Cley next the Sea

Cley next the Sea is a small village with a high street in Norfolk. It lies in the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, near the mouth of the River Glaven. Cley lies roughly midway between the towns Wells-next-the-Sea and Sheringham. The village is home to a beach, which extends eastwards to Blakeney Point, Britain's largest grey seal colony, which is named after the neighbouring village.

Understand

Cley lies on the A149 Norfolk Coast Road. The village is surrounded by rare habitats for protected species.

The River Glaven is a habitat for the critically endangered European Eel (Anguilla Anguilla). They breed in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda and return to Europe for much of their lives. Their population has fallen by around 95% in the last 40 years, according to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Cley and Salthouse Marshes were purchased in 1926 to be held "in perpetuity as a bird breeding sanctuary". It is a 300-hectare coastal reserve and birdwatching site. The marshes are homes for avocet, spoonbill, lapwing, bittern, wigeon and marsh harrier.

Blakeney National Nature Reserve - a National Trust reserve - is named after the neighbouring village of Blakeney. It is a breeding ground for the tern in summer and grey seals in the winter. The grey seals reside at Blakeney Point all year 'round. Visitors can access Blakeney Point on ferry trips, departing from Morston Quay. Access on foot is via a footpath from Cley Beach, but dog restrictions apply throughout the spring and summer for bird nesting season.

Cley was recorded in the Domesday Book, with 38 households in 1086.

Cley Harbour is a former port, and a restoration project is underway after it was left stranded by the receding North Sea. According to quay custodians, the harbour was reported to have been "in the grip of organised gangs of pirates" in 1317. In the 1600s, trade with today's Benelux region - the Low Countries. The port became a major outlet for North Norfolk farm produce, particularly grain, until its demise in the 1800s. The Custom House closed in 1853.

Get in

By road

From Blakeney and Wells-next-the-Sea, follow eastbound into Cley.

From Sheringham and Cromer, follow westbound into Cley.

From (Holt, Fakenham and from London), join Blakeney Road in Letheringsett towards Glandford, then signs into Cley.

By bus

From Wells, Sheringham and Cromer, use CH1 Coasthopper into Cley.

From Holt, Thursford, Wiveton, Binham and Warham (also Wells), use limited service Sanders Coaches 46.

By train

The closest National Rail station is in Sheringham, with Greater Anglia trains direct from Norwich, Hoveton and Wroxham, North Walsham and Cromer. Connects with CH1 Coasthopper bus.

On foot

The Norfolk Coast Path, one of Britain's National Trails, passes through Cley. In the west, the path's terminus is at Hunstanton. In the east, the path's terminus is at Cromer. The route is waymarked and follows the North Sea coastline in the county, through Brancaster, Burnham Overy Staithe, Wells, Blakeney, Weybourne, Sheringham and West Runton.

From Blakeney, the Norfolk Coast Path follows an elevated coastal defence around the marshes into Cley village centre. From Weybourne, the path follows the edge of the beach to Cley Beach/Cley Eye.

Get around

Cley is a very small village. There is car parking at the village hall and at the beach. These car parks are signposted.

Although it is easy to get around by foot, some roads are narrow and drivers must share the carriageway with pedestrians, including on the A149 High Street.

Cobbled and narrow streets may prove difficult for some wheelchair or pushchair users, but not impossible.

Cley Beach is roughly one mile from the village centre. The Norfolk Coast Path connects both locations and is signposted. Blakeney Point is roughly one mile from Cley Beach and is only accessible on foot from the village. Dog restrictions may apply in bird nesting season. Ferry tours depart from Morston Quay, in the next village.

See

• 1 Cley Marshes Visitor Centre, Cley Marshes Visitor Centre, Coast Road, NR25 7SA (off the A149 Coast Road, signposted), ☏ +44 1263 740008. Hours vary by season. Café and learning centre with views over the Cley and Salthouse Marshes. Learn about the conservation work at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, or spot and hear avocet, bittern, marsh harrier, teal and spoonbill over the flat marshland. Price free but charges may apply for parking, events and the hides. (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 Pinkfoot Gallery, High Street, Cley, NR25 7RB (on the corner of A149 New Road and High Street), ☏ +44 1263 740947, info@pinkfootgallery.co.uk. Closed Mondays. Times on other days varies by season. Discover Robin Bouttell's Pinkfoot Bronzes - wildlife sculptures - and paintings by wildlife artists from Cley, Norfolk and beyond. Free. (updated Aug 2023)
• 3 Seals at Blakeney National Nature Reserve (parking at Cley Beach), ☏ +44 1263 740241, norfolkcoast@nationaltrust.org.uk. Walk out to see Britain's largest grey seal colony from Cley Beach, or spot breeding tern in the winter. Free. (updated Aug 2023)
• 4 Cley Windmill. See Cley Windmill towering over the marshes. The five-storey mill which was bult in the early 19th century is now a bed and breakfast. (updated Aug 2023)
• 5 The Shell Museum, Glandford, The Shell Museum Glandford, Church House, Glandford, NR25 7JR, ☏ +44 1263 740081, glandfordshellmuseum@outlook.com. Built by Sir Alfred Jodrell, this museum is a window into the "cabinet of curiosities" era. Alongside an assortment of shells, this museum also features a sugar bowl used by Queen Elizabeth I, a collection of Glandford artefacts and a tiny wooden barrel "made from teak of HMS Warspite — a ship which was involved in the Battle of Trafalgar". (updated Aug 2023)

Do

• 1 Walk the Norfolk Coast Path. Walk from Cley to Blakeney along the Norfolk Coast Path, a dividing line between the salt and freshwater marshes. (updated Aug 2023)

Buy

• 1 Cley Smokehouse, High Street, Cley, NR25 7RF, ☏ +44 1263 740282, enquiries@cleysmokehouse.com. Buy freshly smoked fish, cured meats, homemade pâté and Cromer crab from this traditional smokehouse (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 Made in Cley, Made in Cley, High Street, Cley, NR25 7RF, ☏ +44 1263 740134, madeincley@aol.com. M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 11AM-4PM. Stoneware pottery, tableware, crockery, jewellery, prints and photographs from local makers (updated Aug 2023)
• 3 Picnic Fayre, The Old Forge, High Street, Cley, NR25 7AP, ☏ +44 1263 740587, enquiries@picnic-fayre.co.uk. M-Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 10AM-4PM. A delicious selection of picnic food, spreads, breads, meats, pies and olives at this Norfolk delicatessen. (updated Aug 2023)
• 4 Crabpot Books, High Street, Cley, NR25 7RN, ☏ +44 1263 740218. F-Tu 10AM-5PM, W 9AM-5PM, Th closed. Selection of second-hand books in Louise Abbott's store. A long-time favourite of twitchers and holidaymakers. (updated Aug 2023)

Eat

• 1 Wiveton Hall, NR25 7TE, ☏ +44 1263 741001, cafe@wivetonhall.co.uk. Various opening hours, including events. A café serving cakes and coffee during the daytimes. Also breakfasts and lunches, and dinner events during the summer season (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 The Wiveton Bell, Blakeney Road, Wiveton, NR25 7TL, ☏ +44 1263 740101, info@wivetonbell.co.uk. Relaxed dining at Wiveton's village pub (updated Aug 2023)
• 3 Cookie's Crab Shop, Salthouse, The Green, Coast Road, Salthouse, NR25 7AJ, ☏ +44 1263 740352. A seafood stop-off serving locally caught crab and seafood, on the Coast Road (updated Aug 2023)

Drink

• 1 Three Swallows, Newgate Green, Cley, NR25 7TT, ☏ +44 1263 740816. Drinks and dining at a classy rural Norfolk pub (updated Aug 2023)

Sleep

There are a range of places to stay in Cley - cottages and camping, as well as some more unique opportunities for overnight stays:

• 1 Cley Windmill, NR25 7RP, ☏ +44 1263 740209. Bed and breakfast in a five-storey 19th-century windmill. Range of rooms and self-catering venues. (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 Wiveton Hall, NR25 7TE, ☏ +44 7775 683256, holidays@wivetonhall.co.uk. Stay at one of the cottages, in the West Wing of the Jacobean (17th-century) Wiveton Hall, or go camping in the grounds of this Norfolk estate (updated Aug 2023)

Connect

According to Ofcom, there is good voice call, 3G and 4G signal over much of Cley by EE, O2, Vodafone and Three. These mobile networks can be patchy in some of the more isolated areas of the village and coastline.

Go next

There are plenty of towns and villages to visit nearby:

• Holt, once a Roman settlement, has a market which dates back to the Georgian period with plenty of shops and lunchtime restaurants.
• Cromer is a traditional English seaside town with a pier, arcades, year-round musical shows and plenty of opportunities for fish and chips.
• Sheringham is a bustling town with plenty of shopping opportunities and a heritage railway to Holt.
• Wells-next-the-Sea has a working quay, fish and chip shops, plenty of oysters to sample and a big, sandy beach.
• Burnham Market is perfect for elevenses with plenty of tea shops.
• Norwich, Norfolk's cathedral city, is less than an hour away from Cley.

Routes through Cley next the Sea

Hunstanton ← Wells-next-the-Sea ←

W  E

→ Sheringham → Cromer