Burnham Overy Staithe to Wells-next-the-Sea (Stage 3 Norfolk Coast Path) (7 miles)

The weather was grey and misty when we arrived in Burnham Overy Staithe  for stage 3 of our Norfolk Coast Path walk.  Apparently Nelson learned to row here and once we turned down the harbour road it was clear the tide was right in.  There is parking here at the harbour but do not leave your car without checking the tides!  Having recently taken delivery of a new car we were reluctant to see it floating out to sea so went to plan B.  We drove on to Wells-next-the-Sea and parked up in the car park before catching the first Coasthopper bus of the day (Sunday – 9.40am but do check the timetables) back to Burnham O.S.

Burnham Overy Staithe

Once we were off the bus at The Hero pub we took the road opposite down to the harbour and turned right.  This part of the walk is along a bank which winds its way towards the sea.  The air was still with not a hint of breeze this morning but you are quite exposed and I imagine, like our previous walk, it could be cold on a blowy winter's day.

Burnham Overy Staithe

Despite the restrictive parking, it was nice to see the tide in for a change.  On our previous two walks (Stage 1 & Stage 2) we had been surrounded by mud and all the boats were stranded in the marshes.  

I’ve never really seen Small Egrets until I walked this path and today there were lots making the most of the food bought in on the tide.  There were a few serious photographers out too, long lenses balancing on monopods pointing towards a group of what I thought were Egrets as they fished in the lagoons. (I later zoomed in close to the photo I took - they were a long way away so it's not clear enough to post up - and have decided they were actually Spoonbills, another first for us)

Dunes leading onto the beach

After about 1 ½ miles the bank became a boardwalk and we headed into the dunes.  After a short climb over the top we stopped to take in the view - a spectacularly beautiful sandy beach.  The official coastal path goes through the dunes but we went down onto the sand.  The tide by now was just starting to go out and we turned right walking along the edge of the shore for a few miles as the sun started to burn through.  It truly is a stunning unspoilt stretch of beach.  We crunched over millions of shells, especially razor fish shells which litter in drifts along the high tide mark.  This beach, and many of the North Norfolk beaches were badly damaged by the storm surges in December 2013 but you can see the dunes starting to re-establish themselves already.

Razor fish shells on Holkham beach

We followed the line of the dunes for a while in the now warm sunshine.  We actually started to find walking on the sand got tougher as it dried out and, knowing we had quite a way to go, we took a path on the right, cutting through the dunes slightly early, and walked along the inside edge of the pine woods coming out in the nature reserve near the bird hide.  The hide was full with people watching large noisy flocks of geese out on the marshes.  The official route goes a bit further along the sand/dunes coming out at Holkham Gap.  Either way you will eventually come out at the top of Lady Anne's Drive in Holkham.  Again you have a choice, you can walk through the pine woods or as we did cross the road and follow the bike trail along the outside edge.  You could also just keep to the sand and walk right to Wells if your calves will take it, although again do watch the tide times as there are many sandbanks and strong currents along here.

Holkham beach

We had done this part of the walk before, albeit in the opposite direction.  As it is close to the car park at Holkham and to Wells holiday park it was busier than the first part.  As well as walkers, we passed dog walkers and cyclists, all enjoying surely one of the last warm summery Sundays of the year.  We stopped for a while on a bench and watched a pair of buzzards circling over head.

Buzzard at Holkham/Wells

Eventually the trail bends round to the left, passing some holiday chalets and then at the signposted junction we took a right towards a car park. We stopped briefly here for the toilets but decided to carry on to the town for something to eat, although the café near the car park is good.  We climbed the steps onto the pathway that runs alongside the harbour and Beach Road and followed it towards the town just as the clouds began to gather again.  (There is a little train that runs up and down here too sometimes)

The walk to Wells-next-the-Sea town

The car park we started at is just to the right at the end of the road but we stopped to pick up our lunch in the excellent Wells Deli opposite and ate it on the harbour wall before heading home.

Route:
1.              From The Hero pub in Burnham Overy Staithe follow the road opposite to the harbour. 
2.              Take a right and follow the path along the top of the bank.
3.              At the dunes either follow the path on the right along the top of the dunes or go down onto the beach and turn right.
4.              Follow for a few miles until you reach Holkham Gap on your right (not signposted)
5.              Follow the boardwalk away from the beach and either go through the woods or along the marked path on the outside of the woods.
6.              Follow the pathway until you reach a junction.
7.              Take a right and go through the gateway into the car park.
8.              Walk between the café and the toilets and take the steps up onto the pathway.
9.              Follow the pathway into Wells town.
10.          At the main road turn right to get back to the car park.

Our route was 6.96 miles.

See the route on mapometer

Terrain: Grass paths and boardwalks from Burnham O.S. flat and easy although small climb into the sand dunes, beach is mixture of wet and soft sand, through the nature reserve and along the edge of the pine woods the paths are wide and sandy and easy going.  Flat tarmac path to the town. 

Habitat: Marshes, coastal, pine woods, nature reserve, ponds, harbour, urban

Facilities: Toilets at car park in Wells, Coasthopper bus stop near car park.  No toilets that I could see at Burnham O.S. although there is the The Hero pub.  Toilets and café at the beach end car park of Wells.  Numerous shops, cafes, fish and chips in Wells town.

You can see my photos from the other stages of our Norfolk Coast Path walk on my Flickr album

Brancaster to Burnham Overy Staithe (Stage 2 Norfolk Coast Path) (6 miles)

Although we finished stage 1 of our Norfolk Coast Path walk in Thornham, the next part of the path is inland so we decided to pick it up again at Brancaster.  We were originally aiming for Burnham Deepdale but this wasn’t as far as we had anticipated so decided to carry on to Burnham Overy Staithe.  Unfortunately in the hope of finding a pub or café we took a wrong turning and ended up in Burnham Norton and, as we couldn’t find pub, café or bus stop, we decided to walk on via the roadway to Burnham Market rather than double back.  So we didn’t actually make it to Burnham Overy Staithe, despite seeing it quite clearly in front of us!!  Not really knowing Burnham Market very well and coming out up one end, again with no pub in sight, we caught the bus back to Brancaster for lunch.  Burnham Market turned out to be a lovely looking place and as we went through on the brilliant Coasthopper bus we were quite sad we hadn’t explored it a bit further.  Another day perhaps.  

Brancaster Staithe

Back in Brancaster we popped over the road from the church to The Ship Hotel for lunch. The scampi and chips and warm bread rolls were lovely but unfortunately they lost our order from the bar to the kitchen somewhere so we ended up waiting for over an hour.  They did take the food off our bill, in the end, but a family with young children next to us also had to enquire about their food.  It was a lovely homely bar and the food was good so it's a shame the service let them down. 

The directions are for as far as we got before the wrong turn and then as they are on the map.  It should perhaps be noted that although this is the coastal path you are not in sight of the beach or the sea!

We parked just by the church in Brancaster.  There is a car park down at the beach and if you park here you will need to walk back up the road towards the village until you reach the signpost for the coastal path to Brancaster Staithe.  This area is all part of the National Trust's Brancaster Estate

Once on the coastal path follow it to Brancaster Staithe harbour.  You will have the back gardens of some rather lovely houses on your right and the marsh to your left.  Most of this part of the walk is on boardwalk.  You will pass a sign on your right for the Roman Fort of Branodunum although this is just earthworks now so not much to look at sadly.

When you reach the harbour go slightly right and around towards the harbour entrance.  There is a lobster shack on the left and the coast path continues opposite. 

Brancaster Staithe

After a short distance the path crosses a roadway and runs between two old buildings before coming out in the marshes again.  Follow this path again with gardens on your right and the marshes on the left.  The garden of The White Horse pub is along here if you need a break, although not very well marked.

Eventually you will come to a signpost.  If you want to finish in Barnham Deepdale follow the sign to the shop and café.  If not cross over and continue up some steps onwards to Bunham Overy Staithe (another 3 ¾ miles).

The path from here onwards is along a bank.  We walked this on a very blustery day, post ex-hurricane Bertha.  Although the wind was coming from the shore and not cold we were quite exposed and it was difficult to walk at times, and hold the camera still! I’m not sure I’d want to walk it in a cold winter wind!!  We were rewarded though by large flocks of geese flying over us.

Geese over Burnham Overy Marshes

Eventually the bank swings right and Burnham Overy Staithe is in front of you to the left, however, the bank then turns right again to go around the marshes so you are going back on yourself.  This is where we made the wrong decision. (Note to self: get a map!)  You will come to a T junction with a signpost to carry on on the coastal path or take a public footpath.  Because we were tired from battling with the wind we decided to head to the nearby village we could see on the footpath.  This was a bad move as Burnham Norton didn’t appear to have any facilities, nor a Coasthopper bus stop, so we then ended up walking another grumpy mile to Burnham Market instead.

Burnham Overy Staithe

However, if you continue on the coastal path to the left with the windmill in front of you then left again you will arrive in Burnham Overy Staithe. 

Our route was 7 miles (would have been 6 if we hadn’t detoured)

See the proper route on mapometer

Terrain: Easy, mostly flat, boardwalk, grass, could get muddy/flooded, stile, kissing gate

Habitat: Marsh, reedbeds, estuary, harbour

Facilities: (not sure what is available in Burnham Overy Staithe) Parking, toilets and kiosk at Brancaster beach. The Ship Hotel in Brancaster. The Jolly Sailor and The White Horse on route. Burnham Deepdale has shops and café.

You can see other photos from this walk and previous walks on the Norfolk Coast Path in my Flickr album