I groom at Honey’s House in Hunstanton on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and half the dogs who come in have been on a beach that morning. So I get asked this a lot, by locals and by people on holiday: where can the dog actually go? Here is the answer, with the sources, because the rules have dates attached and the fines are real.
The short answer
Hunstanton’s main beach, the stretch from the power-boat ramp to the northern end of the promenade, is closed to dogs from 1 April to 31 October each year. Along that stretch of promenade, dogs must be on a lead over the same months. From 1 November to 31 March the beach is open to dogs again.
These rules come from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk’s Public Spaces Protection Order on the control of dogs, which came into force on 1 December 2024 and runs for three years. Breaking it can mean an £80 fixed penalty notice, or prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. The full detail is on the council’s dog control page. Some older council notices give 10 April as the start date; the current order says 1 April, and the signs on the front are the final word, so read them.
Two borough-wide rules apply everywhere, all year: pick up after your dog, and keep dogs out of fenced children’s play areas.
Where you can go all year
The good news is that the ban covers one stretch of beach, not the coast.
- Old Hunstanton. Just north of the town, past the lighthouse and the striped cliffs, the beach has no dog restrictions. It is the beach most of my regulars use, with the big tidal sands at low water and the dunes behind.
- Heacham North Beach. South of Hunstanton, the north beach at Heacham is unrestricted.
- Hunstanton main beach in winter. From November to the end of March the ban lifts, and an empty winter beach below the cliffs is one of the best walks on this coast.
Along the coast
Heading north, the beaches get wilder and the rules are about nesting birds rather than sunbathers.
- Heacham South Beach asks for dogs on leads during the nesting season for ringed plovers, roughly spring to the end of August; sources differ on the exact start, so go by the signs.
- RSPB Snettisham welcomes well-behaved dogs on leads at all times. It is a reserve for wading birds, and the spectacle on a big tide is worth seeing, with or without a dog.
- Holme Dunes (Norfolk Wildlife Trust) asks for dogs on leads when requested and kept out of the cordoned nesting areas between 1 March and 31 August. Parking at Holme can need booking in season, so check the Norfolk Wildlife Trust site before you set off.
- Thornham and Brancaster are National Trust and harbour beaches further along; check signs for seasonal lead requests near the nesting areas.
The Wash and the tides
Hunstanton faces west over the Wash, which is why it gets the sunsets, and the Wash has tides that come in fast over flat sand. Keep an eye on the time, keep the dog in sight on the big low-water sands, and stay off the soft mud. The cliffs at Hunstanton and Old Hunstanton are crumbly and there are regular falls; walk below them on the sand, not against them, and keep dogs off the rock pools at the base where they can cut their pads on the carrstone.
After the beach: sand, salt and seaweed
Now the bit I actually know about. Sand works into a coat and down to the skin, where it rubs like fine sandpaper; salt dries the hair and makes a curly coat tangle; and a dog that has rolled in seaweed smells of it for days. The routine is simple:
- Rinse with plain water as soon as you can, a jug in the car park or the hose at home.
- Blot with a towel. Do not rub a curly coat.
- Dry fully, then brush to the skin, checking behind the ears, the armpits and under the harness. The method is in how to brush a Cockapoo at home, and it works on any coat.
If you are on holiday here for a week or two, a mid-holiday Bath & Brush on a Tuesday or Wednesday gets the sand and salt out properly, dries the coat right down to the skin, and sends the dog home smelling of shampoo rather than the strandline. Message me with your dates and I will tell you what is free. Winter beach walkers should read whether to let the coat grow for winter too; a long coat holds a lot of cold seawater on the walk back to the car.
Picking up, bins and the play-area rule
The fouling rule applies on every public beach, promenade and path in the borough, all year, and there are bins along the Hunstanton front and at the Old Hunstanton car parks. Take bags; the bins run out of them. The fenced play areas on the front are off limits to dogs all year.
If you are visiting from the King’s Lynn side, the King’s Lynn walks post covers the inland options for the days the tide is wrong.
Quick questions
Can my dog go on Hunstanton beach in winter?
Yes. The main beach ban runs from 1 April to 31 October, so from 1 November to 31 March dogs are allowed on the main beach. Old Hunstanton and Heacham North are open all year regardless.
Are dogs allowed on the promenade?
Yes, on a lead, along the stretch between the power-boat ramp and the north end of the promenade during the same April to October months. Outside those months the lead rule on that stretch lapses, though the fouling rule never does.
Is Old Hunstanton dog friendly all year?
Yes. There are no seasonal dog restrictions on Old Hunstanton beach. Keep dogs under control around the golf course edge and the dunes, and watch the tide on the sands.