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Town and port in Norfolk, England
Photo: Keith Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Wells-next-the-Sea is a town on the North Norfolk coast, set about in land.
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At 3,900 hectares (9,600 acres), England's largest national nature reserve, comprising of grazing marsh, woodland, salt marsh, sand dunes and foreshore.
Visit hall, gardens, deer park, cycle hire, boat hire, children's play area, cafe.
Vast, unspoilt sands backed by dunes and pine forest—often ranked among England’s finest beaches. It is on the west side of the creek outflow, a mile north of town via Beach Road, with sands extending away to Holkham and Burnham. East of the creek is muddy, and with access impeded by wetland.
This was the route of a standard-gauge branch line axed by Beeching in 1969. A 10 1⁄4 in (260 mm) gauge railway was rebuilt over four miles of the track bed, opening in 1982. In summer trains (usually steam-hauled) putter along it to the village of Walsingham.
Restaurant & hotel
Coffee & sandwich bar
Coffee & sandwich bar
Seafood Restaurant
Pub
Also serves food.
Former Dutch cargo ship built in 1899. Now permanently moored alongside the Quay and used as a bar, restaurant, music venue and B&B.
Cafe, bar, rooms
Pub, restaurant, B&B
B&B & Self-Catering
Also bike rental.
Tents, small campervans and motorhomes. No caravans.
Gift shop selling Asian product (rugs, jewellery, statues, furniture and toys).
Convenience store & supermarket
ATM, in-store café (different hours)
Cider, perry and apple juice from local produce.
By bus
Buses typically operate regularly during the daytimes on Monday-Saturday, with fewer services available on Sundays and bank holidays.
By car
Wells-next-the-Sea is signposted from nearby towns and villages, often with its shortened name, "Wells".
By bike
Wells is on the long-distance National Cycle Network Route 1. The route follows mainly minor roads and some off-road paths along the coastline, and is signposted:
By long-distance footpath
The North Norfolk Coast Path, one of the National Trails, follows the county's northern North Sea coastline - from Hunstanton and Brancaster in the west and Cromer and Sheringham in the east.
Most parts of Wells are accessible on foot, using pavements, off-road footpaths or shopping streets. The town is mostly flat with some shallow inclines. Some of the town's streets are very narrow.
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Norwich, Norfolk · Regional · NWI
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