North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest The North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest ( SSSI ) is an area of European importance for wildlife in Norfolk , England . It comprises 7 , 700 ha ( 19 , 027 acres ) of the county ' s north coast from just west of Holme - next - the - Sea to Kelling , and is additionally protected through Natura 2000 , Special Protection Area ( SPA ) listings ; it is also part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB ) . The North Norfolk Coast is also designated as a wetland of international importance on the Ramsar list and most of it is a Biosphere Reserve . Habitats within the SSSI include reed bed s , salt marsh es , freshwater lagoons and sand or shingle beach es . The wetlands are important for wildlife , including some scarce breeding birds such as Pied Avocet s , Western Marsh Harrier s , Eurasian Bittern s and Bearded Reedling s . The location also attracts migrating birds including vagrant rarities . Ducks and geese winter along this coast in considerable numbers , and several nature reserve s provide suitable conditions for water vole s , natterjack toads and a number of scarce plants and invertebrates . The area is archaeologically significant , with artefacts dating back to the Upper Paleolithic . The mound of an Iron Age fort is visible at Holkham , and the site of a 23 ha ( 57 acres ) Roman naval port with a fort built on the castrum pattern is just outside Brancaster . The site of the medieval " chapel " ( probably a domestic dwelling ) at Blakeney is no longer accessible . Remains of military use from both world war s include an armoured fighting vehicle gunnery range , a hospital and bombing ranges , as well as passive defences such as pillboxes , barbed wire and tank traps . The SSSI is economically important to the area because of the tourists it attracts for birdwatching and other outdoor activities , although sensitive wildlife sites are managed to avoid damage from the large numbers of visitors . Another threat is the encroachment of the sea on this soft coast . The Environment Agency considers that managed retreat is likely to be the long - term solution , and is working with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust to create new reserves inland to compensate for the loss of scarce habitats at the coast . Description . The SSSI is a long , narrow strip of coast that starts at the eastern boundary of The Wash between Old Hunstanton and Holme - next - the - Sea , and runs east for about 43 km ( 27 mi ) to Kelling . The southern boundary runs roughly west to east except where it detours around towns and villages , and never crosses the A149 coast road . The SSSI has a wide variety of habitats , with bare mud , sand and shingle characterising the intertidal zone along the whole of the coast , although higher areas may have algae or eelgrass that are grazed by ducks and geese in winter . The salt marsh es which form on sheltered coasts , in the lee of islands , or behind spits are described in the SSSI notification document as " among the best in Europe " due to their exceptionally diverse flora . Sand dunes occur at several places along the coast , but the best examples are at Holme Dunes , Holkham , Blakeney Point , and Scolt Head Island . The latter two sites are also important for geomorphology research purposes as structures consisting mainly of shingle ridges . Reed bed s are fairly localised , but substantial areas occur at Titchwell Marsh , Brancaster and Cley Marshes . Grassland is represented by grazing pasture reclaimed from former salt marsh , with wetter areas at Cley and Salthouse marshes . Woodland is limited in the SSSI , although a belt of Corsican pine planted at Holkham has provided shelter for other trees and shrubs to become established . History . To 1000 AD . Norfolk has a long history of human occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic , and including significant archaeology . Both modern and Neanderthal people were present in the area between 100 , 000 and 10 , 000 years ago , before the last glaciation , and humans returned as the ice retreated northwards . The archaeological record is poor until about 20 , 000 years ago , partly because of the then prevailing very cold conditions , but also because the coastline was much further north than at present . As the ice retreated during the Mesolithic ( 10 , 000 – 5 , 000 BCE ) , the sea level rose , filling what is now the North Sea . This brought the Norfolk coastline much closer to its present line , so that many ancient sites are under the sea . Early Mesolithic flint tools with characteristic long blades up to long found on the present - day coast at Titchwell date from a time when it was from the sea . Other flint tools have been found dating from the Upper Paleolithic ( 50 , 000 – 10 , 000 BCE ) to the Neolithic ( 5 , 000 – 2 , 500 BCE ) . By 11 , 000 BC , the makers of the long blades had gone . Two timber platforms have been identified within the peat at Titchwell , and may possibly be rare Bronze Age ( 2 , 500 – 800 BCE ) survivals . Seahenge is another early Bronze Age site found on the coast at Holme in 1998 . It consists of a ring of 55 oak posts and was built in 2049 BC ; a similar nearby structure , Holme II , may be almost two centuries older . A large Iron Age fort at Holkham enclosed 2 . 5 ha ( 6 . 1 acres ) at the end of a sandy spit in what was then salt marsh , and remained in use until the defeat of the Iceni in 47 AD . Roman period settlements have been discovered all along the Norfolk Coast , notably the complex at Branodunum , which covered at least 23 ha ( 57 acres ) near Brancaster . This site included a fort built on the castrum pattern enclosing 2 . 6 ha ( 6 . 3 acres ) within its walls , 2 . 9 m ( 10 ft ) wide . The fort had internal turrets at the corners and was backed by an earth rampart . Early Saxon sites are scarce close to the Norfolk coast , but a gold bracteate found near Blakeney Chapel was a rare and significant 6th - century find , and there is a somewhat later Saxon cemetery at Thornham . The Danelaw left few tangible traces within the SSSI , but place names such as Holkham ( " ship town " ) reflect the Viking influence . Saxon building foundations were described as the ruins of " Cley Chapel " on a 1797 map , although it is more likely that they belonged to a barn . Medieval to nineteenth century . An " eye " is an area of higher ground in the marshes , dry enough to support buildings . Cley Eye had been farmed since the earliest human habitation , and was 28 ha ( 70 acres ) in extent in 1651 , but is much reduced by coastal erosion . The Eye and its Saxon barn were accessed by an ancient causeway , passable at low tide . A 1588 map showed " Black Joy Forte " in the same area , which may have been intended as a defence against the Spanish Armada , but was never completed . On the other side of the Glaven , Blakeney Eye had a ditched enclosure during the 11th and 12th centuries , and a building known as " Blakeney Chapel " , which was occupied from the 14th century to around 1600 , and again in the late 17th century . Despite its name , it is unlikely that it had a religious function . Nearly a third of the mostly 14th - to - 16th - century pottery found within the larger and earlier of the two rooms was imported from the continent , reflecting the Glaven ports ' importance in international trade at this time . The sheltered waters of Blakeney Haven had brought prosperity to the internationally important Glaven ports of Cley , Wiveton and Blakeney . Blakeney gained its market charter in 1222 , and the three ports , along with Salthouse , were jointly required to provide three ships for Edward II in 1322 , having previously contributed to his father ' s navy in 1301 . By the early 15th century , Blakeney was one of the few ports permitted to trade in horses , gold and silver , through " merchants sworn by oath to the king " , which contributed to the town ' s growing wealth . In 1640 , land reclamation schemes , especially those by Henry Calthorpe just to the west of Cley , led to the silting up of the shipping channel and relocation of the wharf , and further reclamation east of the Glaven meant that all the Glaven ports declined ; Cley and Wiveton silted up in the 17th century , but Blakeney had packet ships until 1840 . Similar marsh reclamation schemes took place elsewhere , often with the same consequence for the local harbours , as for example at Holkham . Only Wells - next - the - Sea had significant trade into the late 20th century . Twentieth century coastal defences . Artillery may been installed at Gun Hill on the coast near Burnham Overy during the Napoleonic wars , but there were no modern fortifications in north Norfolk at the start of World War I . Following the German naval attack on Great Yarmouth in November 1914 , defences such as trenches , concrete pillboxes and gun batteries were constructed along much of the Norfolk coast . The main bases were outside the SSSI boundaries , but Thornham Marsh was used between 1914 and 1918 by the Royal Flying Corps as a bombing range . A World War I concrete building on Titchwell ' s west bank was let as holiday accommodation until the British Army returned in 1942 , but some brickwork on Titchwell Marsh is all that remains of a military hospital dating from that period . There were no new fortifications along this coast at the start of World War II . After the fall of France in 1940 , the threat of invasion led to the creation of new defences . In addition to the installation of anti - tank and other passive obstacles , fourteen coastal batteries , each of two guns , were constructed . A number of these emplacements and other military bases fell within the SSSI area . Four spigot mortar base plates found at Holme dunes may not have originated at that site , since there is no record of such armament there . The marsh at Titchwell was reflooded , and pillboxes built into the beach bank . Between 1942 and 1945 , the marsh was used by the Royal Tank Regiment ; an armoured fighting vehicle gunnery range was established and banks were constructed for firing practice , with targets set at intervals . Some of the still extant islands were built to hold " pop - up " targets , operated by cables from winches in a building whose foundations now lie below a bird hide . Remains of the triangular concrete track used by the tanks also survive . Military activities continued in the area after the war , and the Royal Air Force returned to Thornham Marsh between 1950 and 1959 . Bombing practice was supervised from a control tower , which was demolished in 1962 , leaving only a concrete structure opposite the end of Titchwell ' s west bank . The remains of two World War II Covenanter tank s , probably used as targets , are sometimes exposed at low tide . The SS " Vina " , a 1894 cargo steamer , was anchored offshore in 1944 for use as an RAF target , but a gale dragged her to the sands off Tiitchwell , where the wreck can still be seen at low tide . Brancaster beach had a base including three pillboxes , Nissen hut s and two gun emplacements , and another possible base , comprising about fifty different structures , was located in a salt marsh north - east of Burnham Overy Staithe . A wreck at the west end of Scolt Head Island was used as a bombing target , and the remains of a Blenheim bomber were found at the north of the island in 2004 . Royal Artillery military fortifications were established at Cley beach , including two 6 - inch ( 15 . 24 cm ) guns , five buildings , two pillboxes , a minefield , and concrete anti - tank blocks . A spigot mortar emplacement and an Allan Williams Turret machine gun emplacement were sited closer to the village . One of the pillboxes and remains of the beach gun emplacements were still surviving as of 2012 . The military camp accommodated 160 men and was later used to hold prisoners of war . Near the end of the war , the camp was used to house East European refugees , and was finally pulled down in 1948 . Many of the wartime buildings were destroyed by the Royal Engineers in 1955 , but the generator house was taken over by the coastguard service as an observation post . It was acquired by the NWT in 1983 , and the upper part was used as a look - out , while the larger lower section became a beach café . The building was overwhelmed by shingle in a storm in 2008 , and subsequently demolished . Conservation . The first step towards the protection of this coast by a national conservation body was the purchase of Blakeney Point from the Calthorpe family by banker Charles Rothschild in 1912 . Rothschild gave the property to the National Trust in 1912 , which has managed it since . In 1926 , another early protected area was created when Norfolk birdwatcher Dr Sydney Long bought the land which makes up the Cley Marshes reserve for the sum of £5 , 100 , to be held " in perpetuity as a bird breeding sanctuary " . Long then went on to establish the Norfolk Wildlife Trust ( NWT ) . The current SSSI was created in 1986 from pre - existing SSSIs at Blakeney Point , Holme Dunes , Cley , and Salthouse Marshes ( all designated in 1954 ) , Morston Saltmarshes and Brancaster Manor ( 1968 ) , Stiffkey Saltmarshes ( 1969 ) , Thornham Marshes ( 1972 ) and Titchwell Marshes ( 1973 ) , together with the National Nature Reserves ( NNRs ) at Scolt Head Island ( 1967 ) and Holkham ( 1968 ) , and substantial formerly undesignated areas . Although much of the SSSI is in private hands , considerable areas are managed by large conservation organisations . As well as the two NNRs , there is an RSPB reserve at Titchwell Marsh , and Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves are at Cley and Salthouse Marshes . The NWT also manages the Holme Dunes NNR . In addition to Blakeney Point , the National Trust owns land at Brancaster Staithe . The SSSI covers 7 , 700 ha ( 19 , 027 acres ) and is additionally protected through Natura 2000 , Special Protection Area ( SPA ) and Ramsar listings , and is part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB ) . Scolt Head Island and the coast from the Holkham NNR to Salthouse are a Biosphere Reserve . Fauna and flora . Birds . The SSSI is designated as a Special Protection Area for birds for its variety of coastal habitats . The large breeding colonies of Sandwich Tern s and Little Tern s , especially those at Blakeney Point and Scolt Head Island , are of " European importance " as defined in the Birds Directive , and the coast as a whole meets Natural England ' s criteria for nationally important populations of Common Tern s , Pied Avocet s and reedbed specialists like Western Marsh Harrier s , Eurasian Bittern s and Bearded Reedling s . Other birds nesting in the wetlands include the Northern Lapwing , Common Redshank , and Sedge , Reed and Cetti ' s Warbler s . Ringed Plovers and Eurasian Oystercatcher s lay their eggs on bare sand in the dunes . Little Egret s , Eurasian Spoonbill s , Ruff s and Black - tailed Godwit s are present for much of the year , and the egret and spoonbill have both started nesting within the SSSI . In spring and early summer , migrant birds including the Little Gull , Black Tern , Temminck ' s Stint and Garganey may pass through on their way to breed elsewhere . In the autumn , birds arrive from the north ; some , such as Whimbrel s , Curlew Sandpiper s and Little Stint s , just pausing for a few days to refuel before continuing south , others staying for the winter . Offshore , Great and Arctic Skua s , Northern Gannet s and Black - legged Kittiwake s may pass close by in favourable winds . Large numbers of ducks winter along the coast , including many Eurasian Wigeon s , Eurasian Teal s , Mallard s and Gadwall s , Goldeneyes and Northern Pintail s . Red - throated Divers are usually on the sea , and Brent Geese feed on sea lettuce and other green algae . Barn Owl s and sometimes Hen Harriers quarter the marshes in winter , and Snow Bunting flocks can be found on the beaches . Thousands of geese , mainly Pink - footed , roost at Holkham . The SSSI ' s north - facing east coast location can be favourable for huge numbers of migrating birds when the weather conditions are right . These may include vagrant rarities . A Black - winged Stilt , which acquired the nickname " Sammy " , arrived at Titchwell in 1993 and became a permanent resident up to its disappearance in 2005 . Other major rarities included a Western Sandpiper at Cley in 2012 , a Rufous - tailed Robin at Warham Greens in 2011 , and a Black - winged Pratincole at Titchwell in 2009 . Other animals . Water voles are a highly threatened species in the UK , with a 70 – 90 % decline in numbers mainly due to predation by the introduced American mink , but also habitat loss and water pollution . There are a number of East Anglian sites of national importance for this species , including Cley , Titchwell and other Norfolk coastal sites . Brown hares are widespread , and European otter s may be seen at several locations . Both common and grey seal s can be seen at the Blakeney Point colony and off the beaches . The common frog , common toad and common lizard all occur in suitable habitats , and the rare natterjack toad breeds at Holkham and Holme . The green hairstreak , purple hairstreak , hummingbird hawk - moth and ghost moth are sometimes seen , particularly in the woods at Holkham , along with the common butterfly and moth species . In some years the clouded yellow , Camberwell beauty , painted lady or diamondback moth may be seen , and the silver Y can sometimes occur in huge numbers . The dune tiger beetle is a nationally rare denizen of moist sand dunes . The lagoons behind the shingle beach at Salthouse and Cley are salty due to the percolation of seawater through the bank . These saline lagoons may cover mud , firm sand or submerged vegetation , and hold some rare and threatened invertebrates including the starlet sea anemone , lagoon sand shrimp , Atlantic ditch shrimp , and lagoon cockle . These marshes are the only reliable UK site for the water beetle yellow pogonus , and even here it is localised and hard to find . Plants . On exposed parts of the coast , the muds and sands are scoured by the tides , and have no vegetation except possibly algae or eelgrass . Where the shoreline is more protected , internationally important salt marshes can form , with several uncommon species . The salt marshes contains glassworts and common cord grass in the most exposed regions , with a succession of plants following on as the marsh becomes more established : first sea aster , then mainly sea lavender , with sea purslane in the creeks and smaller areas of sea plantain and other common marsh plants . The uncommon spiral tasselweed and long - bracted sedge are other lower salt marsh specialists . Scrubby sea - blite and matted sea lavender are characteristic plants of the drier upper salt marsh , although they are uncommon in the UK away from this coast . They may occur alongside scarce species including lesser centaury , curved hard - grass and sea pearlwort , with soft hornwort in the dykes . Grasses such as sea couch grass and sea poa grass are important in the driest areas of the marshes , and on the coastal dunes , where marram grass , sand couch - grass , lyme - grass and red fescue help to bind the sand . Sea holly and sand sedge are other specialists of this arid habitat , and petalwort is a nationally rare bryophyte found on damper dunes . Bird ’ s - foot trefoil , pyramidal orchid , bee orchid and carline thistle flower on the dunes , and Holkham ' s Corsican pines shelter creeping lady ’ s tresses and yellow bird ' s nest orchids . The shingle ridges on Scolt Head Island and from Blakeney Point east to Salthouse attract biting stonecrop , sea campion , yellow horned poppy , sea thrift and sea beet . Sea barley is a scarcer species of this habitat . The reedbeds , the largest of which are at the Cley , Salthouse and Titchwell reserves , are dominated by common reed , and salt marsh rush , brackish water crowfoot , sea clubrush and common bulrush also occur in the various wetland habitats . The coastal pastures at Cley and Salthouse Marshes have jointleaf rush , common silverweed , and less common grasses such as annual beard grass , marsh foxtail , and slender hare ’ s - ear . The flat land just inland from the dunes at Holkham was reclaimed from the marshes by the nineteenth century and was initially used for grazing . It was made arable during World War II , but the water levels have been raised to make the fields attractive to breeding and wintering birds . The pastures are of international importance for the tens of thousands of geese and ducks that feed there in the winter months . Access and facilities . Scolt Head Island is accessed by a ferry from Burnham Overy Staithe which runs between April and September . Blakeney Point can also be reached by boats from Morston quay , either to see the seal colonies or to avoid the long walk up the shingle spit from Cley Beach . The National Trust has an information centre and tea room at the quay , and a visitor centre on the Point , formerly a lifeboat station , is open in the summer months . The rest of the SSSI is close to the A149 coast road , and can be accessed at many points by footpaths or roads . The main nature - orientated facilities are on the major reserves . Holme Dunes NNR is accessed from Holme - next - the - Sea . It has a visitor centre , three bird hide s , one of which has disabled access , and a 4 km ( 2 . 5 mi ) nature trail . The other reserves are all adjacent to the A149 . Titchwell Marsh RSPB is just west of Titchwell village and has a visitor centre , café and hides . Most of the reserve and its facilities are wheelchair accessible , but the last part of the footpath to the beach is rough , and crosses a steep bank . The two bird hides at Holkham NNR can be reached from the end of Lady Anne ' s Drive in Holkham village ; there is also a car park further east on Beach Road , Wells - next - the - Sea . Cley Marshes visitor centre and car park are to the south of the A149 , opposite the main reserve . The centre and four of the five bird hides are accessible to people with limited mobility . Their proximity to the main coast road means that the reserves can be accessed by bus as well as car . The Peddars Way National Trail runs the length of the SSSI , and only short sections of this part of the long distance footpath venture south of the SSSI boundary . Recreation . A 2005 survey at six North Norfolk coastal sites ( Snettisham , Titchwell , Holkham , Morston Quay , Blakeney and Cley ) found that 39 per cent of visitors gave birdwatching as the main purpose of their visit . The 7 . 7 million day visitors and 5 . 5 million who made overnight stays in the area in 1999 are estimated to have spent £122 million , and created the equivalent of 2 , 325 full - time jobs . Titchwell Marsh RSPB , Cley Marshes NWT and Holkham NNR each attract 100 , 000 or more visitors annually . The small village of Titchwell shows the effect that wildlife visitors can have locally . It adjoins the RSPB ' s busiest reserve , Titchwell Marsh , and a 2002 survey reported that an estimated 137 , 700 visitors spent £1 . 8 million in the area in 1998 . The village has two three - star hotels and a shop selling telescopes and binoculars , although it does not have a general store or a public house . The large number of visitors sometimes has negative effects . Wildlife may be disturbed , a frequent difficulty for species that breed in exposed areas such as Ringed Plovers , Little Terns and Common Seals , but also wintering geese . Plants can be trampled , which is a particular problem in sensitive habitats such as sand dunes and vegetated shingle . Damage is reduced by measures such as wardening breeding colonies , using fences , boardwalks and signs to control access , and appropriate positioning of car parks . The Norfolk Coast Partnership , a grouping of conservation and environmental bodies , divide the coast into a number of zones for tourism development purposes . Holme dunes , Holkham dunes and Blakeney Point , sensitive habitats suffering from visitor pressure , were designated as red - zone areas with no development or parking improvements to be recommended . " Orange " locations had fragile habitats , but were under less tourism pressure , or , as with the large nature reserves , were equipped to cope with many visitors . The most robust sites , mainly outside the SSSI , were placed in the green zone . Threats . The underlying geology of the North Norfolk coast is Cretaceous chalk , exposed at Hunstanton cliffs just to the west of the SSSI , but for the entire length of the SSSI coast , the chalk is buried by soft Quaternary glacial debris . Unlike the rapidly eroding soft cliffs further east , the coast of the SSSI has shown a less consistent pattern , with a net accretion of beach material between 1880 and 1950 . However , this coastline is threatened by climate change , with sea level rising an estimated at 1 – 2 mm per year for the last 100 years , increasing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion . One of the most vulnerable stretches is that between Blakeney Point and Weybourne , which included the Cley and Salthouse Marsh reserves . The coast here is protected by a shingle ridge , but the sea attacks the ridge and spit through tidal and storm action , with a single storm sometimes moving a " spectacular " amount of shingle . The Blakeney Point spit has sometimes been breached , becoming an island for a time , and this may happen again . The northernmost part of nearby Blakeney was lost to the sea in the early Middle Ages , probably due to a storm . The spit is moving towards the mainland at about 1 m ( 1 yd ) per year , and for the last two hundred years maps have been accurate enough for the encroachment of the sea to be quantified . Blakeney Chapel was 400 m ( 440 yd ) from the sea in 1817 , but this had reduced to 195 m ( 215 yd ) by the end of the 20th century . The landward movement of the shingle means that the channel of the River Glaven becomes blocked increasingly often , leading to flooding of the reserve and Cley village . The Environment Agency considered a number of remedial options to protect these vulnerable areas , and a new route for the river to the south of its original line was completed in 2007 at a cost of about £1 . 5 million . The Environment Agency ' s long - term policy is to hold the line only to protect communities and infrastructure , with managed retreat as the solution to rising sea levels elsewhere , even at sites like Cley where the financial benefits from the recreational value of the reserve outweigh the cost of maintaining the sea defences . A scheme to allow tidal flooding of part of the reserve has already been implemented at Titchwell Marsh . Another strategy is to create new reserves inland . To compensate for the inevitable loss of the important reedbeds at Cley , the Environment Agency and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust have been working since 2010 to make a new wetland near Hilgay . The Hilgay Wetland Creation Project is converting former farmland into a variety of wetland habitats by using banks , ditches and a lake to manage water levels . The Trust sees this as the first stage of a long - term plan to create a roughly Wissey Living Landscape .