Blakeney Point

Blakeney Point is a long, narrow shingle spit on the north coast of Norfolk. It stretches about six and a half kilometres from Cley Beach towards the east, with salt marshes, tidal mudflats and reclaimed farmland beside it. The National Trust has managed the reserve since 1912 and it forms part of several protected areas, including a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a World Biosphere Reserve. Botanist Francis Wall Oliver and ornithologist Emma Turner began important ecological studies here more than a century ago. The spit continues to move westward, lengthening by over a hundred metres between 1886 and 1925. At its western end, curved shingle ridges create sheltered salt marshes and sand dunes. The reserve is nationally important for breeding terns and migrating birds in autumn. Up to five hundred seals gather at the tip, while specialised plants like samphire grow on the shingle. Medieval ruins lie buried in the marshes, including parts of a Carmelite friary founded in 1296. The sheltered harbours once supported busy ports at Blakeney, Cley and Wiveton, but land reclamation from the 17th century onwards silting up the river channels. Blakeney Church’s unusual second tower may have guided ships between shifting sandbanks, though wrecks still occurred. Visitors can walk the shingle spit from Cley Beach car park or take a boat from Morston quay to see the seals. The Norfolk Coast Path follows the sea wall between farmland and marshes, joining Peddars Way further west. An old lifeboat station at the Point now serves as a visitor centre in summer, while Halfway House, built in the 19th century, once watched for smugglers. The shingle bank reaches ten metres high in places and contains nearly two and a half million cubic metres of flint. The River Glaven must be realigned every few decades as the spit advances, threatening nearby villages with flooding.