Just to the north of Brancaster, a brief detour away from the A149 coast road takes you to Brancaster Staithe (Staithe means wharf, or landing stage). As is the case with so much of this area, where once larger craft docked, now only shallow drafted boats can sail from the tiny and picturesque harbour. The sea still gives a living to many in the area though. Brancaster Staithe is famed for its mussels, brought from elsewhere in the Wash to fatten in the “lays” along the tidal creeks giving onto the foreshore. On the road down to the harbour there are whelk sheds too, where visitors crunch shells from that trade underfoot as they pass. Just a short ferry trip from the mainland takes visitors to Scolt Head Island, a four mile long sand bar housing a National Nature Reserve well-known for terns, oystercatchers, and ringed plovers. The village is a quaint one, with typical flint walling on many cottages, some of which have unusually long gardens, narrow streets, and the smell of the sea and the seafood ever present. To go with the seafood there is beer from the Brancaster Brewery at the Jolly Sailors pub in Brancaster Staithe, where locals will tell you Nelson learned to sail here, and where in the winter the fire will combat the chilly east winds.
Pub and Bar
Places to Stay near Brancaster Staithe
White Horse (0.22 miles)
A friendly Norfolk welcome in classic but ... More
Titchwell Manor Hotel (2.31 miles)
Take ... More | visit website
Briarfields Hotel (2.31 miles)
A warm welcome awaits at The Briarfields Hotel - a selection of sympathetically converted barns and farm buildings in the village of Titchwell on the North Norfolk coast. With its cosy rooms and informal atmosphere, ... More | visit website
Hoste Arms (2.71 miles)
Lifeboat Inn (3.97 miles)
This lovely 16th century house has provided a warm welcome to travellers for many years. Combining historic charm with all modern comforts, relaxing views are enjoyed over open meadows ... More | visit website
Glebe Farmhouse (5.26 miles)
Situated on the outskirts of the quiet village of North Creake, North Norfolk. The farmhouse is in an ideal location to visit the Norfolk coast, Norwich and Kings Lynn or the more local villages of ... More | visit website
Caley Hall Hotel (6.84 miles)
Caley Hall Hotel and Restaurant is set around a Manor House dating back to 1648. More recently the old farm outbuildings have been converted to provide the spacious en-suite bedrooms, ... More
Lodge Hotel & Restaurant (6.91 miles)
Situated amid quaint country cottages in the village of Old Hunstanton on the beautiful North Norfolk Coast, The Lodge is just 400 yards from beautiful, quiet sandy beaches, providing the perfect environment for wonderful walks ... More | visit website
Le Strange Arms Hotel (7.13 miles)
Situated on the coast in Old Hunstanton, with grounds that stretch down to the seashore to one of the finest beaches in Norfolk, the hotel offers old world charm complemented ... More | visit website
Arch House (7.30 miles)
Arch House, a very distinguished old house at the very entrance to Wells-next-the-sea, built around the turn of the 18th century to offer the Excise man a good vantage point over the town... (boo), but ... More | visit website
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