Norfolk Coast Path · Stage 5
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
By Cley and Weybourne to Sheringham: 17.7 km. The shingle bank from Cley to Weybourne is slow going: National Trails says to allow extra time. At Skelding Hill, just before Sheringham, a signed diversion goes inland while the path is repaired; our line keeps the cliff path.
Best season: All year. The path is open all year, and National Trails names no best time: summer weather is generally better and the hedgerows flower, spring and autumn bring the bird migrations, and winter walking can be very good. The England Coast Path stretches may have restrictions and diversions at any time of year for wildlife, land management or safety. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A village with a range of accommodation, the partnership says, on the Coasthopper CH1 bus.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Admirals Hill · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Galley Hill Farm Camping · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Stage end · overnight
Town
A town with a good range of accommodation, the partnership says, the Coasthopper CH1 and Bittern Line trains to Norwich.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Whelk Coppers · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
The Two Lifeboats Hotel · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 4 h 31 of walking.
Make it your trip
Accommodation on the coast fills up quickly in summer, National Trails says, so book ahead; some places have refused single-night stays. There is no right to wild camp: camp only with the landowner's permission. Beds are few at Burnham Overy Staithe and Sea Palling, and the partnership says there is little at Hopton-on-Sea: go back to one of the towns. Campsites close for winter: West Runton's Camping and Caravanning Club site is open from 27 March to 26 October 2026 and from 22 March 2027.
The Norfolk Coast Partnership's nine stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe north coast in three stages, on the Coasthopper bus.
Plan this journeyThe cliffs, dunes and beaches of the east coast in four stages.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (22 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 1–43 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed |
| Day / night | 7°/2° | 8°/2° | 10°/3° | 12°/5° | 16°/8° | 19°/11° | 21°/13° | 21°/13° | 18°/11° | 14°/8° | 10°/5° | 8°/3° |
| Rain, mm | 60 | 53 | 42 | 37 | 49 | 64 | 67 | 72 | 64 | 80 | 71 | 59 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 8 h 05 | 9 h 50 | 11 h 45 | 13 h 54 | 15 h 46 | 16 h 53 | 16 h 28 | 14 h 50 | 12 h 47 | 10 h 43 | 8 h 45 | 7 h 37 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
On 13 October 2026 National Trails lists diversions at Morston (stage 4, the Environment Agency's bank repairs, August to October 2026), at Skelding Hill (stage 5) and Beeston Bump (stage 6) by Sheringham, and at Overstrand (stage 6), where the sea wall is closed and the path goes inland along the Paston Way. At Hemsby (stage 8) Footpath 2, The Marrams, is closed after erosion. Each stage says where our line meets them. Follow the signs on the ground.
National Trails: trail information and mapNorfolk County Council keeps the official list of closures and temporary route changes on the path. It refused our request on 13 October 2026, so we could not read it: check it before you go.
Norfolk County Council: notices, closures and route changesFour stretches depend on the tide. The beach from Cromer to Overstrand is passable in all but the highest tides. The beach from Mundesley to Bacton cannot be passed at high tide. At Hemsby the path keeps to the beach, with 2.3 miles (3.7 km) to clear the erosion site and no high-tide route. Between Gorleston and Hopton a signed route avoids the shore at high tide. Check the tides before these stages.
National Trails: route descriptionLittle terns and ringed plovers nest on the beach at Eccles-on-Sea from early April to August, behind fences, and little terns on the dunes of the North Denes at Great Yarmouth; grey seals breed near Horsey and Winterton in winter. Keep dogs under effective control, on a short lead near livestock, and follow the seasonal restrictions signed on the ground.
National Trails: England Coast Path East Anglia, top tipsFrom Sutton Bridge to King's Lynn the path follows the sea banks of the Wash and the Great Ouse with no facilities for several miles, Natural England says. Services and transport are in the centres of Sutton Bridge and King's Lynn: carry food and water for the day.
Natural England: the path opens up the Norfolk coastlineGetting there
Travel around Blakeney to Sheringham.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Trains from London reach King's Lynn in just under two hours, National Trails says. From King's Lynn the 505 bus towards Spalding stops at Sutton Bridge, the partnership says.
Norfolk Coast Partnership: stage lines and travelThe Coasthopper CH1 (Sanders Coaches) runs every day all year from Wells-next-the-Sea by Stiffkey, Morston, Blakeney, Cley, Weybourne and Sheringham to Cromer; extra journeys run from 1 May to 31 October only, and the winter Sunday timetable starts on 1 November. The CH2 runs from Cromer by Overstrand to Mundesley and North Walsham. Greater Anglia's Bittern Line links Sheringham, West Runton, Cromer and North Walsham with Norwich. Buses also serve Hunstanton.
Sanders Coaches: Coasthopper CH1 timetable (PDF)First's Coastal Clipper 1/1A runs all year from Martham by Winterton, Hemsby, Scratby and Caister to Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Lowestoft. Trains run often between Great Yarmouth and Norwich.
First Norfolk & Suffolk: timetablesAt the finish, take the 1/1A bus to Great Yarmouth, the partnership says; the nearest stop in First's timetable is Corton, Waterside Holiday Village, just past Hopton. Traveline plans journeys across the whole coast.
Traveline: journey plannerTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the banks of the Wash and the marshes the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
National Trails gives the Norfolk Coast Path as 112 miles (180 km), from Sutton Bridge on the Lincolnshire border to Hopton-on-Sea at the Suffolk border, about 9 days; it was extended west from Hunstanton and east from Cromer as stretches of the King Charles III England Coast Path. National Trails publishes no stage times and no stage list, so the times here are measured on our line. The nine stages, west to east, are the Norfolk Coast Partnership's: its stage lines add up to about 202 km, because some leave the path into a town and come back. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 77959, "Norfolk Coast Path", and from Sutton Bridge to the Peter Scott Walk the England Coast Path, relation 17320572, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 190.1 km, cut at the nine stage ends. Stages 1 to 5 agree with the partnership's lengths within about 1.5%. Stage 6 is about 4.4 km and stage 8 about 7.3 km shorter than the partnership's, whose lines include detours off the path and back. Our climb is measured on terrain heights; the path is gentle and mostly flat.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
National Trails: Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation