Local guide

Just down the road from Holt, a pub that champions local ingredients. Inside they serve elevated pub classics such as pan-seared sea bream and a decadent house cheeseburger, with a smaller menu in the garden in summer.

Get a taste of the Mediterranean at this revamped old country pub: cured meats, tasty tapas and good cocktails.

Known for its excellent food and even more excellent art collection. Book a table in the restaurant for the full experience, or have a more casual lunch in the traditional pub bar. Especially atmospheric on a cold evening.

A cheerful pub with some of the best views over the salt marshes from its spacious front garden, and a cosy fire inside for chillier days. The food has a Spanish leaning, with sherry, oysters and burnt Basque cheesecake.

A wonderfully friendly pub with delicious food. Airy and light inside, with covered tables in the garden across the road for all-weather eating outside. Welsh rarebit and posh fish finger sandwiches at lunch, and heartier plates, including a handmade pie of the day, for dinner.

A sprawling pub with several places to eat, but the standout is the marsh-side seafood bar, with stunning views over the salt marsh.

A great place for a special meal out. The menu celebrates seasonal produce in contemporary small plates.

For something a bit different, this sweet restaurant cooks most of its dishes over fire, indoors and out, and does a stunning lobster pie for a real treat.

A Holt institution in one of the town’s oldest buildings: café, restaurant and deli in one, with locally sourced food from breakfast through to dinner.

Holt’s much-loved independent department store has a food hall and deli for stocking up the cottage, and a café for coffee, light lunches and scones with clotted cream.

Excellent speciality coffee, and a good pause between the shops and galleries.

Blakeney Point is home to one of the largest grey seal colonies in England. You can walk out along the coast, but the best way to see the seals is by boat: Beans Boat Trips and Temple’s Seal Trips both run from Morston Quay. Worth it all year, and especially from November to January, when the pups are born on the beach.

North Norfolk has lots of lovely coastal spots, but none more dramatic than Holkham. You walk through a stunning pine forest before emerging onto a huge expanse of sand, and it’s a long, lovely walk down to the dunes and the sea. There’s a café by the car park. Check the tide times before you set out, and keep dogs on leads in the bird nesting season.

The Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s oldest reserve: reed beds, lagoons and grazing marsh with bird hides, and a visitor centre and café looking right across the marshes to the sea. Wonderful for the spring and autumn migrations.

The national trail runs the length of the coast. Good stretches from here include Cley to Salthouse across the marshes, Wells beach to Holkham through the pines, and the clifftop walk to Cromer lighthouse.

There are beautiful walks for all abilities around the cottage. You’ll find local maps and walking books in the cottage, and more ideas on the National Trust’s Walking in Norfolk pages and at norfolk.gov.uk.

National Trust woodland and parkland with viewing towers looking out to the coast. Glorious when the rhododendrons and azaleas flower in late spring, and for autumn colour.

A nature reserve, plant nursery, wildflower garden and café, and a delightful spot for a day out at any time of year. Wander from the orchard and kitchen garden to the riverside woodland, then stop for cake in the garden café.

Sand, shingle and chalk reef, with rock pools at low tide and fossils along the cliffs.

Everything from stylish sustainable homewares and gardening accessories to luxurious bath oils and natural perfumes, across a trio of independent stores.

A gallery, shop and workshop selling beautiful bowls, plates, vases and other ceramics, all made on site.

Smoked fish and meats, fishcakes, fish pâtés and other fishy fun.

See what Norfolk’s makers have been up to at this homeware shop celebrating local craft: ceramics, prints, textiles, soaps and more.

Our favourite farm shop for stocking up on groceries and local produce, just outside Letheringsett. Organic meat, vegetables, fruit and provisions, and a deli counter.

There are lots of great antique shops around here, and a lot of what’s in Spinks Nest came from them. This one has an expertly curated selection for home and garden.

Lovely rugs and decorative pieces, just outside Holt.

A little deli in Holt with a great selection of wine, cheese and nice things to eat, and a small wine bar next door.

Part homeware store, part café, part children’s shop, part post office and part grocery: this village shop has it all. Look out for the excellent Brick pizzas in the freezer for a quick and delicious dinner.

A more accessible beach, with less of a walk but still the pine woods and sand. Better for swimming, and home to a row of very cute beach huts that are always worth a photo.

A quaint seaside town a short drive away, with a beach, a pier and pretty streets for strolling. It’s famous for its crab, so don’t leave without a crab sandwich.

Just outside Cley, a lovely café in the grounds of this historic hall, serving from breakfast through to evening pizza in summer. A scenic spot for tea and cake in the garden overlooking the salt marshes, with plenty of space for little ones to run around.

A grand Palladian house in a vast deer park, with walks, cycling, a walled garden and seasonal events.

A Jacobean mansion in beautiful gardens and parkland, cared for by the National Trust.

A 17th-century country house with a walled garden and miles of woodland walks, spectacular in autumn.

The North Norfolk Railway runs heritage steam and diesel trains between Holt and Sheringham through lovely countryside. A proper day out.

Set in old fishermen’s cottages, with local history, fossils and seafaring stories. A good one for a rainy day.

The Thursford Christmas Spectacular is a much-loved Norfolk tradition, with shows through November and December. Book well ahead.