Holkham named the best beach in eastern England in Times and Sunday Times guide, with Brancaster also in top 50 in UK
A Norfolk beach has been named the best in eastern England and among the 50 finest in the UK, according to a guide published by a national newspaper today.
In the 15th edition of The Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches, Holkham has claimed the top spot in the Eastern region, while Brancaster has also made it onto the list.
Holkham’s “charm, expansive stretches of pristine sand, beautiful dunes and flourishing trees” were given as reasons for its rating.
This was the first year that the guide has been nominated by readers of The Times and Sunday Times, who put forward their favourite beaches before they were given a detailed inspection.
Chris Haslam, chief travel writer at the newspapers, then assessed them using an 11-point checklist, with each of the coastal spots listed visited within the past eight weeks. Weymouth in Dorset took the crown as the best beach in the UK in 2023.
Mr Haslam said Holkham had a “mesmeric appeal” which made it a “comfortable” winner of eastern England’s best beach.
Among the readers who nominated Holkham were Teresa Rose of Gloucestershire who hailed “the huge skies”; Stephen Chittenden from Derbyshire praised “the vast expanse of clean pure sand, the beautiful dunes and trees”; and Jo McClintock from Norfolk stated: “I think this may be heaven on earth.”
Mr Haslam said: “From the car park it’s a short walk past the café and loos through the pines to the gap in the dunes allowing access to the beach. Parking costs £10 a day, but the privately managed facilities are pristine.”
He also observed that there was “fairly easy wheelchair access” from the car park to an observation platform above the sands, but “until Holkham provides beach wheelchairs for visitors, this is not for those of reduced mobility”.
Meanwhile, Brancaster has also been named as one of the best in the UK, with the writer saying: “Brancaster’s magnificent beach runs flat and mostly empty for more than three miles, from the back end of the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club’s course in the east to the Thornham harbour channel — where fat seals wallow — in the west.”
The only other beach in Norfolk to be named in the top 50 in the UK was Cromer.
Mr Haslam said beaches in Britain could be “on the cusp of a new golden age”, as families head to the coast this summer.
“This is the most comprehensive and detailed beach guide available, and the only one in which every stretch of sand, pebbles or shingle has been physically inspected within the past eight weeks,” he added.
“The weather was magnificent throughout, and when the sun is shining - our beaches are the most beautiful on earth."
To read more from the guide, visit https://www.thetimes.co.uk/best-uk-beaches.
The Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches guide will be out in print on Sunday.
