Season: summer
I had deliberately scheduled an early morning visit to this sensory sensation of a beach to gain a few moments alone during a spell of wonderful weather. Interviewee Sheila and her dog had a similar idea and we met by the pine woods behind the beach. There was plenty of time and space for a long walk thereafter, during which time I met further interviewees Rachel and Steve, walking round for breakfast from adjacent Wells-Next-The-Sea. We were the only four people on a sea of sand, sheer bliss. This is a special place, as witnessed by its popularity with film crews from around the world. Iconic and highly recommended.
Sheila’s eulogy to the beach.
What the beach means to Rachel and Steve.
Acres of space in the morning sunshine.
Season: summer
Holkham is a spectacular beach to visit at any time, but the azure blue sky on this occasion added to the dynamic. The tide was out, increasing the sense of space. Horses exercised along the shore. Back from the water’s edge, a dense bed of razor clam shells whistled musically in the breeze as I walked towards the tree-lined backdrop to this wonderful beach.
The beach as part of a project and a homage for Joe.
Season: winter
This is the most well known North Norfolk beach, with miles of natural beauty and a great sense of space. As part of the Holkham Estate, the beach is usually accessed via Lady Anne’s Drive, opposite the Victoria Inn. There is a variety of walks, such is the size of the beach. A left turn at the bottom of the drive takes you through the pine woods and back along the beach. Turning right takes you towards Wells-Next-The-Sea and its lifeboat house and dunes, again among the pine woods. This beach has remarkable light and it’s no wonder that it has featured in many films, including the final scene of “Shakespeare in Love”.
It keeps pulling Steve back.
Nick is a long way from home.
The expansive beach at Holkham.
For us, the beach is essential. Sailing is why we live here and when we’re sailing off the North Norfolk coast, it puts life into perspective. The big space and beauty re-balance our frenetic daily lives. It’s the ultimate escape for us.
Holkham beach is woven into the fabric of my life and, therefore, its wild and untouched expanses evoke many fond memories. My husband and I dreamt of a family and sandy hallway floors when playing cricket as newly-weds. I have stood, mid-May, under dark skies and amidst unexpected hail, heavily pregnant, enjoying the dramatic scene. A few years’ on my young children introduced our, then, collie pup to the sea. And, one evening only a few weeks ago, we celebrated my husband’s birthday as a family on an almost vacant beach, in August! So in all, the beach at Holkham is incredibly important to me. It is a place where we, as a family, find solace and space to think. Holkham’s wide, natural expanses of sea, sand, dunes and sky seam to embody a stage, where key moments of my life are played out. I hope this will continue until I am grey and old. There’s no place I’d rather be.