East coast road trip

Gorleston is Great Yarmouth’s quieter sister, but it has a magnificent beach backed by a low cliff with esplanade walks and a links golf course at its southern end.

Just across the river Yare is Great Yarmouth, one of the top holiday destinations in the UK and a mecca for families and fun-lovers who want to enjoy a traditional seaside break. The action here focuses on the Golden Mile, with its two piers, amusement arcades, rides and attractions. At the northern end of the Golden Mile, by the racecourse, the beach is tufted with marram grass and dunes and is perfect for dog walking.

Explore Great Yarmouth 

At Caister-on-Sea you’ll see one of the two independent lifeboat stations in the UK (the other is a little further up the coast at Hemsby), famous for its crews’ bravery. In 1901 the lifeboat was launched for a rescue, but was pushed back by the heavy seas, overturned and nine of the twelve crew were killed. At the inquest, the survivors, asked why even attempted a rescue, replied: ‘Caister men never turn back’.

After Hemsby, with its seaside cafes and amusements, we come to Winteron-on-Sea, which has a wonderful beach which offers popular strenuous walks across the dunes (where you might find terns, natterjack toads and the odd adder). Sights here include a super beach café, and the pastel-painted, thatched Hermanus roundhouses. The spot is fast becoming popular with windsurfers.

Horsey is unique in that it’s a coastal village which is on the Broads. The National Trust-owned Horsey windpump has a top deck from which you can gaze out across Horsey Mere. There are riverboat trips and the Mere itself can be easily walked around.

Arthur Ransome featured Horsey in a number of his stories, and John Betjeman documented a magical swim in the Mere in his poem East Anglian Bathe.

Head down to the beach and you might see the local colony of seals bobbing about in the water, people-watching.

There are more good beaches at Waxham, Sea Palling and Eccles-on-Sea, the latter at Cart Gap, all of which are protected by flood defence works. Sadly, nothing can be done about coastal erosion at Happisburgh, which is slowly slipping into the sea. The picturesque red and white striped lighthouse stands defiantly on the cliff. It’s the UK’s only independently-run lighthouse and in the summer you can climb all the way up to the lantern.

Finally, before reaching Overstrand and Cromer, you’ll come to Mundesley, a cheery spot with a good sandy beach and line of colourful beach huts.

Norfolk's east coast beaches