On our last trip to the North Norfolk Coast we spent a wonderful afternoon exploring the woods between Holkham and Wells Next the Sea.

This part of Norfolk is known for it’s big skies and seemingly endless sandy beaches. Holkham National Nature Reserve is on the coast between Burnham Overy Staithe and Blakeney, and is managed by Natural England in conjunction with the Holkham Estate.

To access the forest, you can park either at Holkham (beach side) or at Wells Next the Sea beach car park. The quiet of the pinewoods comes as a surprise and even on a windy, damp day it’s delightfully peaceful.

A walk in the woods is always exciting, but it’s the rope swings and tree climbing that make this walk quite exhilarating!

Three kinds of pines grow in the woods, Corsican (grey trunk with small cones), Scots (orange upper trunk) and Maritime (large cones in tree-top clusters). The pines were planted over a period of 29 years in the late 19th century by the 2nd Earl of Leicester.

Dogs on leads are welcome in most areas – click here for further information.

There are lots of other things to do in the area including crabbing at Wells, messing about in the tidal creeks, the superb adventure playground at Holkham Hall and of course enjoying the miles of sandy beaches.

For further information on North Norfolk click here.