Visiting the east coast of Britain more often than not includes Norfolk’s diverse coastline, representing all that is expected of the shoreline in the UK. Stunning saltwater lagoons, cliff-framed shingle beaches and endless sandy beaches and bays; as well as spits, inlets and freshwater marshes all on one long stretch of coastline. Holiday in Norfolk and you get the very best of British beaches.

Cromer

This bustling seaside town has everything you could need for a vibrant seaside holiday with the family. Cromer celebrates its heritage and is a town that has lost little of the Victorian architecture that greeted the well-to-do tourists taking the new steam railway to the east coast in 1877. After the influx of visitors from across the UK, Cromer thrived as a place to take in the fashionable sea air and is still a popular holiday resort today.

Foodies head for the sumptuous seafood restaurants and stalls along the seafront in search of the famous Cromer crabs. Dressed crabs are readily available and the less squeamish holiday makers may wish to head down to the beach and purchase the crabs, live! Not for the faint-hearted but with a little skill, a lot of bravery and the addition of lemon juice, black and cayenne peppers; your crab can be turned into a stunning fresh delicacy in no time.

Holkham Nature Reserve

Holkham is stunning in every way. A mixture of pinewoods and scrub, sandy dunes and sprawling salt marshland provides you with plenty of environments to explore. The foreshore is a desolate, forbidding expanse of beach where beach combing and seal spotting opportunities are plentiful. As you head inwards, the sand turns to mud and birdlife thrives on the plentiful lugworms and cockles.

The lower salt marsh mudflats dry out in summer and are covered in crystalline salt formations, whereas inland a little the marshes are rich in plant life such as sea lavender and are home during the autumn to wayward migrant birds.

Tall sandy dunes have formed over the past half century at Holkham and the distinctive sandy ridges can be built and moved as quickly as your weekend breaks are over. Temperatures on the dunes can be high as the lime-rich sand heats quickly in summer months.

Wells-next-the-Sea

Wells-next-the Sea is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it is easy to see why. A perfect sandy beach framed by picture postcard painted beach huts, pine woodland and quaint period cottages border the seashore and make for great photographs. The beach was used as a set for the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’.

Wells has a small but bustling quay where you can sit and watch the traditional fishing boats come in with their fresh seafood to be cooked and eaten in the local restaurants and seafood stalls. Children enjoy crabbing, traditionally done with a line and hook, but more kindly now popular using a net basket filled with seafood and lowered into the quay. The crabs can be seen happily munching away on seafood in buckets before being put back into the sea, undoubtedly to be caught again the next day!

A miniature steam railway can take you down from the town car parks to the beach and the locally renowned Wells Carnival takes place every year for a week from 30 July 2011.

Brancaster

Located on the north Norfolk coast, Brancaster and Brancaster Straithe are famous among food lovers for their marvellous mussels. At low tide a petrified forest and shipwreck can be seen and beach combing results in all sorts of finds to amuse old and young alike.

This picturesque village is lucky to still be around. The area was considered to be demolished and re-built as a state of the art space centre in the 1950s and 1960s. The idea was thankfully abandoned and Brancaster enjoys its reputation as a beautiful, peaceful area with a stunning coastline.

Scolt Head Island can be seen and is reachable by ferry from the village of Burnham Overy Straithe. A diverse coastal environment well worth visiting during your time at Brancaster, the island is formed from salt marshes, sandy dunes, mud flats and open shingle stretches.

Titchwell Marsh

Managed by the RSPB, Titchwell Marsh provides yet another option for visitors to Norfolk wanting to enjoy the diverse shoreline. Parking is next to the visitors centre and a short walk past unusual reed beds takes you to wonderful lagoons that are home to some rare species of birds as well as species such as avocets and terns.

Metal detecting adventurers can often be found on the sandy shoreline as the area was used during World War II as a firing range for armoured vehicles. Large sandbanks were formed as targets and today these serve to protect and separate freshwater wildlife and marshlands from saltwater invasion. Not quite the type of protection the military expected of the exercise but a worthy one as the resulting reserve proves popular for tourists, both human and avian.

Throughout the year Titchwell Marsh hosts many events and exhibitions so it is worth popping in and seeing what is on offer during your stay.

Wherever you choose to stay in Norfolk during 2011, be sure to check the beach code and if you have a pet, dog friendly cottages are a great option. Fresh air and long scenic beach walks are perfect exercise for you and your dog but check the restrictions as most of the popular family beaches prohibit dogs during the tourist seasonal months.