I'm hoping ti visit Holkolm Beach for the 1st time this coming May Bank Holiday
Does anyone have any advice please.
Like where is the best place to park ?
Where is the best place to access the beach ?
And any other information would be grateful.

8)

Hi Chuzzle

Haven't been to Holkham in years so I don't know how much things have changed or not. If I went on a weekend I always set off really early in order to get a parking space at St Anne's Drive, which as I recall was about the only feasible place to park. From there it is quite a haul to the nudist section of the beach although the part from the car park to the main beach was at least boarded.

I don't know how light you are planning to travel but you definitely won't want to have to go back to the car park for anything. Check when low tide is because it is a long, long way out if you want to venture to the sea edge. and there can be quite a wind whips across that area given it is on the Wash. Personally, I wouldn't travel without some sort of lightweight wind shelter; it makes all the difference to the experience. Some people will pitch out way down somewhere in the high tide area because the water is so far away. Beware not being able to get your bearings to where you have left your kit because that could make getting home a tad interesting if you can't find either your clothes or your car keys. 😉

If the weather turns out to be a crap-out the nearby RSPB reserve is worth a visit. Frankly, unless there is some suddenly freakishly good weather on the holiday I won't be bothering and I don't expect many others will either. You will either have the car park and the beach to yourself or the car park will be heaving. The beach would be kinda hard to make heaving considering the length of it, especially the nudist section.

Thank you very much for all the useful information

We parked in  national trust car park took a left and walked for about a mile to sand dunes,  good job there are benches to take a breather along the way, lovely beach, we are there again at the end of May bank holiday, staying at Croft Country Club for the weekend 🙂

Thanks also for the info renita, shall use the national trust guide book to find location of said car park, we might even see you there end of may, pending on weather of course.

I wasn't aware of any National Trust locations within walking distance of Holkham beach and I couldn't find any on the National Trust web site.

Sadly Holkham Beach Naturism is understood to be threatened.  🙁
This is by non Naturist activity as usual.  >:(
As usual BN will be at the forefront of this challenge, Please consider becoming a member, there will not be anyone else capable of winning this or other battles for our beaches.

Sadly Holkham Beach Naturism is understood to be threatened.  🙁
This is by non Naturist activity as usual.  >:(
As usual BN will be at the forefront of this challenge, Please consider becoming a member, there will not be anyone else capable of winning this or other battles for our beaches.

Really? I had heard about this before but thought it had blown over. Obviously not. What I don't get is that the naturist part of the beach is a long way off. Alright, it is next door to the far extreme of the non-naturist section but there aren't any houses nearby. So, the only people who re likely to be complaining are textiles who insist and persist in walking through the naturist section to make sure they get offended by something or more likely anything.

The only other likely explanation is that naturists/nudists are complaining. While I can understand that they can be just as unhappy as textiles about the behaviour of a mindless minority but complaining to authority about it is akin to shooting yourself in the foot.

It's a pity that it isn't feasible to adopt the self-policing approach taken by the folks at Studland. That seems to be quite helpful, but I don't suppose you are ever likely to get the level of usage and support at Holkham as you would at Studland. It is pretty isolated, after all.

Have there been more complaints recently? And who is doing the complaining?

Naturists have as much right to be offended by inappropriate behaviour as anyone else.
I believe that the Holkham Estate workers know about it anyway.
Here we have a landowner that is very supportive of genuine respectful Naturists but is unable to control non Naturists who are behaving inappropriately.

Well, as I said it may well have been naturists who complained and they do have the right to be offended and they still have the right to shoot themselves in the foot. And to be a simple devil's advocate, how do we know it wasn't naturists/nudists who were involved in the questionable behaviour? I mean, is it axiomatic that those who would get their kit off on a public beach are incapable of behaviour that offends others? Oh, wait a moment. What any naturist/nudists typically does in public already offends lots of other people, so much so those other people would like to lock us all up, just in case, but as it is will just about tolerate our very existence by begrudgingly permitting us to have a handful of specially designated beaches where we can desport ourselves to our heart's content but 'they' can otherwise pretend that we don't exist.

Well, as I said it may well have been naturists who complained and they do have the right to be offended and they still have the right to shoot themselves in the foot. And to be a simple devil's advocate, how do we know it wasn't naturists/nudists who were involved in the questionable behaviour? I mean, is it axiomatic that those who would get their kit off on a public beach are incapable of behaviour that offends others? Oh, wait a moment. What any naturist/nudists typically does in public already offends lots of other people, so much so those other people would like to lock us all up, just in case, but as it is will just about tolerate our very existence by begrudgingly permitting us to have a handful of specially designated beaches where we can desport ourselves to our heart's content but 'they' can otherwise pretend that we don't exist.

What you have done here is define a person who goes nude in public (often known as a NUDIST.
A very important part of being a NATURIST is Respect for self, others and the environment!
We actually know (2011 MORI Survey) that a tiny percentage of the public are Offended by SIMPLE nudity. And it's NOT against the law!
A majority (including Naturists) of people find public sexual activity offensive and it's against the law.
If is essential that Naturists understand this difference or else we have no chance of future acceptability!

I am planning on visiting Holkham tomorrow - say hi if you see me 🙂

What you have done here is define a person who goes nude in public (often known as a NUDIST.
A very important part of being a NATURIST is Respect for self, others and the environment!
We actually know (2011 MORI Survey) that a tiny percentage of the public are Offended by SIMPLE nudity. And it's NOT against the law!
A majority (including Naturists) of people find public sexual activity offensive and it's against the law.
If is essential that Naturists understand this difference or else we have no chance of future acceptability!

I couldn't agree more. As long as we turn a blind eye to people claiming to be naturists/nudists but who behave in an inappropriate way, we will all be considered to be the same by general public.  By reporting this behavior we are able to demonstrate that those genuine naturists among us are not prepared to tolerate the kind of thing that really do cause offense.  If we allow it to continue in our midst we are defending the very thing we should be disassociating ourselves from.

What you have done here is define a person who goes nude in public (often known as a NUDIST.
A very important part of being a NATURIST is Respect for self, others and the environment!
We actually know (2011 MORI Survey) that a tiny percentage of the public are Offended by SIMPLE nudity. And it's NOT against the law!
A majority (including Naturists) of people find public sexual activity offensive and it's against the law.
If is essential that Naturists understand this difference or else we have no chance of future acceptability!

I couldn't agree more. As long as we turn a blind eye to people claiming to be naturists/nudists but who behave in an inappropriate way, we will all be considered to be the same by general public.  By reporting this behavior we are able to demonstrate that those genuine naturists among us are not prepared to tolerate the kind of thing that really do cause offense.  If we allow it to continue in our midst we are defending the very thing we should be disassociating ourselves from.

Thanks Andy.
It's always more important to win the war than worry about (POSSIBLE) set backs along the way!
In the case of Holkham, the land owners clearly know the difference. They do and want to support true Naturism. They don't know how to stop Naturism attracting the undesirables.
If we condone undesirable behaviour we are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

On the FAQ section of this site one of the answers is

Finally - speak up for good standards. Inappropriate behaviour leads to naturist beaches being closed and clubs withering away. If people are acting up ask them, politely to desist, or at least tell a member of the club committee, local life-guard, warden or Police. Being nude is not being rude!

If we are merely perceived as being part of the problem then we run the risk of losing access to places we love

Davie  8)

Sunbathing in the dunes section of Holkham can be a problem with unwanted males lurking. Most of these males have clearly not laid naked in the sun for years, so I would assume most have no association with naturism.
We prefer to sunbath close to the waters edge with some shelter. Partly because it's nice to be close to the water and also because there's no bother. This is where the majority of naturist settle in good weather.
It still nonetheless amazes me how some males can walk from the dunes onto what is a vast and spacious beach and find a way of making sure they pass within a few feet of the wife and myself.
Nonetheless, Holkham is a wonderful beach on a hot summers day enjoyed by many.