast road (the A149) between Wells-next-the-Sea and Burnham Overy Staithe.

At one time the village was a busy landing place with access to the sea via a tidal creek to the harbour at nearby Wells-next-the-Sea.

There is lots to keep everyone active and happy.

Holkham has an attractive uncommercialised beach where the tide goes out a long way revealing miles of golden sand making it a prime family holiday haven.

The local marshes are hugely important during the winter months for the famous pink-footed geese and brent geese. This is a very popular place for bird watchers who gather to catch a glimpse of the geese at dusk.

Holkham Hall is the home of the 8th Earl and is surrounded by an attractive park, with herds of red and fallow deer, a lake that was once a tidal creek, several monuments and drives, and its own church. Both hall and park are open to the public.

Whether you have earmarked Holkham as a possible location to search for a home, or you are just visiting, be prepared to be blown away by its many charms.

Brancaster

The civil parish and village of Brancaster is split into three. It comprises Brancaster itself, together with Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale.

Now just ruins, Brancaster was once the site of the Roman fort of Branodonum, built to guard against raids by Frankish and Saxon pirates.

The villages are conveniently located about 3 miles west of Burnham Market, 22 miles north of the town of King’s Lynn and 31 miles north-west of the city of Norwich.

Village life centres around the harbour and its thriving fishing and sailing community.

Many local families still make their living by fishing from the staithe, which has always been famous for its high-quality shellfish.

As one of the driest villages in the country, there is always something to enjoy outdoors.

Managed by the National Trust, Brancaster beach with its wide expanse of sand is perfect for summer sandcastles or winter walks, even on the busiest of days there is room to find your own space and get lost in its tranquil calm.

The Norfolk Coast Footpath is right on the village’s doorstep, running 47 miles along the North Norfolk Coast. Or if its two wheels you prefer, Brancaster lays along the National Cycle Route Number One.

For all your shopping needs, the major shopping hub is located in Burnham Deepdale.  Offering a place to relax, shop, eat, drink and connect with friends and family.

As a visitor destination, you can do as little or as much as you feel like and for those who are lucky enough to call Brancaster home, you are very fortunate indeed.

Blakeney

When choosing where to live in Norfolk, it’s hard to compete with the charming village of Blakeney.

Not only does this little village sit in an enviable position right on the Norfolk coast, but it also lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The North Norfolk Coastal Path travels along its quayside, it could not be more stunning.

Once a commercial seaport, and earlier times, a haven for smugglers, its harbour only receives small boats these days. But it is home to a colony of seals which bask on the sand in the local nature reserve.

A popular holiday location which gets busy in the summer season with many visitors staying at the local 15-acre caravan site.

The village’s centre is off the northern side of the A149 coast road from King’s Lynn to Cromer. With the closest airport located in Norwich, a trip of 25 miles.

Like many Norfolk villages, Blakeney has its fair share of pretty flint cottages, once home to local fisherman, and there are plenty of places to eat and stay as well as pubs, gift shops and art galleries to visit.

The area is just perfect for long leisurely walks. Cley-next-the-Sea offers great views across the marshes and it is also the place to be for bird watchers. Look out for ringed plovers, oystercatchers, brent geese and common teal.

All this beauty comes at a high price. With property values rising steadily over the last year, the current average price of £616,941 is only going to increase further.

For those who can afford it and are looking to wind down a notch or two planning to live life in a pretty coastal village, Blakeney is the perfect antidote to city living.

Cromer

The mainly Victorian town of Cromer is ideally situated close to the Broads, Norwich and beyond.

Cromer Crab is caught and sold to many top-class restaurants around the UK. The chalk shelf and nutrient-rich waters in this region make them particularly flavoursome.

Today it is still seen as a seaside/tourist resort.

With great sandy beaches, museums, surfing, plenty of attractions and a good old-fashioned pier.

Cromer celebrates its maritime heritage with the famous annual Cromer Carnival and Crab & Lobster Festival.

Although Cromer is a day tripper destination, it is also a wonderful place to live.

Home to retirees, families, and more increasingly younger people.

All of whom are looking for an entirely more relexed way of life in an area close to the ocean.

The town has excellent schools both in the town and in the surrounding villages, with independent schools Gresham’s and Beeston Hall just a few miles away.

No need to travel far for day-to-day essentials because the town centre is packed with high street stores and independents. On the outskirts of town are several larger shops such as Homebase, Argos and Morrison’s.

Cromer is by no means cut off. If you really feel like visiting a large city, Norwich is the closest. The main A140 runs direct from Cromer into Norwich taking just over 20 minutes.

Offering the best of both worlds Cromer is part of a large swathe of Norfolk’s coastline, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which, but there is always the countryside to turn to as alternative.

Value for money property prices with the average being £281,857, means Cromer is an all-round place to live. Great facilities, lots to do and good travel links.

Ready to move to one of the best Norfolk seaside towns?

Are you considering moving to one of the best Norfolk seaside towns?

Do any of these Norfolk seaside towns appeal to you?

The region provides locals with some truly outstanding value for money.

Now that you know where all of the top Norfolk seaside towns, it is time to begin planning your dream move.

You can start organising your move to Norfolk today!

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