Season: summer
A fine bright morning was the order of the day at Old Hunstanton. The tide was out and just along the coast an enormous fender, dwarfing an attendant Coastguard vehicle, had washed up on Thornham beach overnight, a reminder of the power of the sea and the currents in The Wash and the North Sea. Mike, from the RNLI lifeboat station, referred to the shifting conditions offshore. The expansive beach here, backed by dunes and beach huts, is a visitor’s paradise, whether for bathing, walking or bird watching.
Mike explains his love of the beach and the work of the RNLI here.
Season: winter
Located just north of Hunstanton, Old Hunstanton beach features individual beach huts, set two deep in the dunes and stretching all the way to the golf course. They are managed by the Le Strange estate. The lifeboat here is one of only two powered hovercraft in the RNLI. The beach itself is covered in fine, golden sand and there’s a clear light, rather like at St Ives in Cornwall. Old Hunstanton’s beach stretches past the interesting limestone and carrstone banded cliffs to the white lighthouse, where it becomes Hunstanton beach.
What the beach means to Anne and Lloyd, from times past through to the present.
Caren’s answer.
Vivid afternoon light, blue skies and golden sand at Old Hunstanton.
What the beach means to me:
Childhood memories of walks in the sand
Paddling and splashing bucket and spade in hand
Swirly soft ice cream and fish chips for tea
Sun kissed cheeks for both mummy and me
Crabbing at Cromer and amusements galore
Having to go home – begging for more!
Walking the dogs on a windy day
Stress free and blown away
I enjoy the difference between the seasons
And each and every one of us have our own reasons.
There is no better place to unwind, lose tension and breath as the beach. Especially in Norfolk, where I can walk out through pine forests and over sand dunes to the sea. On the whole, the beaches here are rare in that they retain a wildness and remain relatively untouched. You won’t find concrete promenades, amusements and the like – simply big wide skies, sweeping sands and sea stretching across the horizon. A true, pure paradise.