Deepdale Camping - Norfolk Hostel
Arrival
Burnham Deepdale is on the north Norfolk coast between Brancaster & Burnham Overy Staith. We received an invitation to join some friends who had rented The Granary, a self contained accommodation sleeping up to 15 people, for a weekend in July and what a glorious weekend it was.
The Campsite
With four separate bedrooms (bunk beds included!), two shower rooms, lounge and small kitchen there was plenty of room for our group of 9 adults. The sun shone and outside The Granary was a small seating area to make the most of the sunny weather and watch the world go by.
The campsite also welcomes tents, backpackers, campervans and motorhomes - but no caravans. Electric hookup & shower blocks are available.
A pizza van arrived on Saturday evening for locals and holiday makers alike, the pizzas were delicious, large and well priced at £10-£14 per pizza which easily fed two people.
A short walk away was a local pub, The White Horse, which had benches overlooking the estuary and saltmarshes and did a great selection of beer.
What We Did
We visited Creake Abbey on Saturday morning which is located close by in Burnham Thorpe - approx 5 miles away. The abbey ruins, dating from the 13th century are free to enter, not very large but peaceful and beautiful to wander around.
Each month, there is the Creake Abbey Farmers Market which features 50-55 local stall holders in an old grain store, brick barns and outside by the pond. It is also free to enter, with plenty of parking and there were some wonderful local suppliers.
My favourite day was our visit to Scolthead Island – a little slice of paradise.
We caught the boat to Scolthead Island just before 9am, with boats running roughly every half hour when the tides allow. At around £5 each way, it felt like a great-value little adventure.
It was a beautiful morning and, with only a handful of people on the island, we had a real sense of having it almost to ourselves. The island is small, with no facilities, but that is very much part of its charm. We split into three groups and wandered a couple of kilometres along the beach, with the sea beside us. Nobody had been along that stretch before us that morning, and for a while it genuinely felt as though we'd landed on our own desert island. Absolutely stunning.
By the time we returned to the boat landing area, it had become busier, with families arriving in their own boats to spend a few hours on the island. Two of us took the opportunity for a dip in the sea, which was glorious. There is something about plunging into cold water that wakes up every sense and leaves you feeling completely invigorated.
You can walk to Scolthead Island if you get the tides right, although this wasn't an option for everyone in our group. For us, the boat was perfect — and the whole experience made for a wonderfully memorable morning.
We also made a stop at RSPB Titchwell Marsh, on the north Norfolk coast, and it was definitely worth a visit.
The reserve is a lovely mix of reedbeds, saltmarsh and freshwater lagoons, with lots of different habitats attracting an amazing variety of birds. We were lucky enough to see spoonbills, avocets and sand martins while we were there, and managed to get some great photos.
There are several walking routes through the reserve, with plenty of places to stop and
watch the wildlife. You can also walk right through to Titchwell Beach, a huge, wonderfully undeveloped stretch of sand which gives the whole area a really wild feel.
For us, the wildlife was definitely the highlight, and it was lovely to be able to take our time and just see what we could spot along the way.
Top Tips
We had a supermarket delivery to the Hostel on the afternoon of our arrival and then shared the cost.
Check out the Facebook page for the boat trips to Scolthead Island as they are based around tide times https://www.facebook.com/welcomeferry.burnhamovery/
The Farmers Market at Creake Abbey takes place once a month https://www.creakeabbey.co.uk/farmers-market
If the weather is sunny, make the most of the outdoor seating outside and you can watch the world go by.
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