This was the last adventure we had in England before flying home on Icelandair from Heathrow on May 9, 2022. The Norfolk Coast Path and Peddars Way are considered one trail, but to my mind, it's linking a visit to Value Village with getting a coffee at Starbucks and calling it one outing. They are both really different types of trails in every way possible, but connected at Holme-Next-the-Sea.
At Holme, we went left to start at Hunstanton (locally known as Hunst'n) with, theoretically 84 miles to hike. We actually walked a little farther due to diversions (detours), missing signs and having to backtrack, and walking to accommodations that we not on the trail. The trail used to end at Cromer, but was extended to Hopton-on-Sea.
Most of the time, the trail looked like this. We walked above, behind and through dunes or on the beach, interspersed with short spurts of walking through forests along the side of farm fields.
But we also spent time on boardwalks (called duck paths), along or on white sandy beaches or rocky round stones called shingles. Not pictured here were short forays through little villages and along docks. We walked along Holkham beach, then saw photos of the Royals, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis taken on that very beach. The beaches were never empty, even on the coldest days. We stood out because we didn't have a dog.
Right off the bat, we came to this beautiful cliff near Hunstanton. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it was quite red with minerals. On that same beach, we found chunks of coal and chalk, fallen off close and distant cliffs.
Speaking of Royals, everyone is all a-twitter about the Platinum Jubilee. There is a Queen's likeness scarecrow contest happening, and Sue and Clive from Hill House in Happisburgh (pronounced Hays-burra) are going to a garden party at Buckingham Palace! England loves their Royals!
Every village had their harbor, some with piers and promenades, some with just boats. Families could rent a bucket and net for their kids to jig for gillie crabs (not for eating- they threw them back). The kids I met at the dock all wanted to visit Hollywood. All but one who wanted to see NYC at Christmastime.
Much of our trail went through protected wildlife preserves. The "twitchers", a despised name for birders, were very gracious and showed us some great birds through their spotting scopes. This is prime time for migrating birds (see list at the bottom of the page). The Grey and Harbour seals at Horsey Gap were lounging on the beach there by the hundreds.
Besides the hike and the people, the area is full of WW2 displays and structures. Everyone who found out we were American, expressed gratitude and appreciation for the American work in WW2. One gentleman was a London lad evacuated to live on a farm in Norfolk. One man told us that it was thought that Norfolk would be the beach where Hitler would land, but he never did. The munitions factory in Norwich (pronounced Nor'ich) was bombed and many died.
The beach at Happisburgh is eroding fast. All along the beach were jetties and barriers to slow down the erosion.
Birds that we saw for the first time while hiking this trail include: Common Kestrel, Common Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Song Thrush, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Common Reed Bunting, Red-legged Partridge, Red-breasted Goose, Eurasian Spoonbill, Little Egret, Great Cormorant, Western Marsh Harrier, Pied Avocet, Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank, Common Tern and Eurasian Magpie.
Logistics: Besides the info from the previous post, we stayed at The Globe in Wells-Next-the-Sea (2 nights), The Blakeney House B&B in Blakeney, The Grove outside of Cromer, Hill House Inn in Happisburgh, Burleigh House B&B in Winterton and finally, the Chateau in Great Yarmouth at the end of the trail. On several occasions, we took the local Coasthopper bus on A149 road to lodging or back to the trail.
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