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I appreciate this is probably the totally wrong forum to post this on (is Norfolk the worse place in the country for mountain biking!?!) but hoping people can still help.
I haven’t lived in Norfolk since being a kid but hoping to retire in next couple of years and plan to return to Norfolk (chosen as wife wants to live by the sea and I’m a Norwich fan for my sins).
Hoping people on here can make some suggestions on where we should be looking.
Two key things the place needs:
1) on the coast (or very close) - wife’s priority
2) Direct train or bus route to Norwich - my priority so I can get a season ticket at Carrow Road and get there without driving (so can have a drink and for when much older and cant drive anyhow!).
Other than that would like it to be a small town or large village so it has few pubs, restaurants , take aways, shops etc
Wouldn’t want anywhere too touristy and would be nice if it had a local community atmosphere.
From my limited experience, thinking of somewhere a bit like Holt or Aylsham but nearer to the coast.
Any ideas?
Not sure about the bus but Wells is nice, or at least it was. I'd live in Hunstanton but guess that doesn't fit the brief.
How old are you? Given the threat of global warming and rates of coastal erosion in some areas, "close to the coast" could be a very flexible option.
The correct answer is go south to Suffolk and support a proper team.
Anywhere in the vicinity of Fakenham, close enough to the coast to easily pop for a swim, even at the height of holiday season and easy access to Norwich for the shops and football. The Creake’s would be the wife’s choice if we downsize when kids depart.
We’re nearer to Hunny which is lovely but can be a pain getting in and out during the holiday months.
Is a new team/sport out of the question? Embrace a new passion in later life. UK coastline is 7700 miles long and you are limiting yourself to the 90 miles in Norfolk.
Where do you live now?
I think Convert has it. I grew up in Gorleston just south of Great Yarmouth. Was there recently for a family funeral. FFS it's a become such a sh1thole. do not even consider those two, unless you are staunch Reform and want limited quality of life or a sideline in russian espionage. They aren't touristy - there is that. I guess that lack of regional investment has a lot to own up to.
North Norfolk gets better press, but not sure how long it's going to be there (avoid Hemsby is another good tip)
Avoid the Suffolk suggestion - the amount of preparatory work going on along the A12 corridor for Sizewell C is going to eff things up for the next 2 decades. But the sea will be warm
North Walsham would be a good choice it would tick your boxes
NFN - normal for Norfolk- medics' TLA to explain why Norfolk folk weren't quite the ticket
Assuming you've visited a few times since you left. Norfolk and Suffolk do have the problem of two very different sets of people/land use planning coinciding - the well-to-do and hence extremely expensive (housing but also pubs, eating out etc) like Holt and north coast national landscape villages; and the caravan parks and poorer neighbourhoods (with limited facilities, pubs tend to be lager and microwave food, kiss me quick). The difficulty with caravan parks I think is their seasonal nature means their isn't investment through the year to keep good quality cafe / bakery / pubs / butchers etc going. The most 'normal' towns are in the Sheringham-Runtons-Cromer-Mundesley area, though obviously busy in summer, they have more facilities as well.
We've done a few off peak caravan park holidays in the area - a cheap way to have a few days walking / biking with a very affordable base. We weren't much impressed by Hunstanton (sorry), very limited active travel routes by bike out, though the farmland around is nice, and Sandringham and the north coast villages, there were only a handful of good restaurant/pub/cafes. Agree Gt Yarmouth and Lowestoft are very sad at the moment. Kessingland (Suffolk) had two good restaurants, pub and fish & chips, and very nice walk along the beach to nature reserves, but as said prices might go a bit mad with the Sizewell announcement (very limited housing supply was already pushing locals out).
Sorry can't make recommendations for what you want, but as said do look at coastal erosion maps as well as flood risk if looking to buy and you want to be anywhere near the coast.
Brandon surely? Right next to the best trails in the whole of Europe England East Anglia, not too touristy, has a train station, some quite decent pubs, and if WW3 kicks off you will be among the first to be vaporized.
WW3 kicks off you will be among the first to be vaporized.
Puts the coastal erosion issue into perspective
There's a series of Neolithic nuclear bunkers just down the road from Brandon...
There's a series of Neolithic nuclear bunkers just down the road from Brandon...
I presume those are the ones shown in todays Guardian article about how that neck of the woods is so ace...
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/jun/16/holiday-breckland-norfolk-time-forgot
Yes, that's the one. I still remember a primary school trip there, Wells, Oxburgh Hall and the Iceni Village are the others I have strong memories of for some reason.
Yes, that's the one. I still remember a primary school trip there, Wells, Oxburgh Hall and the Iceni Village are the others I have strong memories of for some reason.
Grimes Graves with a steel staircase? Elf and safety gone mad. They made us climb shonky wooden ladders to get the full stone age vibe. That must have been mid 70s, and remember it pretty clearly even now.
Brandon surely?
Ah yes, the famous seaside town of Brandon. Just the 60km as the crow flies from the nearest wave.
Brandon surely?
Ah yes, the famous seaside town of Brandon. Just the 60km as the crow flies from the nearest wave.
Currently just 60km from the sea. At current predictions it will be coastal by 2050.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20645575.striking-map-predicts-rising-sea-levels-will-impact-norfolk/
I think whoever described two class East Anglia hit the nail on the head so hard it shot clean through the wood and into the concrete shed base.
I'm a Suffolk boy by birth / upbringing and still there regularly.
Public transport + seaside + not grim/tired/lager and a microwave are a difficult combo. I'm reminded of cheap, light, strong ...
Go inland and you'll get some lovely pubs and villages in Suffolk but you'll possibly lose your public transport (some railway stations are available). Don't know what the Broads is like but you might want a place on stilts or a houseboat if you plan to live a while.