Norfolk Coast Path
191 km (119 miles), in England, through 1 national park.
- Distance
- 191 km
- In miles
- 118.7 mi
- Day stages
- 10 at ~20 km
- Typical trip
- 7–10 days
- Countries
- England
- National parks
- 1
- Highest ground nearby
- Beacon Hill 105.1 m
- Listed summits within 2.5 km
- 1
- Within 1.5 km of the coast
- 74% of the line
- Managed by
- National Trails
A National Trail of England and Wales — one of the long-distance routes designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, waymarked with the acorn symbol and maintained to a national standard.
How long it really is
We measure Norfolk Coast Path at 191 km (118.7 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point . The route is tagged in OpenStreetMap as 191.739 km; where that differs from our figure, the difference is usually alternative sections, spurs, or a published distance that rounds.
This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 45 h 40 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.
Access rights along the way
The route stays within England, so one access regime applies along its length.
England
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.
National parks on the route
The line passes through one national park, each with its own byelaws and camping position.
Summits on and beside the route
Listed hills from our hill dataset whose summit lies within 2.5 km of the line — none of them directly on it. Distances are measured from the nearest point of the path, not from a trailhead.
| Summit | Height | From path | Lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon Hill | 105.1 m | 1.6 km | Historic County TopCurrent County/UA Top |
The route in day stages
Norfolk Coast Path cut into 10 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.
OpenStreetMap does not hold Norfolk Coast Path as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.
| Stage | Distance | Cumulative | Starts near | Ends near | Flat-ground time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 km | 21 km | TG 5336 0058 | TG 5072 1725 | 4 h 37 min |
| 2 | 20.1 km | 41 km | TG 5072 1725 | TG 4166 2825 | 4 h 25 min |
| 3 | 20.3 km | 61.4 km | TG 4166 2825 | TG 2865 3823 | 4 h 28 min |
| 4 | 20.7 km | 82.1 km | TG 2865 3823 | TG 1041 4375 | 4 h 33 min |
| 5 | 20.3 km | 102.4 km | TG 1041 4375 | TF 9554 4379 | 4 h 28 min |
| 6 | 20.3 km | 122.7 km | TF 9554 4379 | TF 8090 4498 | 4 h 28 min |
| 7 | 20.3 km | 143 km | TF 8090 4498 | TF 6704 4056 | 4 h 28 min |
| 8 | 20.3 km | 163.3 km | TF 6704 4056 | TF 5992 2478 | 4 h 28 min |
| 9 | 20.6 km | 183.9 km | TF 5992 2478 | TF 5491 2655 | 4 h 32 min |
| 10 | 6.6 km | 190.5 km | TF 5491 2655 | TG 4984 1970 | 1 h 27 min |
Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.
Conditions on the route
Weather at the route midpoint live
Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…
Forecast for the midpoint of the Norfolk Coast Path, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Daylight at the midpoint today
- Sunrise
- —
- Sunset
- —
- Daylight
- —
- Civil twilight ends
- —
Computed astronomically for 52.959, 0.969. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.
Plan this walk
- Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
- Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
- Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
- Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
- Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
- Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.
Other long-distance paths nearby
Sources for this route
- Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 77959 — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
- Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
- Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
- Official route website: www.nationaltrail.co.uk
- Background reading: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.