Enjoy Sauntering Along Cromer Seafront All Year Round!

Cromer is one of the most popular seaside destinations on the North Norfolk coast, renowned for a certain seafood delicacy (🦀 Cromer Crab!🦀), and admired for its beautiful beaches, traditional pier, and charming Victorian and Edwardian architecture.

Tourists and locals alike seek out this charming coastal town throughout the year, and we at NorfolkPlaces are no different.

Throughout the year we probably go to Cromer a half-dozen or so times, regardless of the weather. It’s somewhere we love to visit, whether it’s to take a stroll, chill on the beach, spend a few pence in the arcades or for other recreational reasons. I can’t tell you how many times over the years we’ve walked up and down the esplanade and gazed out to sea, but it will be a pretty high number! But up until now, I’ve never really though to document it as a short walk.

But after a recent visit I decided to check the distance. I was surprised that this route on this walk works out to be about 2.5 miles, which is amazing as you don’t really notice how far you walk. Of course, we do longer walks around this area, and as the article goes on we’ll suggest extensions for you, but right now this happens to be the from the most recent set of pics on my phone, so that seemed like a good one to record. And I think it’s one that most people would be happy with as it ticks the boxes of A) Beach B) Pier C) Chips or/and Ice Cream D) Arcades.

Of course, we heartily recommend extending your walk to spend some time in the high street shops, Cromer’s museums, cafes and pubs as there are some real gems there to discover.

Okay, on with our short Cromer walk!

We start our walk at Runton Road Car Park, which is very convenient for access to the town and the seafront. Another good car park is Meadow Rd Car Park.

TIP: In the summer look out for the Bagot Goats who spend the season on Cromer’s cliffs for a spot of grazing.

From the car park we head toward Cromer Putting Green, and then descend down the zig-zag path to the esplanade (or promenade, if you will).

We headed left (I think this is roughly North West) in the direction of East Runton. As you walk along the esplanade you will come across several colourful beach huts. These look lovely, as you can see in the pictures below, though they do get hit by storms from time to time (like in 2013, 2017 & 2019).

Walk along Cromer beach. Beach huts. NorfolkPlaces

It is lovely golden sands when the sea is out! Note, when the the esplanade ends (and slopes down towards the beach) there is a bit of defensive sea wall for a while. So you can get your bearings, this is roughly below the car park where we started our walk.

Higher up on the beach there are larger stones. Small pools can form, and the water cuts channels through the soft sand back to the sea.

When there’s blue skies above and golden sand stretching out in front of you there are a host of superlatives that are apt. We think “stunning” sums it up nicely.

There’s something so visually appealing about wave ripples in the sand. Below, we’re looking back towards Cromer, with the pier jutting out to sea in the distance.

Looking inland you can see the layers in the cliffs, and we don’t think you need to be a geologist or an archaeologist to find this fascinating. Of course, in many parts of Norfolk the coastline is actively eroding, so we would advise staying clear of the cliffs (whether at top or at the base). One thing to keep an eye out for is birds, such as Sand Martins or Fulmars, who nest in the sandstone cliffs.

On our walk we walked out to a point that would roughly be between the Wyndam and Hazelbury Caravan Parks before returning along the beach.

Suggested walk extension: If you want to extend the walk along the beach at this stage you can carry on a bit further to East Runton (about 0.3 miles further out, so add 0.6 miles), or if you’re in the mood for a decent distance, then West Runton is another mile on top each way (that’s in addition to the distance to East Runton). We do advise being aware of local tide times before walking at the seaside.

Okay. So, we’re on our way back now.

Large areas of concrete like this, below, are brightened up with scenic paintings. This is part of “Cromer Artspace on the Prom.”

Every time we see the pier we have to take a photo, and it’s something I don’t think we’ll ever get bored of. There’s always something different about the scene, whether it’s the sky, the sea, the beach, something else. We hope you enjoy seeing pictures of Cromer pier too.

“Cracking grommet, Gromit!”

Near the pier there is a slope up from the esplanade leading back up to the town. As we ascended we snapped this showing the beach in a south-easterly direction.

We’re ending our pictures with this one of the pier, again taken as we ascend the slope. I have to say, it is one of my favourite ones we have taken of Cromer Pier.

From here on there are no photos. Just words about walking. This is the part where you can get some chips etcetera. We’re not going to mention specific retailers. Like most frequent visitors we have our favourites, but they’re all good! After all, you can’t beat eating seafood & chips at the seaside and follow that up with a nice ice-cream!

Suggested walk extension: Instead of ascending up toards the town, why not add a bit of sight-seeing to your route and take in the RNLI Henry Blogg Museum and the Cromer Museum, adding just shy of 1/2 a mile to your route. To do this, carry on along the esplanade until you reach the RNLI Henry Blogg Musuem. From here, go down Brunswick Terrace, which then turns in the The Gangway. Follow this short road round until it meets Church Street. Turn right, and carry on (or do some shopping!) until you reach Garden Street (and join in the rest of the route a bit further along.)

Onwards. At the top of the zig-zagging slope this brings you up to Jetty Cliff. You can go a couple of different routes, either straight ahead down the very brief remaining section of Jetty Cliff, then go left down High Street, or alternatively go left along Jetty Cliff and then the next right straight down Jetty Street. Both will bring you out near the church, at which point you want to follow High Street towards Church Street (which is pretty much the town’s “main/high street”).

Suggested walk extension: Just want to add the Cromer Museum to your route? Well, at this junction you could extend your route by approximately 0.1miles by turning left to go past the church and you find Cromer Museum just the other side.

Next turn right on Church Street but not for long, approximately 0.05 miles, then we head down Garden Street and back towards the sea front. Hopefully your natural instinct is kicking in. It helps that you can see the sea! As we approach Jetty Cliff we turn left on to New Street, then follow on to Runton Road, and head towards the car park to complete our route.. It’s more scenic to take the adjacent path along the cliff, the other side of the putting green area.

So, there we have it. A nice short walk along the beach, then back towards the Pier, a short circular in to town for a spot of retail therapy, get chips, sample some local Cromer Crab, an ice-cream, and play in the arcades too!

Field Notes

FACILITIES – There are plenty of facilities in Cromer, including public toilets at several location, cafés, shops etc. There is also visitors centre near the Meadow Road Car Park.

DOGS – Dogs are allowed on the beach, however, not between 1st May & 30th September and there are restricted areas too (particularly in a zone near to the pier and slipways). Dogs must be on a lead on the esplanade and in town. Keep an eye out for signage.

SAFETY – Hazards to be aware of include deep water, hidden dangers (such as rip tides), steep drops from the esplanade, cliffs, and possible erosion. There may also be boat-related activity (fishermen & lifeguards) to be wary of – it’s important not to obstruct them.

WHEELCHAIRS – The beach is not wheelchair accessible. The zig-zag paths to the esplanade make it accessible, though they are quite steep. There is disabled parking on the esplanade, so this is worth investigating.

CLOBBER – It is the nature of sand to get everywhere! Trainers are versatile for both beach and town walking.

DISTANCE AND DURATION – The walk outlined about was about 2.6 miles. We mentioned a few extensions in the article with additional mileage. Walking to West Runton and then including the “two museum” extension would double it to roughly 5.2 miles.