Exploring the beauty of Wells beach 

For me, Wells beach is one of the best beaches in Norfolk.  Located on the stunning North Norfolk coast, this is a beach where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the busy town and spend some time enjoying the wide open space, golden sands, building sand castles and oggling at the unique beach huts!

Just a stone’s throw away from the harbour town of Wells-next-the-Sea, this Norfolk beach offers everything you could want from the perfect English beach.

• unspoilt
• easy parking
  
• miles of sandy beach for bucket and spade holidays
• beach huts like you’ve never seen before
• perfect for dog walking or just walking
  
• ideal for bird watching
  

There are a few advantages to visiting Wells beach over some of the other beaches, 3 of which I will tell you about below:

• The first is that there is usually an ice cream van parked right by the steps to the beach.  Now I don’t usually visit this on the way, but it’s a wonderful thought for the way back, and if you’ve got children in tow, why not give them a holiday treat too – they’ll love you for it – (and it can always act as a bribe during the day as well!)
• Second, there is a café at the other end of the car park, Wells Beach Cafe, which, if you can’t get around to making a picnic because you’re on holiday and want to chill out, or don’t want to carry one because you don’t want the hassle, then why not indulge yourself and pop into the café for a change.  It's also extremely dog friendly.  Or there are other cafes in the middle of Wells.
  
• The third is the best one of all.  Many of the North Norfolk beaches require a bit of a walk to the beach.  Wells beach is literally just over the dunes from the car park, with steps up to the top of the dunes and then, once you’ve reached the top you get the wonderful view of the beach, and down you go to feel that lovely loose sand in between your toes.  You’ll get that “WOW” factor as you get to the top of the steps and look down on this fantastic beach.   
  

Steps up to the top of the dunes

Short board walk to the top

Rewarded by the view at the top of the steps!

However, if you want to swim in the sea, you'd better check the tide times and arrive at the beach when the tide is high. 

When the tide is out, you literally can't see the sea, but there is a small channel which you could dip into, only if you're a strong swimmer, but you would need to be very careful as the current is quite strong.

It is, however, somewhere where you can fill up a bucket of sea water!

If you want to see more pictures of Wells beach, head over to my Norfolk Video gallery.

Map of the Norfolk Beaches

View Norfolk UK Beaches in a larger map

Traditional Bucket and Spade Experience 

Yes, this is the perfect beach for bucket and spades, whether the tide is in or out.  If the tide is in, you still have that wonderfully soft sand right up to the level of the beach huts and sand dunes.

Perfect for building those sandcastles, digging moats and just enjoying beautiful soft sand!

Not great however for body boarding as the waves aren’t huge, but you could use the boards as a float on the little pools that are left as the tide goes out. 

Other child friendly beaches on the West and North Norfolk coast are Heacham, Old and New Hunstanton, Sheringham, Cromer and Mundesley.

A beach for dog lovers

This is one very dog friendly beach (with the exception of the east side which is on the right as you come down the steps towards the sea and by the beach huts), but that’s not an issue.
 
Dogs are an important part of my life, and maybe for you too. They absolutely love it here.  Low tide is obviously best as the sands stretch for miles and the lovely hard sand makes it great walking for them, and for you too.   You literally can walk for miles!

But please - pick up your dog poo and put your bags in the bins provided - don't leave the bags lying around on the beach, it is incredibly unsightly and, more importantly, it actually ruins the environment on this Nature Reserve.

Carry on walking westwards and you’ll eventually come to Holkham beach, another amazing dog walking beach.

Beach huts worth seeing

One of the best things about Wells beach (I think so anyway!), is these iconic and very vibrant beach huts.   

Each hut is uniquely painted, with some extraordinary, and in some cases, very amusing names.  

Some of the beach hut owners have great imagination and creativity and you’ll get real enjoyment from looking at them.  Think up some names yourself – a great game for bored kids – although quite how they can be bored on this beach I don’t know!

Here are just a couple of names of beach huts on Wells beach.
    Linger Longer
    Hut Blong Jane
    Dolly Mixture

And many other great names, but I’d hate to give the game away!

Some are painted in fantastic colour schemes, they really are worth taking a look at.

There are no amenities on this beach, they are all in the car park.

Wells beach has more surprises

Wells isn’t just a beach - on the other side of the sand dunes nearest the car park is a wonderful pine walk, comprising the Norfolk Coast Path and Peddars Way. 

In fact you can criss-cross these paths with the beach, going over the dunes into the wood or vice versa to the beach.  This path will also take you all the way to Holkham beach (2 miles), and on a sunny day it’s welcome shade from the sun. 

Great for cycling too.

The path runs alongside the boating lake from the Pinewoods Holiday Park and runs through part of the Holkham Nature Reserve, the main section of which stretches from Wells-next-the-Sea to Holkham, so if you’re a great bird watcher, nature enthusiast or rambler, this is a superb place to come and watch the wildlife habitats at work – grab an ice cream, don your binoculars and have a fascinating walk along the Norfolk Coast Path.We organise walking holidays along this particular path which may be of interest to you.

Camping at Wells-next-the-Sea

Last, but not least, you've got Pinewoods Holiday Park.  Whatever type of camping you're doing, whether it be in a tent, staying in a static caravan or bringing your own mode of transport, it's right on the edge of Wells beach, so it couldn’t be a more convenient place to stay. 
 
However, once on the beach, you never get the feeling that there’s a holiday park right next door.  That’s what I love about Wells beach, you just go over the dunes and you’re transported to another world. 

Wells-next-the-Sea beach truly is a fantastic beach that's waiting to be discovered by you! With its wonderful beach huts, vast swathes of sand, traditional bucket and spade experience, dog-friendly policy and coastal walking, you couldn't ask for much more!