Holkham Beach

The beach runs for several kilometres in front of the Holkham estate, with a belt of Corsican pines planted from the 1850s to stabilise the dunes and shelter the reclaimed farmland behind. At low water the sand goes out so far that the sea is a distant line and shallow pans of water left on the flats mirror the sky, which is the image the place is known for; the walk from the car park through the pines to the waterline can take twenty minutes each way. The national nature reserve behind holds pinewood, dune and grazing marsh, with wintering pink-footed geese in tens of thousands. The final scene of Shakespeare in Love was filmed here. Nudity is tolerated in a marked section at the eastern end, a long-established local arrangement.

What you actually see

• The tidal flats - kilometres of sand with mirror pans at low water.
• The pine belt - Corsican pines planted from the 1850s to hold the dunes.
• The nature reserve - dune, marsh and wintering pink-footed geese.
• The scale - a beach wide enough to absorb summer crowds without feeling full.

When to go

April to October for the beach; winter for the goose flights at dawn and dusk, which are the more remarkable spectacle. Tide times matter, since the sea retreats a long way and returns across flat sand.

Honest expectations

The walk to the water is long and there is no shelter or shade on the sand. Parking on Lady Anne's Drive is charged and fills on summer weekends. The incoming tide fills creeks behind walkers and people are cut off most years.

Nearby

Wells-next-the-Sea is east; Holkham Hall and Burnham Market lie inland.