Blakeney

Blakeney

When the tide’s touching the shoreline, untie your laces and dip your toes in, take the plunge or push off with a slow drift along coastal inlets on a paddleboard or boat to lose yourself in nature’s finest backdrop. Forage some samphire for a taste of the coast, try your hand at catching a crab on the quay, or join the tourists and take a boat trip with Bean’s to spot the seals bobbing along on the water.

Despite the relaxed scene, Blakeney was once a bustling medieval port and the village’s Guildhall and Church of St Nicholas are evidence of its rich, trading past which continued until the mid-19th century. As ships grew in size and the harbour silted up, trade fell away and today only small boats can pass Blakeney Point and head out to sea. Today, the nature reserve surrounding Blakeney Point is owned by the National Trust and thousands of nesting and migratory birds provide a twitcher’s paradise where the tweets are tech-free.

Peace and, if you seek it, solitude are easily found in Blakeney, but if you are looking for company there are plenty of places to meet and make friends. Local boys Grey Seal Coffee roast their beans at nearby Glandford and its café is a great stop for a caffeine hit – nab a bag or two and even some spent grounds for your garden. The White Horse and, for a fancy supper, The Blakeney Hotel are iconic spots to eat, and Wiveton Hall Fruit Farm Café – famed by owner Desmond MacCarthy’s Normal for Norfolk BBC series – is a great summer destination.

Teeming with character, there are plenty of pretty brick and flint fishermen’s cottages in hollyhock-lined lanes, known locally as lokes, leading off the high street, along with incredible coastal family houses and stunning new developments. Blakeney truly is a place to discover your next Norfolk home.