He who would travel happily must travel light.Antoine de St. Exupery
Living in England, I have always been deprived of one of my favorite passion – Wildlife, which at many times is limited to deer’s, foxes and smaller animals. I always tend to miss the Wildlife from back home in India and my favorite Africa. Lets explore more of UK wildlife and see some Seals at Horsey Beach.
It was Easter holiday weekend of 2017 and we as usual wanted to take a break on the very first day before church and other Easter festivities kick in. Amoli had a surprise in store for me – She had found a place in England, in Norfolk which was a breeding ground for Seals. This was really exciting for me, as I had seen Seals in captivity but never in the wild. So I was yearning to go the next day.
We left early morning for a 2-3 hours drive to Horsey Beach – the best place for seeing Seals in UK. It was my first time in Norfolk and it was quite a scenic drive along the countryside and beautiful villages of Norfolk.
Horsey Beach is one of the many unspoiled and wonderfully quiet sandy Norfolk beaches on the east coast of the UK. There are three possible places to park at Horsey beach for seeing the Seals – however the Horsey Gap is the one I recommend.
- Parking Postcode: NR29 4EJ(Horsey Gap)
- Charges: 3£(2 Hours)/4£(3 Hours)
- Postcode may not take you to the exact location – Just follow the road signs and there is a 100 metres stretch of non-paved road to reach the parking.
Horsey beaches are famous for the Grey Seal, also known as the Atlantic Grey seals. They inhabit the North Atlantic ocean. They spend two thirds of their life at sea and haul out on the beaches and rocks between tides basking in the sun which is believed to remove the parasites off their skin. Among the Grey seals you can also find the common or Harbour seals which are smaller in size.
With a wild, barren, wonderful feel to it, this beach is lovely for getting away from the crowds and all those seaside amusements and attractions. This is a beach with wonderful dunes and as soon as you cross the dunes – nothing can prepare you for the sight which lies ahead. A wonderful beach and what looks like black rocks scattered over the beach sands. And then when you walk closer, you realise its the seals basking in the sun, an amazing sight.
The breeding season is usually during the winter month of late October to February when the beaches are cordoned off to allow no human interference and also to avoid being mauled by an Angry Seal mother. We did visit during early spring and it was still a sight to awe at. There were way too many seals lying lazily on the beach, rolling over, playing around and some seal pups getting excited seeing human figures.
Another Day trip which I would recommend from London is to the “Loveliest castle in the World”- Leeds Castle.
This was a wonderful day break. We spend close to 3 hours seeing colonies of Seals before the weather turned bad. What you need to remember is Horsey is actually the Home of the Seals, their natural habitat and when at their home you have no rights to disturb them. At times, new born seal pups are found on the beaches or on the dunes all alone and if disturbed the mother may not return and pups may die. Only 40% of the pups survive the first year!
More of seals –
Here is a Video of the Horsey Beach seals up and close –
Finally I had a chance to see some wildlife in England and I was quite excited about it.
Browse all the destinations we visited in England – Click here
If you have any queries/feedback, leave me comment with your email id and I’ll get back to you soon.
This is Aldrin and my partner Amoli. We bring you "Earths Pilgrim" - a unique insight into our travel escapades while leaving life in a cubicle. If you are looking for some inspiration to break the shackles of a regular life, then you are the right place. Read more about us- Click here.