Blakeney Point

Blakeney Point is a four-mile shingle ridge and dune running out into the sea, backed by salt marsh and mudflats at the heart of Blakeney National Nature Reserve on the Norfolk coast. It holds England's largest grey seal colony, with around 9,000 pups born on the beaches each winter, and in summer the spit belongs to a breeding tern colony, while the grazing marsh of Blakeney Freshes behind it draws breeding birds and wintering wildfowl. The classic way to see the seals is a boat trip from Morston Quay, which passes the colony without landing; walkers reach the Point along the shingle from Cley beach, a moderate three hours there and back. No dogs are allowed on the Point in the nesting season from April to the end of August or the seal pupping season from November to mid-January, and at other times they must be on short leads. Five Trust walks are published, from the easy 2-mile Blakeney Freshes and Friary Hills loop to the 4-mile coastal walk to Stiffkey. Reviewers rate the flat path between Blakeney, Morston and Cley. One tip: the shingle walk is hard going, and the quayside car parks flood at high tide.