Norfolk Seals. What you need to know about the amazing pups.
Visiting the Norfolk seals is such a lovely thing to do. It can be a day trip from London (albeit quite a long one) or Norfolk makes for a lovely weekend trip. If you live in England, this really is a sight to behold. The amount of seals on the beach is incredible – in the thousands!
Key Points:
Car park: Google maps link here and more info here
Lunch Spot/Cafe: We love going to Poppylands 1940’s-themed tearoom afterwards to warm up and have a legendary jacket potato for lunch. Can’t beat it!
Clothes: Remember to wrap up warm (take gloves if you’re operating a camera) as it can get bloody cold out there in the dunes by the sea, especially if it’s windy.
Time Frame: As a photographer, 3 hours passes quite quickly so I’d allow 3-4 hours. If you’re not a photographer, I imagine 1.5 – 2 hours wandering along the dunes would be sufficient.
Wildlife Awareness
The charity ‘Friends of Horsey Seals’ have a dedicated team of volunteers who will be protecting any seals and ensuring that the public do not put any seals at risk. It is so important to listen to any advice or warnings they might give – we don’t want any seal pups being abandoned by their Mum now, do we! Dogs must be kept on a lead at all times.
When To Visit The Norfolk Seals
I usually visit the seals around December as you will see lots of seal pups with their white fur as well as the Mums and the huge males on the beach too. Some of them a little bit worse for wear, so beware – it might not be all rainbows and butterflies! The official seal pup season is end of October to February.
Where is Best to see the Norfolk Seals?
I tend to visit Horsey Gap, which is home to one of the largest colonies of Grey Seals in the UK. in 2023/2024, there were more than 3,500 seal pups born on this stretch of coastline! So you know you will see seals!
Travelling from London to see the Norfolk Seals
I drive from the North West London suburbs and it usually takes around 3 hours or so to drive here, depending on traffic. Car park is easy breezy, see the top of this post for the google maps link.
The Details
During the Norfolk seal pup season, the beach itself is off limits and will be cordoned off. You will be able to observe the seals from the sand dunes which sit just above the beach. There is also the occasional seal which will wander up into the dunes too.
It is such a lovely day out and it’s always a privilege spending time with these characterful creatures. We must always keep at the forefront of our mind the seals welfare, and ensure we do our best not to impact the seals behaviour and comfort.
I hope you find this info on visiting the Norfolk seals useful!
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