Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
halting
IN HOLT
The small town of Holt comes as a sur-
prise. A few miles in from the coast you
find a discreet, upmarket place that
seems to have dropped in from the
Cotswolds. The idiosyncratic depart-
ment store Bakers & Larners rambles
through a line of neat high street shop
fronts, with a food hall that's like a mini
Harrods, as well as an enviable selec-
tion of Barbours, posh wellies (boots),
and the like. The art galleries go for big
names—Doric Arts regularly has a selling
exhibition of David Hockney prints, and
Baron Art is full of Clarice Cliff pieces.
You can get here on the Poppy Line
steam train from Sheringham (it's a
mile walk or a bus ride from the sta-
tion; see “Exploring the Area” for infor-
mation), and there are plenty of places
to rest; Bakers & Larners coffee shop,
the Horatio Mugs tearoom (named
after local boy Lord Nelson), and the
Feathers hotel, established 1650, with
its pleasing Plume restaurant.
13
If you're driving from Norwich, take the A140 to Cromer, then the A149 coast road
to Sheringham, Blakeney, Wells-next-the-Sea, Holkham, or Hunstanton.
VISITOR INFORMATION
There are
Tourist Information Centres
at Shering-
ham, Railway Approach (
&
01263/824329;
www.sheringhamtown.co.uk), Wells-
next-the-Sea, Staithe Street (
&
01328/710885;
www.wellsnextthesea.co.uk), and
Hunstanton, 21 High Street (
&
01485/532610;
www.visitwestnorfolk.com).
Exploring the Area
The boisterous seaside town of
Cromer
(with its century-old wooden pier and its
end-of-the-pier Pavilion Theatre featuring leading British variety acts) is a good start-
ing point. It's only a few miles from
Sheringham,
another old-fashioned seaside
town where you can enjoy a short walk along the front and maybe a swift lunch such
as local fish at the Caribbean-hued Funky Mackerel Cafe with its seafront terrace, or
a £4 lobster sandwich at Joyful West's Shellfish Bar on the high street. There's also
the
North Norfolk Steam Railway
(also known as the Poppy Line), Sheringham
Station, Station Approach (
&
01263/820800;
www.nnrailway.co.uk), which does a
30-minute run from the little town center station to the outskirts of Holt, with sea
views, undulating fields, and woodland.
The main A149 road then passes through
Salthouse
(a bird reserve of lagoons and
marsh protected from the sea by a shingle bank), and on to
Cley next the Sea
(pro-
nounced Clee), noted for both the Cley Smokehouse, on the high street
(
&
01263/740282;
www.cleysmokehouse.com), which produces home-cured sea-
food and meat, and the eco-friendly
Cley Marshes Norfolk Wildlife Trust
viewing
hall (
&
01263/740008;
www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk), a free site with interac-
tive displays, as well as a shop, cafe, and parking. Access to the reserve, which runs
down to the sea costs £4, but members and children go free.
Wells-next-the-Sea
is a pleasing little town, with its busy quay-side. Parking at the
main beach parking lot offers a walk along the water's edge (and view of the occasional
seal) into town. The beach, backed by pine forest and with mountainous dunes,
stretches all the way around to
Holkham
beach, near the
Holkham Hall
estate. A bit
farther on, the unspoiled coast ends at the bucket-and-spade seaside resort of
Hun-
stanton
(the only coastal town in Norfolk to face west). Despite top-quality sands here
