Walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth: Day 6 NCP

I made it. Today I would walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth, the final stretch of the Norfolk Coast Path…kind of.

The path officially ends in Hopton, a couple of miles south of Great Yarmouth, which I had intended to do. But at the last minute, standing in Great Yarmouth ready to continue on, I backed out….

What to expect when walking from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth

Just like the walk I did yesterday, the stretch of coast from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth can be fully done on beach. As long as it’s not high tide.

Where the sea meets the sand on the walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth. The sand is on the right and a cream colour and the sea is on the left glistening white from the sun. There is a person walking along the beach wearing all black.

Looking down along the sand dune as it meets a small strip of beach below, with the North Sea to the left, at the start of the walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth.

Sad for me, I set off right at high tide so had to navigate a bit of road. When I was able to get onto the beach, the sand was a bit too soft to be enjoyable. In fact, I didn’t enjoy todays walk at all.

The scenery was lovely, but I had a few things working against me. The sand was soft, which wasn’t the end of the world because there is an alternate path/trail for a lot of it. But it was very windy. 40mile an hour winds to be precise. Then there is Great Yarmouth.

A wide walkway in Great Yarmouth with the promenade across the pier ahead, and a big sign saying 'fun rides for all the family at the end of the pier'. There are two adults and a child walking under the pier.

There is something about the place that felt lonely, forgotten. It left me feeling so depressed that I had to go home. More on that later.

I know I’m bashing it, but in the right conditions, I think it would be a lovely walk. And possible to do the whole thing just on beach.

Looking straight along the sand beach with a strip of large rocks running through it, and the cliffs to the right on the walk between Hemsby and Great Yarmouth.

Logistics

Start: Hemsby, Norfolk NR29 4HS
Finish: Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 4LR

Distance: 7 miles to reach Great Yarmouth (9 miles to walk through it and out the other side).
Time: It took me about 3h to do the 9 miles
Elevation: Flat

Difficulty: Easy
Terrain: Sand, grass, concrete
Amenities: Hemsby has a local store. Along the route you would need to come off the beach, and into one of the villages. Scratby has a few places to eat and a nice looking tearoom (Tastebuds tea room), Casiter-on-Sea also has a bunch of places to eat. As you approach Great Yarmouth, on the promenade there are a few places to eat. Great Yarmouth is a big town so will have lots of options.

Time of year: I walked from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth at the end of March.
Dog friendly: Yes

A colourful blue and red beach hut selling food. There are people sat outside on the left eating.

Map for the walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth

Read about the previous day here: Mundesley to Hemsby Day 5 NCP

How to get there

Great Yarmouth is on a train line, which runs to Norwich. The 1 Coastal Clipper goes through Hemsby (and runs between Winterton, Great Yarmouth, Hopton, and Lowestoft).

Tips

Check the tide times before heading out. At high tide you can’t get onto the beach at Hemsby, and at the time of writing, the path next to it is closed.
In Great Yarmouth, if you plan to continue on to Hopton, don’t follow the coast all the way to the end. It’s a dead end. You need to walk through the town and over one of the bridges over the River Yare. If you look on a map, you will see what I mean. I chose the second bridge and it was not nice. So maybe try the first.

Route Description: Walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth

I set off early today to walk from Hemsby to ~~Hopton~~ Great Yarmouth. I was hoping to finish in time to catch a midday train, so I could have some chill time back home before the next work week.

Sucks for me, when I reached Hemsby Beach, it was barely there. High tide. I’d forgotten about that. For the whole of the walk along the Norfolk Coast, I happened to time it (by accident) for low tide each day. Today my luck had run out.

I tried the alternate route, but it was closed off. My only option now was to wait, or take the road.

A metal fence blocking the trail, surrounded by greenery.

The coast guard then wandered by, so I asked him long before I could walk it…

In 1-2ish hours.

So decided to wait. Sat on a bench and had some of my premade coffee.

About 30min later I changed my mind, and decided to follow the roads to Newport. Kill some time whilst the tide was inching it’s way out.

Newport

The walk wasn’t too bad actually. A little bit of main road, some residential, and some nice alleys.

A wide dirt path leading straight ahead, with trees to the left and leafless bushes on the right.

An arcade with picnic tables outside, on the road corner.

A long straight small road, lined with small green bushes on both sides, with some trees to the left and a crop field to the right.

Then when I reach the path to take me down onto the beach in Newport, I discovered that was closed off too. Ofcourse.

A metal gate blocking the path with a big red sign saying 'road closed'.

So I stayed on this path as it turned, to walk parallel to the coast. It is here that I came across a coast path sign. Turns out I was on the correct path anyway. My disappointment turned to smug. I wasn’t cheating after all. This was indeed the correct official way.

A wooden trail sign pointing left and right. The sign sits in front of short bushes with the sea in the distance behind.

There isn’t an official looking path up here. It’s a bit of green, and residential road. As long as you keep walking parallel to the coastline you should be good.

A large green with a gravel type road on the right, with houses lining the right side. There is a telephone pylon wire running across the frame.

A white sign in someone's front garden pointing the way to Amsterdam and John O'Groats.

As I walked along the clifftop, I could see people walking down on the beach and wondered how the hell they got down there, and was a bit jealous.

Looking down the green to the beach and sea below. There are people walking on the beach.

The beach walk

I eventually found the way down to the beach, on Rottenstone Lane. Although, once I got down there, it wasn’t quite what I had in mind.

A road sign saying 'Rottenstone Lane' on the green, with the sea in the distance.

A concrete walking way leading down to the beach. The sandy beach is to the left and grass covered cliffs to the right. There is a person walking on the beach with the sea to the left. The sea is glistening white form the sun.

Looking straight along a sandy beach with cliffs to the right and the sea to the left. There is a person in all black walking along the shoreline on the left.

Soft sand.

I tried right by the coastline line, but the sand was still a bit sinky. It was pretty though. With the cliffs and stuff.

Eventually I reached a point where the coast path sign directed me up off the beach. The tide was still too high, and I could see the next section of beach became blocked off. I wasn’t sad about this. That was enough sand for the moment. I would try again later.

The end of the beach with the sea wall and path leading up it to the top of the grass covered cliffside.

Caister-on-Sea

The path up here starts a bit gravely then turns to sand. Bloody sand. After a short while I noticed a nice hard path below. I had to get on it immediately, so scrambled down.

A sandy path on the right with tall grass on the left of it, and the beach below to the left on the walk towards Great Yarmouth from Hemsby.

A sandy path on the right with tall grass and yellow gorse on the left of it, and a walking trail below to the left on the way towards Great Yarmouth from Hemsby. There is another strip of grass on the left of the trail, with the beach and sea on the far left.

A wide path with yellow gorse on the small hill on the right, and tall green grass to the left.

This was more like it. Usually I don’t like walking on hard stuff, but today it was welcome.

This path leads to Caister-on-Sea. Once I reached it, I knew I was on the home stretch to reach Great Yarmouth, so decided to try the beach again. Hoping the tide was far enough out now that the sand had gotten nice and hard.

An information board on the sand in Caister on Sea. There is tall yellow and green grass behind it.

Unfortunately my feet still sank in, and the wind had really picked up. But I got to see some surfers. Silver lining, I’m not in the cold water.

Looking across the sandy beach to surfers on the sea on the walk from Hemsby to Great Yarmouth.

When the opportunity came, I gave up on the beach and headed back inland.

Thinking I was cheating, I was pleasantly surprised again to come across a coast path sign. Directing me through an unscenic car park, and into a big green area.

A track type trail lined with green bushes. There is the back of a white caravan on the right side.

A coast path sign on a lamppost, next to a blue car parking payment machine. There are houses further back in the background.

Looking across the underling green mass of grass.

Walk towards Great Yarmouth

This big green leads all the way to Great Yarmouth. Soon I could see the big ferris wheel in the distance. I was so close…or so I thought.

Looking across the mass of tall beige and green grass with a view of Great Yarmouth in the distance.

The wheel never seemed to get any closer. The wind was attacking me from all angles now.

At some point I decided to try the beach again, but discovered the wind was worse there, so backed off back into the green.

A wooden walking leading to the sandy beach on the walk between Hemsby and Great Yarmouth. There are people standing at the end of the walkway. The sea is ahead in the distance.

A big green field with patches of tall beige grass dotted about.

After what felt like an eternity, I reach the promenaded. This promenade also went on for a very long time.

A red wide promenade with a wall and benches on the right and grass to the left.

A wide promenade leading straight ahead to Great Yarmouth in the distance. There is a wooden wall on the right, and grass below to the left. There is a person walking ahead.

Looking across the grass field with tall grass, to two big red cargo ships in the sea in the distance near the end of the walk between Hemsby and Great Yarmouth.

Walk through Great Yarmouth

Once I finally reach the main seafront, I had gigantic beach to my left, and the bright colourful fairground stuff to my right. Something didn’t feel quite right though. There were a few people about, but it still felt pretty empty. It all felt sort of closed down. Run down. Forgotten about.

A very big almost empty sandy beach in Great Yarmouth with just 4 people walking on it in the distance. There are two big red cargo ships in the sea and part of the promenade is visible far away on the right.

A closed diner with red and blue canopies, and retro cars parked outside in Great Yarmouth.

Note: At the big green thing, it’s around here you should turn in to walk through town to reach the first bridge. I unfortunately had decided to head for the second bridge.

Staying on the promenade, passing by the ferris wheel, and an upside down house, once I reach the road I had planned to take me through the town, I discovered it was closed off. I was stuck. Stuck on the promenade.

A big ferris wheel to the right, with the promenade to the left in Great Yarmouth. There are two people walking a dog on the promenade.

An upside down red house on the green with a white picket fence around it, in Great Yarmouth.

The promenade leading ahead, with a big wall and closed green gate on the right. — I was hoping to turn in here

My feet were really hurting by now. A combination of walking 19 miles yesterday, and too much hard ground today. The wind was still attacking. Reaching Great Yarmouth hadn’t been this exciting milestone I thought it would be.

Once I finally reached another road to take me in, and followed the roads towards the bridge, I felt a sort of gloom. A bit industrial, very empty. I felt like I was somewhere that no one goes.

A road leading ahead, with a pale blue hotel building to the left.

A wide road with factory buildings ahead to the left.

The bridge itself didn’t make me feel much better. Once over it, I had a look down along the river. The route to Hopton. It wasn’t enticing at all.

A road junction leading to the bridge ahead. — The bridge

Looking down off the bridge to the road below with industrial structures and construction areas lining it. — The way to Hopton

That’s when I made the decision to end the walk here. I was tired. My feet were hurting. My soul had been left somewhere on the promenade.

I wanted to get out of this place. It was time to go home.