We visited Sea Palling in Norfolk on a sunny day in July. I am in a wheelchair and it is worth noting that car parks in Norfolk are generally not free for blue badge holders. In the village, within a 5 minute walk to the beach are 3 car parks – one council and two privately owned.
Lifeboats are launched from Sea Palling (we actually saw this happen whilst having a drink) and so there is a steep slope up towards the beach and then down to the sand. My husband was able to push me in my wheelchair onto the sand. We had come to Sea Palling to meet up with a group of friends, all of us dog owners. Once on the beach, if you go to the right of the slope (as you face the sea), dogs are permitted throughout the year. This meant that we were able to take our dogs along to a quieter area of the beach and let them have a run around and play in the sea.
Usually, on such occasions, it is difficult for me to join in in any way as the wheelchair gets stuck on the sand. However, at Sea Palling, there are steps at the back of the beach that run the entire way across the beach.There are about 4 steps altogether, each one wide enough to allow a wheelchair to run across the back of the beach. Although I couldn’t get down to the sea, I was able to watch everything that was happening at the edge of the sea, with dogs running in and out and having a good time.
Whilst on the beach, the dogs were suddenly called together as there were seals in the sea. Sure enough, three seals were close to the shore, so we left them well alone.
To top off a lovely day, just off the beach, at the bottom of the slope, there was a pub/restaurant Reefs Bar, where we could socially distance an enjoy a drink and snack.
