North Norfolk Coastal Walking

This was a really lovely trip enabling us to visit on foot parts of the Norfolk coastline and its hinterland we had never got to know before, in spite of many visits in past years with our birdwatching group. We had amazingly good weather and were able to make good use of the excellent itinerary and notes - and the excellent local bus services. All the hotels were welcoming and comfortable and we very much enjoyed our stays there as well as the walks we did in beautiful scenery. Our grateful thanks to Inntravel for making it all possible! 

We enjoyed the walking holiday in Norfolk very much but thought it would be better to end the trip in Holkham as The Victoria was such a special place to stay. So on day two after Burnham Staithes instead of catching the bus to Holkham go right through to Blakeney on the bus and stay there and do the walks, so you then go to The Victoria at Holkham for your last two days.  

We've done many walking holidays with Inntravel and other companies in the past. Although we are both now over 80 and not as fit as we were, we were delighted to find this walk as well within our capabilities 

Pleasant receptionists at the Rose and Crown, however, the evening meal(s) were poor. Accommodation and food were excellent at the Victoria. The Windmill's situation in Cley was lovely, however the room was a little tired. There was only a hand held shower in the bath without shower curtains. In Cley we would NOT recommend the George and Dragon for food. We strongly recommend The Harnser for an evening meal in Cley: both the owner and the chef were most welcoming and the fish was fresh and delicious.

A delightful holiday in a beautiful area with some great easy walking! Added to this the opportunity to experience Sandringham and Holkham Hall, two superb country estates well worth a visit. Two of the three hotels were wonderful with exceptional food. Ensure that Inntravel send you all the documents, as we did not receive anything, not even by email, which could have made it a difficult holiday!

A very enjoyable coastal walk. All three of the accommodations were very comfortable, and the evening meals at the Rose & Crown and Victoria Inn were delicious. Staying in the Windmill at Cley was a real experience, and we found the nearby George and Dragon pub friendly and serving good food.

The highights were visits to Sandringham Estate and Holkham Hall (book well ahead to check and ensure access) by public transport/ walking. It was wet, so not all of the walks (eg, around Snettisham) were doable. Included meals were very good throughout and accommodation at The Victoria and the Rose and Crown perfect. We were surprised to receive an account at the Victoria, where we were on half board, which included an unexpected 15% "discretionary service charge", but it was readily removed upon request.

Delightful holiday with very varied scenary with good accommodation throughout. We greatly enjoyed it.

For sandwiches etc we would recommend Two Magpies Bakery in Wells a few yards on after you get off the bus. They appear again on the harbour at Blakeney. Thanks for those who recommended the Lynx App for the buses. If you have a bus pass you get a reduced rate when you pay before 9.30am. Very grateful too for the recommendation for The Moorings at Blakeney

The walk around Snettisham (circuit to the sea) needs a bit more of a warning in the walking notes, given the volume of traffic plus state of footpath on some short sections. 

We were very impressed with the Moorings restaurant at Blakeney which was recommended by you. Very friendly welcome (which was a welcome change from Blakeney House), sympathetic service, good food (and sensible portions). Thoroughly recommend. 

It was a superb route - with superb food and accommodation. If I did the walk again, I would prefer to stay somewhere else in Blakeney and pay more. The food at Blakeney House was excellent, but the quality of the accommodaton was poorer than the other 2 places. The Victoria was fabulous.

The Rose and Crown had a lively atmosphere with very friendly staff and clientele. The Victoria was an all round wonderful experience. Every one of the walks was a highlight. We had a great holiday.

Another enjoyable Inntravel holiday, well organised and arranged as usual. The highlight for us was our stay at the Victoria Inn - a wonderfully comfortable hotel with excellent accommodation and food. The Coasthopper bus service was great for enabling us to vary the distances walked and take account of the weather.

Surprisingly [to us] varied and interesting terrain. Wonderful weather and natives universally friendly!

This was our first visit to this part of England and we enjoyed our short holiday there. Taking an extra day at Snettisham allowed us to visit Sandringham, a short bus ride away. Buses were very good and the timetables at each stop were fairly accurate.

As birdwatchers, this holiday was perfect for us as we had the flexibility to choose which reserves we wanted to visit, either in addition to or instead of the suggested walks. As mentioned by other reviewers, the local bus service was a great help and very reliable. 

We enjoyed the relaxed walking and the variation provided by the visits to Sandringham and Holkham Hall. The accommodation was good throughout with very good food.  We particularly enjoyed our stay in the Ancient House at The Victoria in Holkham. There was plenty of opportunity for birdspotting and watching nature with the countryside being full of hawthorn blossom, cow parsley and alexanders.

TIPS: You need to book dinner ahead when staying at Cley Windmill. More info on nearby restaurants would be useful.

We really enjoyed this holiday in North Norfolk, an area we had explored before.  Inntravel have done well to provide a variety of walking in the area - not just the coast path.  We would recommend using the Coastliner and Coasthopper bus services if you find the wind is coming from the east - it is not much fun walking into it for miles!  At the Rose and Crown we had a room as far from the bar as it was possible to be so they had obviously taken note of some comments from reviews in 2022.  Blakeney House now provide a 5 course tasting menu (which we enjoyed very much on both nights we were there) but, for information, it costs £10 more than the Inntravel allocation and does not provide a choice - although the chef was very ready to provide alternatives where necessary.

This was our first Inntravel holiday, we both really enjoyed the experience and we'll certainly be looking to book again in the future.

Highlights: Probably the last day. After the walk along the seawall and coffee in Cley,  the walk inland St Margaret's Church and up over bridge at Wiverton and on wards was very pleasant and the most enjoyable walk. The sun shone, and the church at Wiverton was ringing a bell in memory of the Queen, and a welcome pint in the Wiverton Bell as a rain shower passed over was just the thing.

Note the recommendation for the Moorings.

Lovely walking holiday. Highlights were Holkham Hall. So much to explore and so many deer. We also included a trip to see the seals from Morston Quay which we can recommend but do remember to plan ahead.

The Victoria Inn and Holkham were definitely the highlight and delighted we booked our extra night there rather than Blakeney.

This was an excellent walk for anyone interested in birdlife. We saw more than 50 types of bird in 6 days including spoonbills, avocets, little egret, hobby, marsh harriers and redshanks.

We had a really enjoyable holiday - our first time in Norfolk. We enjoyed the varied and different scenery; on the wash at Snettisham, the salt marshes and beaches on the coast and countryside further inland. All the hotels were excellent. We especially liked the bedroom at The Victoria Inn which was a good size and very comfortable. The welcome we received at each hotel was very friendly and the food at each was also excellent. We found the walks provided by Inntravel very good but it was also good that there were options for varying routes/doing your own thing, which we did on a couple of days. Sadly both Sandringham and Holkham Hall were closed on the days we had planned to visit but we enjoyed walking in the parkland and visiting the gardens anyway.   

We really enjoyed discovering North Norfolk - the land- and seascapes, the food (so much good seafood), the varied vernacular architecture, the bird-spotting, the very friendly people, the warm late June weather.

The Victoria Inn and Cley Windmill delightful and definitely enhanced a lovely holiday. Rose and Crown was noisy and a bit basic. Reception was unfriendly and dismissive there. However perhaps that was the best available in the area. 

Walking notes, routes and suggested visits and eateries all excellent. Particularly enjoyed Sandringham and Holkham.

This was an excellent holiday and thank you for arranging excellent weather too.

The accommodation was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our first experience of a walking holiday and of Norfolk. We loved the fact that we could adapt parts of the walking to suit ourselves We made use of the local busses and chose not to walk in extreme heat The only tip to beginners would be to read the excellent information pack before you go and plan ahead.

This was a very relaxing walking holiday made even better due to glorious weather. Highlights would have to be fields of stunning red poppies; being the only two people watching a magnificent sunset at Holkham Bay; the stunning walled garden on the Holkham Estate; staying in the windmill at Cley - a unique experience; and the friendliness of all we met, whether working in the accommodation or locals met while walking. We would not hesitate to recommend this walk. Tip - take plenty of sunscreen if the weather is warm and sunny.

This was an excellent vacation in every way.   Brilliant accommodation and very helpful staff.

We had anticipated that as package customers we might expect a lower level of service in the hotels than customers who had booked directly with the hotels. This was not the case and the service and welcome we received in all the hotels was very good indeed. We also expected that the included meals would be a special fixed price menu. It was a delightful surprise to find that we were able to choose from the main menu in each of the hotels. Maybe this is the case with all Inntravel holidays but this was our first holiday with Inntravel and it was a particular highlight. 

This was a most enjoyable holiday, visiting the little villages and surrounding salt marshes, with comfortable lodgings each very different but each with its own charm. Food was delicious and staff went out of their way to be welcoming and helpful. Rooms were well appointed and very comfortable. A particular highlight was the train journey from Wells by the Sea to Walsingham.  

Our stay at the Rose & Crown was the best hotel and Snettisham is very pretty to explore with a good coffee shop.Very useful to have an hourly bus service along the coast which takes away any stress about how long the walks might be. The beach at Holkham is amazing especially for children with pretty beach huts though few seem to be used. Thetrip on the railway to Walsingham was good but you need to get there early to be sure of a seat (it was a school holiday) and the pilgrim centre at Walsingham was really peaceful with a good cafe. We saw birds that we seldom see in Scotland such as egrets, avocet, spoon bills and red kites which was special. It was nice to join in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Blakeney. The circular walk from Blakeny to Cley was really good.

Memorable for the long views over salt marshes inhabited by a wide variety of birds that we would never see in our suburban garden, and we also heard a cuckoo.  All the accommodation was good (particularly Holkham).  Navigation was very easy.  Highlights were the huge herd of fallow deer and a six acre walled garden in Holkham Hall's grounds, together with Holkham beach. Thanks are due to Inntravel for advising us of a major footpath diversion and for suggesting alternatives which were far preferable.  The Moorings in Blakeney is recommended, although the meal at Blakeney House was also very good.  Taking supplies for lunch could be wise.  Some of the pubs have gone too far upmarket to provide a simple light lunch.

This was our 12th Inntravel holiday and was as good as ever. The hotels were all excellent, wild flowers and bird life fascinating, the walking very easy and the weather fine. Everyone was so friendly! We booked a visit to Sandringham on the day we travelled so that we'd have time to walk to Snettisham Beach on our first full day. Be aware that there's not much at the beach on a Monday, at least in May. The only place open was the shop at the caravan site and it closed at 2.00pm - shortly before we got back from our walk around the Reserve, alas. Fortunately we'd eaten a hearty breakfast at The Rose and Crown. Accommodation and food were as good as ever, though some people might be put off by the number of dogs in the restaurant at The Victoria. On the plus side, they provided a fridge in the room full of complimentary drinks which we felt it rude not to try. They also had printed instructions for using the shower. A really good idea! And the muntjacs and pheasants on the lawn at Blakeney House provided evening entertainment. We did try to catch the train to Walsingham, but the 12.00 service didn't run. It might be worth phoning ahead since it's quite a walk out of Wells to the station. Finally - no-one has mentioned the churches. All really interesting in different ways. I'm told that the view from the top of the tower in Blakeney is worth the climb, if you don't mind heights and 135 steps.

As we are getting older, it was nice to be able to do a less demanding Inntravel walk that was within our capabilties. Accomodation was very different in character and each location had its own particular charm.

Our 6-days walking the North Norfolk Coast was superb. A well-needed break with wide open spaces, fresh air, great scenery and all the comforts of great food and wine and a comfy room each evening. Loved it.