Winterton Dunes National Nature Reserve

Dunes, heathland and open coast

Winterton Dunes National Nature Reserve lies beside Winterton-on-Sea on the eastern Norfolk coast. The reserve combines an extensive dune system with heathland, grassland and open beach, creating a coastal landscape shaped by wind, sand and the North Sea.

The dunes support a variety of coastal plants and wildlife, while the mixture of open sand, dune vegetation and grassland creates a landscape that changes noticeably between the shoreline and the countryside inland. The wide beach and dune system also give Winterton a particularly open and undeveloped coastal character.

The Norfolk Coast Path passes through this part of the coast, connecting Winterton with the coastal landscapes around Horsey to the north and Hemsby and Great Yarmouth to the south. This makes the reserve easy to incorporate into a longer coastal walk as well as explore independently on shorter routes through the dunes and along the beach.

Winterton Dunes also sits close to the landscapes of The Broads National Park, where dunes and open coast give way inland to grazing marshes, waterways and wetlands. Together, these contrasting environments make this part of eastern Norfolk particularly interesting for exploring the relationship between the North Sea coast and the Broads.

Overview

Type: National Nature Reserve
County: Norfolk
Region: East of England
Landscape: Sand dunes, heathland, grassland and open beach
Key Trail: Norfolk Coast Path
Best For: Dune landscapes, wildlife, beaches and coastal walking