HUNSTANTON

Hunstanton, on the south shore of The Wash, is often affectionately referred to as “Sunny Hunny”. The resort has the pecularity of being an East Coast resort which enjoys wonderful sunsets due to its geographical position. In fact, there are two Hunstantons, the resort of Hunstanton St Edmond and the village of Old Hunstanton. Old Hunstanton has a lovely sandy beach begging to be walked along, which is popular with kite surfers. The sand here is put to good use every year in August when the annual RNLI Sandcastle Competition is held. Hunstanton is famous for its “striped cliffs” which get their striped appearance from layers of different types of rock: white chalk from the Upper Cretaceous era, red chalk from the Lower Cretaceous and grey/green Carstone. Fans of seals are well served by Hunstanton, in the form of boat trips out to the large seal colony on the nearby sand banks and the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary, which includes a seal hospital and rescue centre.

In 1953 Hunstanton was the victim of flooding caused by a combination of winds, atmospheric pressure and high tides. The damage and loss of life was enough to prompt a visit from the young Queen Elizabeth. Later, the Queen was to award a 22-year-old airman called Reis L. Leming with the George medal after the young hero had saved no less than 27 lives during the floods. Leming received a hero’s welcome on returning home from duty to receive the medal. Among the victims of the flooding were eight US airmen stationed in the area. Another tragic event associated with Hunstanton was the wrecking of the trawler Sheraton in 1947.  The trawler was used as a patrol vessel in World War II and its remains can still be seen on the beach below the cliffs.

Live streaming webcam views of the seafront.

Map of the area.

Hunstanton Cliffs. Photo by Andrew Dunn, via Wikimedia Commons.