Morston Cliff

The River Stiffkey is a chalk stream running through an area of north Norfolk, England from its source near Swanton Novers to flow out into the North Sea on the north Norfolk coast near the village of Stiffkey. The river has been dredged historically, presumably for agricultural purposes, and has a self-sustaining population of brown trout.

Stiffkey Valley is a 44.4-hectare (110-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.This valley has a range of wetland habitats in the floodplain of the River Stiffkey. It has many species of breeding birds, including nationally important populations of avocets. Wintering wetland birds include bitterns, brent geese and garganeys, while marsh harriers and barn owls hunt throughout the year.There is no public access to the site.

Cockthorpe Common, Stiffkey is a 7.1-hectare (18-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.This common in the valley of the River Stiffkey has a varied chalk grassland flora on steep slopes. Herbs are abundant, including salad burnet, dropwort, common rock-rose, large thyme and cowslip.A public footpath goes through the site.

Royal Air Force Langham or more simply RAF Langham is a former Royal Air Force station, located at Langham, 27.2 miles (43.8 km) northwest of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. It operated between 1940 and 1961. The airfield was the most northerly of the wartime RAF airfields in Norfolk and its position, just 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from the North Sea at Blakeney, made it a suitable site for RAF Coastal Command aircraft.The airfield was built during the first few months of the Second World War as a dispersal and satellite station to RAF Bircham Newton. It became operational in the summer of 1940.

The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a protected landscape in Norfolk, England. It covers over 450 km2 of coastal and agricultural land from The Wash in the west through coastal marshes and cliffs to the sand dunes at Winterton in the east. It was designated AONB in 1968, under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The area includes; Hunstanton, Wells-next-the-Sea, Blakeney, Sheringham, Cromer and Mundesley. The AONB boundary on the seaward side is the mean low water mark, corresponding to the limit of the planning authority of its local authority partners. The terrain behind the coast is rolling chalk land and glacial moraine, including the almost 300 foot (90m) high Cromer Ridge. Nature reserves in the area include two National Nature Reserves, Blakeney Point and the Winterton Dunes (one of the country's finest dune systems). The Heritage Coast stretch of the AONB is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area. The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path National Trail pass through the AONB.

St John the Baptist and St Mary's Church is the parish church of Stiffkey in the English county of Norfolk. It is dedicated to St John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary; the double dedication is the result of, historically, there being two churches in the churchyard. St Mary's was deconsecrated in 1563, and abandoned; St John's then being renamed. The church is best known for its association with Harold Davidson, the Rector of Stiffkey who was defrocked in 1932 and subsequently killed by a lion in Skegness.

Blakeney Point (designated as Blakeney National Nature Reserve) is a national nature reserve situated near to the villages of Blakeney, Morston and Cley next the Sea on the north coast of Norfolk, England. Its main feature is a 6.4 km (4 mi) spit of shingle and sand dunes, but the reserve also includes salt marshes, tidal mudflats and reclaimed farmland. It has been managed by the National Trust since 1912, and lies within the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, which is additionally protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Ramsar listings. The reserve is part of both an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and a World Biosphere Reserve. The Point has been studied for more than a century, following pioneering ecological studies by botanist Francis Wall Oliver and a bird ringing programme initiated by ornithologist Emma Turner. The area has a long history of human occupation; ruins of a medieval monastery and "Blakeney Chapel" (probably a domestic dwelling) are buried in the marshes. The towns sheltered by the shingle spit were once important harbours, but land reclamation schemes starting in the 17th century resulted in the silting up of the river channels. The reserve is important for breeding birds, especially terns, and its location makes it a major site for migrating birds in autumn. Up to 500 seals may gather at the end of the spit, and its sand and shingle hold a number of specialised invertebrates and plants, including the edible samphire, or "sea asparagus". The many visitors who come to birdwatch, sail or for other outdoor recreations are important to the local economy, but the land-based activities jeopardize nesting birds and fragile habitats, especially the dunes. Some access restrictions on humans and dogs help to reduce the adverse effects, and trips to see the seals are usually undertaken by boat. The spit is a dynamic structure, gradually moving towards the coast and extending to the west. Land is lost to the sea as the spit rolls forward. The River Glaven can become blocked by the advancing shingle and cause flooding of Cley village, Cley Marshes nature reserve, and the environmentally important reclaimed grazing pastures, so the river has to be realigned every few decades.

Cockthorpe is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Binham, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is 5.2 miles (8.4 km) north-west of Holt, 28.9 miles (46.5 km) north-west of Norwich and 127 miles (204 km) north of London. In 1931 the parish had a population of 55. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Binham.The village is close to the North Norfolk coast and the villages of Stiffkey, Blakeney and Morston. The village has a small church which is called All Saints and has a 14th-century tower. The church is now disused. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

Morston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 8.68 km2 (3.35 sq mi) and had a population of 86 in 42 households at the 2001 census. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 Census and was included in the civil parish of Blakeney. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of North Norfolk. The place-name 'Morston' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Merstona. The name means 'marsh town or settlement'.Like its neighbour Blakeney, Morston, used to be a major port 400 years ago, but is now only used by a small number of fishing boats, leisure craft and the regular seal watching trips which leave for Blakeney Point. Morston Hall restaurant owned by Galton Blackiston is located in the parish.

Stiffkey () is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A149 coast road, some 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Wells-next-the-Sea, 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Blakeney, and 40 km (25 mi) north-west of the city of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of 14.55 km2 (5.62 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 223 in 105 households, the population falling to 209 at the 2011 Census.For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.The parish church of St John the Baptist is a Grade I listed building.The River Stiffkey runs through the village, from which it takes its name. The river was used to power the Stiffkey watermill which was built before 1579. It was a small mill, running two pairs of stones, and it operated until 1881 when it was put up for auction as a warehouse. Little now remains of the mill; just a few low ruined walls showing the position of the building.Stiffkey is noted for cockles Cerastoderma edule which still retain the old name of 'Stewkey blues'. These are stained blue by the mud in which they live.

Langham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 14.7 miles (23.7 km) west of Cromer, 27.2 miles (43.8 km) northwest of Norwich and 126 miles (203 km) miles northeast of London. The village lies 5.2 miles (8.4 km) northwest of the town of Holt and around 2 miles (3.2 km) inland from the North Sea coast at Blakeney. The village is on the B1156 road between Blakeney and Sharrington. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham on the Bittern Line running to Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. About 60% of the parish lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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 beds, salt marshes, freshwater lagoons and sand or shingle beaches. The wetlands are important for wildlife, including some scarce breeding birds such as pied avocets, western marsh harriers, Eurasian bitterns and bearded reedlings. The location also attracts migrating birds including vagrant rarities. Ducks and geese winter along this coast in considerable numbers, and several nature reserves provide suitable conditions for water voles, natterjack toads and several 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 wars 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.