Beaches within an hour of Dunston Hall

Don’t be fooled by Dunston Hall’s rural location. The beautiful beaches Norfolk is known for are within easy reach of the hotel, so don’t forget to pack your bucket and spade.

Here’s our guide to the best beaches to get your fix of sea, sand and (hopefully) sun.

Best for families
Cromer
Norfolk’s top crabbing destination, Cromer is a truly traditional seaside town with a Victorian pier, rows of brightly-coloured beach huts and a lifeboat station. The award-winning beach is sandy and flat, perfect for sandcastles and rock-pooling. For more adventurous beach-goers, the area close to the pier is perfect for watersports and you’ll find plenty of places to hire paddleboards, surfboards and more.

No trip to Cromer is complete without some crab, whether it’s catching them or tucking into one of the tasty crab sandwiches you’ll find in almost every café. The best place to head for a spot of crabbing is the edge of the pier, where you can dangle your line and net over the railings. It’s the location of the annual World Pier Crabbing Championship so prepare for a bucket full!

Great Yarmouth
If you’re looking for a typical seaside resort complete with arcades and fish and chips galore, then Great Yarmouth is the place to be. The Pleasure Beach is a must-visit for thrill-seekers with a classic wooden coaster, a log flume, haunted house and much more. For a spot of sandcastle building, head to the Pier Beach where you’ll find golden sands and kid-friendly paddling spots.

One of the best things about Great Yarmouth is the range of things to do. If a spot of drizzle threatens to ruin your beach day you can easily nip into the Sea Life Centre or the Jurassic Journey dinosaur attraction.

Best for wildlife
Blakeney Point
You can’t visit the Norfolk coast without a spot of seal spotting. Blakeney Point is home to one of the largest seal colonies in England, with up to 9,000 common and grey pups born each winter. You can spot the seals pretty much year round, and the best way to guarantee a sighting is to head out on a boat trip from nearby Morston Quay. 

But Blakeney is more than just seals. The village itself is picture-perfect with a fascinating pirate history which can be explored on a stroll around. The saltmarshes that surround the beach are also ideal for a ramble, and you’ll likely encounter an array of coastal wildlife.

West Runton Beach
Head to West Runton at low tide to discover a treasure trove of rockpools. It’s home to part of the Cromer Shoal Chalk Bed - dubbed Britain’s Great Barrier Reef - a 10-million-year-old reef that’s brimming with hermit crabs, long-spined sea-scorpions, starfish, beadlet anemones and more. 

It’s also a great spot for fossil hunting - in the 90s the skeleton of a 10-tonne mammoth was found there! Today, you can hunt for amber, belemnites and fossil sponge.

Best for scenery
Holkham 
Vast and unspoilt, Holkham beach is the perfect place to escape. Accessed via boardwalk through pine woods, you’re rewarded with sweeping pale sands, dunes galore and shallow shores perfect for paddling. The unspoilt views mean Holkham has featured in a number of films, including Shakespeare in Love.

Be warned - a section of Holkham is designated for naturists, however, it is clearly signposted.

Hunstanton 
West-facing Sunny Hunny, as it is known, is the best place to see the sunset. The perfect way to end a day on this beautiful beach. Divide your time between the elegant old Victorian seaside town and the buzzing centre where you’ll find amusements, pony rides and more. 

The beach itself is backed by dramatic red and white striped cliffs and is a great spot for rockpooling and jumping in the gentle waves. Keep your eyes peeled for the shipwreck of the Sheraton steam trawler which can be spotted below the lighthouse.

Best for more than just the beach
Wells-next-the-Sea
The beach at Wells is undeniably beautiful, with its charming rows of beach huts, shady pinewoods perfect for sunny days and sweeping sands. But make sure you leave enough time to explore the town itself. 

If you’re visiting between Easter and October you can take the fully-electric or vintage open-top bus from the beach into the heart of the town. Head to the Harbour to watch the fishermen unload the catch of the day, take a stroll down Staithe Street which is lined with art galleries and independent shops, and go crabbing at the Quay.

Southwold
Not all the best beaches are in Norfolk (although we believe most are!). Just down the road you’ll find Southwold in Suffolk, a beautiful market town with a stunning promenade and beach. There’s plenty to do on a day out here, from hitting the lively pier to touring the Grade II-listed lighthouse and enjoying a tipple at the Adnams Brewery.

Kids and the young at heart will love seeing the cheeky Water Clock on the pier. The mechanical art installation performs its famous ‘pee show’ every hour.