St Mary's Church, Holme-next-the-Sea

Holme-next-the-Sea is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west Norfolk coast. It is north-east of Hunstanton, north of King's Lynn and north-west of Norwich. The village's name means 'Island' next to the sea. The civil parish has an area of 8.82 km2 (3.41 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 322 in 177 households, falling to 239 at the 2011 Census. For local government, the parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Its position on the North Sea coast makes it a prime site for migratory birds in autumn. It consequently is home to two adjoining nature reserves, one owned by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the other by the Norfolk Ornithological Association. A pair of black-winged stilts bred at the Wildlife Trust's Holme Dunes [1] in 1987, raising three young. The eastern end of Hunstanton golf links reach to Holme, and public rights of way mean that birders and golfers have learned to co-exist. It is the meeting point of the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path which together form a National Trail. It is the nearest village to Seahenge, the Bronze Age timber circle. The parish church of St Mary was first mentioned in 1188, but the oldest remaining part of the building is the tower which dates from the fifteenth century. The main church building was demolished and rebuilt in 1888, although some memorials and an ancient stone font survive from the earlier structure. The church has a peal of five bells which are still rung, the earliest is dated 1677. In the churchyard are the graves of various members of the Nelson family, who lived at Holme House.

Holme Dunes is a 192-hectare (470-acre) nature reserve near Holme-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and is a National Nature Reserve. It is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, Geological Conservation Review site, Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, Ramsar site, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Area. It is also in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The reserve's sand dunes, salt marsh, pasture and pools are important for breeding birds like pied avocet, and wintering ducks, geese and waders. There are a range of coastal habitats including, freshwater pools, grazing marsh and saltmarsh. Much of the site consists of natural habitats maintained largely by coastal processes. In 2024 the rare species of fly Schroederella iners was identified at Holme Dunes, having last been recorded in the UK in 1910. In 2019 The Times named Holme Dunes as one of Top 20 'Wild' beaches in Britain.

Seahenge, also known as Holme I, was a prehistoric monument located in the village of Holme-next-the-Sea, near Old Hunstanton in the English county of Norfolk. A timber circle with an upturned tree root in the centre, Seahenge, along with the nearby timber circle Holme II, was built in the spring-summer of 2049 BC, during the early Bronze Age in Britain. Contemporary theory is that they were used for ritual purposes; in particular Holme II has been interpreted as a mortuary monument that may originally have formed the boundary of a burial mound. In order to preserve the timber in the site from exposure to air, due to recent exposure of the remains by the sea, it was excavated in Spring 1999, and its remains taken to an archeological museum and then a maritime museum for preservation of the wood. In 1999, a reproduction was put up by some of the excavators, near the site. In 2008, after further study, a second reproduction was erected near the original's location. Due to controversy about the excavation of Seahenge, Holme II was left in place to be monitored as it is gradually destroyed by erosion.

The River Hun is in the west of the county of Norfolk, in England. Its source is in the grounds of Hunstanton Park. Its mouth can be found on the North Sea near Holme-next-the-Sea. In the 11th century it was known as 'Esten broke' (i.e. Esten brook).

Hunstanton Hall, Old Hunstanton, Norfolk, England is a country house dating originally from the 15th century. The gatehouse, now detached from the main building, is dated 1487. The wings were built in the seventeenth century and there are Victorian additions. The house was the ancestral home of the L'Estrange family, resident from the time of Domesday until after World War II. During the early 20th century, P. G. Wodehouse, a friend of Charles Le Strange, was a frequent visitor and the hall features in his novel Money for Nothing (1928) and his collection of short stories Very Good, Jeeves (1930). The hall has also been suggested as a model for Blandings Castle. The building suffered two major fires, in 1853 and 1947. In 1948, the hall was sold and converted into apartments. Hunstanton Hall is a Grade I listed building.

Ringstead is a village and civil parish in the north-west corner of the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 11.13 km2 (4.30 sq mi) and had a population of 355 in 155 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 324 at the 2011 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Hunstanton Park Esker is a 17.3-hectare (43-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Hunstanton in Norfolk. The esker extends 1.5 km from north of Ringstead Downs to Hunstanton Hall. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. This is a 1.5-kilometre (1-mile) esker, a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel dating to the glacial Devensian period, between 115,000 and 11,700 years ago. This is an uncommon landform in central and southern England. It is private land and there is no public access.

Hunstanton Golf Club is an 18-hole members golf club in Norfolk, England which has hosted many of the leading amateur golf tournaments in Britain including the Brabazon Trophy and English Amateur.

The Lifeboat Inn is a public house and inn in Ship Lane, Thornham, Norfolk, England. It lies near the wooded grounds of Thornham Manor. The white-painted pub was originally built in the 16th century and was a simple cottage with two outhouses, and was sometimes used in the 18th century as a convenient smugglers' store. Contrary to modern popular myth, the premises were not licensed until 1832, when one of the ground floor rooms was set aside for the consumption of home-brewed beer. The beer house was known as Pointers, after the first licensee Francis Pointer. In 1869, forebears of the Thornham Sadler family, John and Nellie Sadler became the landlord and lady, it was named the Lifeboat presumably in commemoration of the first Hunstanton Lifeboat launched two years previously. Early history - The building stood witness to one of the most violent nights in the region's history. On 31 December 1782 the militia of the local smugglers baron, Thomas Franklyn with a band of 80 smugglers lured a small force of dragoons led by the Excise Superintendent, Robert Bliss into a trap as they attempted to search the cottage and outbuildings. The property was then owned by William Southgate and the bloody encounter left many villagers wounded and incapacitated and had far-reaching consequences in the local area. Today the Inn consists of two main buildings; the main inn having 14 double rooms.

Hunstanton Lifeboat Station is located in the village of Old Hunstanton, in the English county of Norfolk. It is the only lifeboat station on the east coast of England which faces westward, being positioned on the east side of the square-mouthed bay and estuary known as The Wash. A lifeboat was first placed at Hunstanton in 1824 by the Norfolk Shipwreck Association. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1867. operated lifeboat station The station currently has two lifeboats: H-class Hovercraft Hunstanton Flyer (Civil Service No. 45) (H-003), on station since 2003, and a B-class (Atlantic 85) lifeboat, Spirit of West Norfolk (B-848), since 23 May 2011.

Thornham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the north Norfolk coast some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north-east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 30 km (19 mi) north of the town of King's Lynn and 70 km (43 mi) north-west of the city of Norwich. The village's name means 'Thorn-tree homestead/village'. The civil parish has an area of 13.47 km2 (5.20 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 478 in 249 households, including Titchwell and increasing to 496 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. The Church of England parish church, dedicated to All Saints, is a Grade I listed building. HMS Thornham, a Ham class minesweeper, was named after the village. The ship's bell hangs in All Saints' Church.

Ringstead Downs is a 6.9-hectare (17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Hunstanton in Norfolk. It is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is the western part of the 11-hectare (27-acre) Ringstead Downs nature reserve, which is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. This is a dry chalk valley which was carved out by glacial meltwaters It is species-rich as it has never been ploughed, and it is the largest surviving area of chalk downland surviving in the county. The butterflies are diverse. A footpath between Ringstead and Downs Road in Hunstanton goes through the reserve.