Holkham Hall, Norfolk: A Family Day Out at the Coke Estate

Holkham Hall is the Palladian seat of the Coke family, sitting in 25,000 acres of parkland and farmland between Wells-next-the-Sea and Burnham Overy. Unlike the National Trust properties nearby it is privately owned and still very much a working estate — which gives it a different character to most North Norfolk days out. There is the Hall itself, the Walled Garden, the Holkham Stories experience, the famous deer park and, just across the coast road, Holkham Beach — the long, pine-backed expanse used for the closing scene of Shakespeare in Love.

Visitor essentials

• Address: Holkham Hall, Wells-next-the-Sea, NR23 1AB, Norfolk
• Operator: Holkham Estate — www.holkham.co.uk/visit
• OS map: OS Explorer 251 — Norfolk Coast CentralBuy from OS →

What to expect on a family visit

A full day if you want to combine the estate with the beach. The Hall tour takes about an hour and works well with children seven-plus; younger ones tend to prefer the Walled Garden, where there’s space to run, the kitchen-garden hothouses and a small play area. The deer park is best experienced on the cycle hire — Holkham rents bikes and trailers near the main entrance — and the route across the obelisk to the lake takes the best of the views in. From the Walled Garden it’s a short walk down Lady Anne’s Drive to Holkham Beach itself.