Blakeney (Norfolk)

Blakeney is a small village in Norfolk on the north Norfolk coast within the Norfolk Coast Area of Natural Beauty (ANOB) and the Norfolk Heritage Coast. It is a lovely village but most travellers will be going there for the surrounding countryside, beaches and wildlife. Blakeney is close to several wildlife conservation areas and areas of the coast have legal protections in place.

Understand


The nearby Seal Colony on Blakeney Point attracts many visitors (see Do section). Both Grey seals and Harbour seals (also known as Common Seals) "haul out" and breed on the Point. Grey seal pups are born on land with their distinctive white coats between Nov and early Jan. They then feed on their mothers milk for around 3 weeks after which they shed their white fur and are left to fend for themselves. Females breed shortly after having their pups and dominant males fight for territory (making the colony a dangerous place for humans). Through protection and conservation the Grey Seal population at Blakeney Point has grown significantly and it is now the largest seal colony in the England. Harbour (or Common) seals have their young between June and Aug but unlike Grey Seal pups, they can swim almost immediately.

When the UK government initiated a plan for a number of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), independent bodies were handed the task of identifying areas to become MCZs and to consult with all interested parties, etc. In their final recommendations, parts of Blakeney Marshes were to become an MCZ. However politicians became "luke-warm" about the plans and cut them back significantly and, after local campaigns the Blakeney Marsh MCZ plan was dropped.

Get in
The village is served by several roads.

There are some local bus services. Sanders Coaches service 46 runs between Holt and Wells-next-the-Sea.

Regional Cycle Route 30 runs just ½ mile to the S of the village and there is a short local cycle network spur connecting it to the village.

Get around
The village is small enough to walk around.

Do
Take a ferry to see the Common and Grey seals at Blakeney Point. Departure times and availability depend on the tides. The ferry stays within the harbor and doesn't venture to the open sea. Morston is the more interesting place to depart from. You can always pop over to the Anchor Pub to warm up afterwards. Trips are operated by the following companies:

Connect
As of Sep 2022, Blakeney and its approach roads have 4G from EE and O2, a poor signal from Vodafone, and nothing from Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Wells-next-the-Sea
 * Holt
 * Hunstanton
 * Snettisham
 * Cromer
 * King's Lynn
 * Norwich