Norfolk and Suffolk by Motorhome: Big Skies and Empty Beaches

Norfolk gets overlooked by motorhome travellers based in Yorkshire, and the reason is simple: it is a long way east. From Pontefract, the Norfolk coast is three and a half to four hours of driving across the flattest, least eventful stretch of England. The A1 to Newark, the A17 to King's Lynn, and then the coast road east. It is not a dramatic drive. But a norfolk motorhome holiday rewards the effort with a coastline that feels genuinely remote, big skies that stretch wider than anywhere else in England, and a quietness that even the Lake District cannot match outside of winter.

Norfolk and Suffolk together form a stretch of coast that runs from the Wash in the west to Lowestoft in the east, taking in salt marshes, shingle ridges, sandy beaches, medieval wool churches, and some of the finest birdwatching in Europe. The terrain is flat - properly, unrelentingly flat - which means easy driving, easy cycling, and panoramic views from almost any point. If you want mountains, go to the Lakes. If you want space, light, and a profound sense of peace, come here.

North Norfolk: The Coast Road

The North Norfolk coast between Hunstanton and Cromer is the main draw, and the coast road - the A149 - is one of the finest Norfolk motorhome drives in England. It follows the coastline through a string of villages that each have their own character and appeal.

Start at Holkham. Holkham Beach is regularly cited as the best beach in England, and it is hard to argue. The beach is vast - a wide expanse of firm sand backed by pine woods, with the sea often half a mile away across rippled flats. Even in summer, you can walk for twenty minutes and find yourself essentially alone. In autumn or winter, you might see nobody at all. The pine woods behind the beach (Lady Anne's Drive provides access) are beautiful in any season and shelter the beach from southerly winds.

Wells-next-the-Sea, a mile east of Holkham, is the most attractive of the North Norfolk towns. It has a working quayside, a handful of good independent shops, a proper fish and chip shop (French's, on the quay), and the Albatros - a Dutch clipper moored in the harbour that operates as a restaurant. The narrow-gauge Wells and Walsingham Light Railway runs inland to the pilgrimage village of Walsingham and is a pleasant afternoon diversion.

Further east, Blakeney is known for its seal trips. Boats run from Blakeney Quay and Morston Quay out to Blakeney Point, where one of the largest grey seal colonies in England hauls out on the shingle spit. The trips run year-round, but November and December - pupping season - are the most dramatic, with hundreds of white-coated pups on the beach.

Cley-next-the-Sea and its marshes are essential for birdwatchers. The NWT Cley Marshes reserve has hides overlooking reed beds and lagoons that attract avocets, bitterns, marsh harriers, and migrating waders. Even if you are not a dedicated birder, the atmosphere of the marshes - wide, quiet, wind-rustled - is worth experiencing. The Cley Smokehouse sells outstanding smoked fish if you need provisions.

Cromer, at the eastern end of the coast road, is a classic Victorian seaside town with a pier, a lifeboat museum, and the best crab in Norfolk. Cromer crab is famous for a reason - the local boats fish small brown crabs from the chalk reef offshore, and the meat is sweet and delicate. Buy a dressed crab from the fishmongers on the high street and eat it in the motorhome with good bread and a squeeze of lemon.

Norfolk Campsites for Motorhomes

The North Norfolk coast has excellent campsite provision for any Norfolk motorhome trip. A few recommendations:

Deepdale Farm, Burnham Deepdale - a popular and well-run site right on the Norfolk Coast Path, within walking distance of Brancaster Beach and the salt marshes. Hardstanding pitches with electric hook-ups. The Deepdale Cafe on site is good for breakfast.

Pinewoods Holiday Park, Wells-next-the-Sea - a larger site with more facilities (shop, bar, swimming pool in season), set among pine trees near the beach. Well placed for Holkham and Wells.

Kelling Heath Holiday Park - inland from the coast between Holt and Sheringham, on a heathland site with good walking and cycling trails. Quieter and more spacious than the coastal sites.

Clippesby Hall - in the Broads, between the coast and Great Yarmouth. A family-run site with individually landscaped pitches, each surrounded by hedges for privacy. Excellent facilities and a good base for exploring both the coast and the Broads.

The Norfolk Broads

Inland from the coast, the Norfolk Broads are a unique landscape ideal for a Norfolk motorhome adventure of shallow lakes, slow rivers, and reed-fringed waterways. A Norfolk Broads motorhome holiday lets you explore from the land, though the waterways are best seen by boat too. Ranworth Broad has a floating visitor centre with views across the water, and the boardwalk through the fen is a lovely short walk. How Hill, near Ludham, has guided boat trips through the reed beds that give you a feel for this distinctive landscape.

The Broads are a National Park in all but official designation (they have their own Broads Authority, which functions identically). The landscape is utterly different from anything in Yorkshire - low, watery, reed-filled, and teeming with wildlife. Bitterns boom in the reed beds, kingfishers flash along the waterways, and in summer the air is thick with dragonflies and damselflies.

Suffolk: Aldeburgh and Southwold

The Suffolk coast south of Lowestoft offers a distinct Suffolk motorhome experience compared to Norfolk - more built-up in places, but with pockets of wildness that rival anything further north. Aldeburgh is a gem: a small, cultured seaside town famous for its music festival (founded by Benjamin Britten), its fish and chip shop on the beach (literally a wooden hut on the shingle), and its brightly painted fishing boats hauled up on the foreshore.

Southwold, further north, is the quintessential English seaside town - pastel-coloured beach huts, a working lighthouse in the middle of town, and the Adnams Brewery, whose beers (Southwold Bitter, Ghost Ship, Broadside) are among the best in East Anglia. The Sole Bay Inn on East Green serves Adnams beers in excellent condition. The pier has been eccentrically restored with Tim Hunkin's satirical coin-operated machines - genuinely funny and unlike anything on any other pier in Britain.

Dunwich, between Aldeburgh and Southwold, is what remains of a medieval city that was England's sixth largest before the sea claimed it. Today it is a hamlet of a few dozen houses, a pub (the Ship, which is excellent), and a shingle beach below eroding cliffs. On a calm day, locals claim you can hear the bells of the drowned churches beneath the waves. Whether or not that is true, the atmosphere is extraordinary.

Why the Drive Is Worth It

Three and a half hours is a long way for a weekend, but for a four or five night break, Norfolk and Suffolk are superb. The flat terrain is ideal for dogs - many of the beaches allow dogs year-round, and the walking on the coastal paths and through the Broads is easy and endlessly varied. The driving is simple too - no mountain passes, no narrow lanes with passing places, no hairpin bends. The roads are straight, flat, and lightly trafficked.

Norfolk and Suffolk attract fewer motorhome travellers from Yorkshire than the Lakes or the Dales, which means the content is under-served and the competition for pitches is lower. It is a destination that rewards the journey with something genuinely different - not better or worse than the dramatic landscapes of the north, but a reminder that England has more variety than it is sometimes given credit for. The light alone - wide, pale, luminous - is unlike anything you will find in West Yorkshire.

If you have done the Dales and the Lakes and the Peak District and you want something completely different without leaving England, point the motorhome east. Norfolk and Suffolk will surprise you. Browse our fleet for your next trip. For more, see our dog-friendly campsites guide.