England Attractions

Venue: Holkham Beach    When: Daily

Much of North Norfolk has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - and with good cause. The beach at Holkham is a very special stretch that scorns deckchairs and is blessed with some of the best that English nature has to offer. The net result is miles and miles of clean golden sands, white sand dunes and big, big skies.

The beach at Holkham actually makes up one of Britain's largest coastal nature reserves - its wide expanses of sand, with mud and shingle patches, are a haven for wildlife and, of course, people (some of whom tuck themselves in the naturist bit). But it never gets too crowded as there is so much space - whether on the beach proper, or on the silky soft dunes.

During the spring and summer the dunes are home to nesting shorebirds such as little terns, ringed plovers and oystercatchers. Some areas have been marked off to prevent eggs being crushed and to allow the adult birds to raise their young undisturbed. The dunes also provide a home to scores of colourful butterflies.

Much of the land behind Holkham Bay was reclaimed from the sea between the 17th and 19th centuries, when embankments were built and the land was drained for agricultural use. In some parts of the reserve the dune barrier is all that stops the highest tides from sweeping in and covering the area once more. The dunes are actually held together only by the plants that grow on them - so trampling on them actually weakens these important sea defences.

If any of you need any more persuasion to go - Gwyneth Paltrow got Holkham sand between her toes when Shakespeare in Love was filmed there.