Brancaster beach with Scolt Head beyond
Boardwalk at Holkham beach
Wells beach with dunes in foreground
Multicoloured huts at Wells beach
Winter walk on Holkham beach
Summer fun at Holkham beach
Red sky at night sailor's delight
Blakeney pit at low tide
Sunset at Brancaster Staithe
Brent Geese take flight at Holkham Nature Reserve
Pony trekking on a coastal bridleway
Walking the coastal path from Blakeney to Cley
Peddars Way runs beside the pinewoods at Wells
People come to Norfolk for its soft, sandy beaches, wild marshland, vast skies and pretty flint-built coastal villages. It is a landscape made for idyllic family holidays where time is best spent boating, crabbing, flying kites, digging for cockles or wading in muddy creeks. It also happens to be one of the emptiest stretches of coastline in England - with enough space to find an isolated picnic spot even in the height of summer.
But it would be wrong to come simply for the coast. Venture a little way inland and you come across gorgeous unspoilt villages in undulating, rural countryside - ideal for gentle cycling, walking and touring by car. And wherever you wander, you're never far from an excellent delicatessen, a good fishmonger selling locally caught crab or a cosy pub serving Norfolk Wherry beer.
Norfolk is also renowned for the sheer quantity and quality of all year round birdwatching. The coastal dunes and marshes support many resident species that are either not found elsewhere or are localised. Add to this the regular appearance of scarce migrates and national rarities and it becomes clear why birdwatchers return time and again.
With its windswept tidelines, maze of creeks and saltings, miles of dunes and sandspits, shady pinewoods, green pastures and marshes, this supremely wild and wonderful area of outstanding natural beauty is somewhere to catch your breath in a busy world.