A family day trip to Sheringham, Norfolk

Here’s our guide on how to spend a family day out in Sheringham and some of the top things to do in Sheringham with kids.

Sheringham is a Victorian seaside resort in north Norfolk.  It has a range of activities, from a sandy beach, landscaped parklands, and a vibrant town.  It offers visitors plenty of opportunities for walking and enjoying the clifftop views or discovering Sheringham’s rich heritage.

Sheringham has the advantage of holding a prime location on the Norfolk coast, whilst being within a stone’s throw of some beautiful countryside.  A day out in Sheringham is definitely one of the best things to do in Norfolk with kids.  Here’s what we got up to on our family day out.

The first stop for our day out in Sheringham was in the countryside.  Sheringham Park, to be precise.  This is a pretty, landscaped woodland estate in Upper Sheringham.

The park is in the grounds of Sheringham Hall, a private house.  Visitors cannot go in the house.  However, the 1000 acres of parkland and gardens are owned by the National Trust and open to all.

Sheringham Park was created by 18^th century landscape designer Humphry Repton.  It’s a pretty, natural place, with plenty of outdoor space for kids to run around or stop for a picnic.  It is particularly popular in the spring when the rhododendrons and azaleas are in bloom.

Sheringham Park is a great location for some outdoor family fun in Norfolk.  It offers a choice of family-friendly walks which take you all around the estate. Here you’ll discover a mixed landscape of woodland, parkland, and open fields. You can even walk as far as the seaside!

Luckily, the four main walking trails are waymarked and easy to follow.  They vary in length from 1 to 5 miles but interlink so that you can cross between routes.  The shortest walk, the Orange Trail, leads to the Temple and back and the longer Blue Trail takes you to the Gazebo Tower, a viewpoint over the fields.

All walks start and finish at the Visitor Centre, where you’ll find a shop, toilets, and Courtyard Café.

Firstly, we opted for a combination of the White and Red Trails, which gave us a good overview of most of the estate.  The White trail led us down a woodland path, with lots of stops for tree climbing.  Eventually, we joined the Red Trail which followed more open parkland and took us to Sheringham Hall and the Temple.

Admission to Sheringham Park is free, but there is a parking charge of £6.50 per car for non-members.

From Sheringham Park it’s only 2 miles to the sea front.

Sheringham is a traditional Victorian seaside town.  It has a vibrant High Street, with arcades, beach shops and plenty of takeaways.  At the end of the High Street, they even have their own aptly named Sheringham Little Theatre.

As we were by the sea, the obvious lunch choice for us was fish and chips.  And the giant boulders of the sea wall provided an ideal lunch spot.

One of the very best things to do at Sheringham is head for the beach.

Sheringham has a large blue flag beach, which is sandy at low tide.  However, you should check the tide times, as at high tide the beach only has rocks, pebbles, and shingle.  Groynes divide the beach and can offer shelter on a windy day.

Sheringham Promenade forms part of the Norfolk Coast Path, which runs for 84 miles from Hunstanton to Sea Palling.  This provides some excellent opportunities for coastal walking.

If you go west, you can take a cliff top walk to Weybourne, which is about 8 miles.  You can then return by train.  Alternatively, you can take a short walk (1.5 miles) east to West Runton.  At low tide West Runton has one of the best rock-pooling beaches in Norfolk.

Of course, if you just prefer a gentle stroll stick to Sheringham Promenade.  Here you’ll find walls decorated in murals, with bright pictures depicting the town’s nautical heritage.  These exhibits form part of the Sheringham art and sculpture trail.

Plus, along the promenade you’ll pass the rows of brightly coloured beach huts.  In fact, you can hire these beach huts from mid-April to mid-October but cannot stay overnight.

Now, if you want to find out more about the town’s past, head into the Sheringham Museum at the Mo.  You can discover more about Sheringham’s heritage with its unique collection of original lifeboats, lanterns, and work by local artists.

The museum is open daily from Wednesday to Saturday in the summer months.

The other museum in Sheringham is the Fisherman’s lifeboat Museum.  You’ll find this in the shed housing the Henry Ramey Upcher lifeboat.  The museum provides an insight into the history of the fishermen who manned Sheringham’s two lifeboats.  These boats were provided to the town by the Upcher family of Sheringham Hall.

Finally, if you want to go back further in time, follow Sheringham’s Deep History Coast Trail to discover more about its prehistoric connections.  In 1990 a woolly mammoth was found in the nearby village of West Runton, providing evidence that dinosaurs once roamed the area.

Download the Deep History app to find all the fun facts about Sheringham’s primeval past.

Sheringham is in North Norfolk between Cromer and Weybourne.  It is 27 miles from Norwich.  You can get there easily on the A148.

Alternatively, if you are travelling by public transport, Sheringham has its own train station.  Trains from Norwich take about an hour.

There are 3 car parks, and we were lucky enough to find a space in the tiny one by the beach front.  The other two car parks are by the station and on the cliff tops.

What are your favourite things to do in Sheringham?  We’d love to hear your comments below.

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