Blakeney Slipway
Blakeney Quay sits on a tidal creek that links to Blakeney Channel, Blakeney Harbour and, beyond Blakeney Point, the North Sea; the quayside floods on high spring tides. A public slipway at the west end of the quay gives access to the water, and kayaks and paddleboards can be hired here in season for trips along the channel towards Cley or west towards Morston.
On the water
From the quay, paddlers follow a marked channel known locally as the Blakeney Cut before it opens into the wider, buoyed Blakeney Channel; heading west, Agar Creek leads toward Morston, whose own entrance channel is the busiest and deepest of the harbour's four. At low water the retreating tide exposes wide sandbanks across most of the harbour, including Blakeney Pit at its western end, the deepest water at high tide, and they are covered again within a few hours as the flood returns.
The whole of Blakeney Harbour lies within layered conservation protections: a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation, a Special Protection Area, a Ramsar wetland, and part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Lower Harbour holds England's largest grey seal colony, with the National Trust recording around 9,000 pups born there each winter. Blakeney Point has been a National Nature Reserve managed by the National Trust since 1912, when a public appeal enabled the purchase of the Point from the Calthorpe estate.
A landmark visible from the water near the western tip of the Point is the Old Lifeboat House, built in 1898 as Blakeney's lifeboat station and now a seasonal National Trust visitor centre.
Nearby
Bakery cafe on Blakeney Quay.
Conditions to check
Launching is generally only possible for around an hour either side of high water at springs; during neap tides, launching anything beyond a dinghy is discouraged, and most of the harbour, including Blakeney Pit, dries at low water.
SourceWind-over-tide conditions can be severe, particularly at the Bar, the Lower Harbour and around Blakeney Point.
SourceThe harbour is busiest with commercial and pleasure craft in the hours either side of high water, when launching is possible; paddlers are expected to keep clear of manoeuvring boats.
SourceCreeks empty quickly as the tide falls; paddlers are advised to be back on the landward side of the creeks around four hours before high water at Wells bar to avoid being cut off.
SourceA strong tide race runs around Blakeney Point, beyond the shelter of the harbour, and the National Trust advises avoiding the Point and its seal colony because of it.
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