If you’re looking for a vast, tidal beach then you can’t do any better than Brancaster! We visited on a stormy day, when the tide was at its lowest; there is sand for miles, stretching in both directions and out to the sea, which I think would probably take about 10 minutes to walk to! Maggie had a fantastic time charging about in the open space and sniffing her way through the piles of seaweed and rockpools. The beach is cut in two by the river estuary, which is home to lots of wading birds – when we visited, it was full of geese that kept flying in noisily in their v-formations. There’s a shipwreck on the far side of the estuary, but it’s advised that you don’t try to cross the water because the incoming tides could cut you off. There’s a very poignant plaque at the entrance to the beach, in memoriam to someone who misjudged those tides.
One note: the carpark is not National Trust and is rather expensive, so if we were to visit again I would park at the bottom of the beach road and walk out across the marshes!
The National Trust website link is here with all the walks & visitor information: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/norfolk/brancaster-estate
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