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Naturalist (Mike Crewe) was particularly knowledgeable and an expert leader. Covered all types of flora and fauna which Mike was not only able to identify with ease but also put into context in the bigger picture.
S.S. Norfolk, May 22
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Holkham National Nature Reserve (Day Trip)
Tour Code: GBR180A day exploring north Norfolk’s Holkham National Nature Reserve for some excellent birdwatching.
1 days
from
£50
£50
Highlights
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Summary
The Holkham Estate is becoming a major tour de force in the suite of protected areas that lie along the north Norfolk coast. The range of habitats available to visit can only be briefly dipped into on a single day trip, but we’ll do our best to cover what we can, while enjoying some of the best wildlife that the area has to offer. Park woodland of ancient oaks holds all the usual woodland birds, including Nuthatch, Treecreeper and the very elusive Hawfinch, while the landscaped lake has recently attracted breeding Barnacle Geese. Across the coastal grazing marshes may be found a nice range of waterfowl during winter visits, while a few Brent and Pink-footed Geese linger well into spring. But the most exciting aspect of the grazing marshes during spring and summer will be the breeding colony of herons and egrets that has gone from strength to strength. Little, Great and Cattle Egret have all bred here in recent years and Eurasian Spoonbills also recently joined the party.
Beyond the marshes lie pinewoods, coastal dunes and extensive sandflats out to the sea, all of which offer amazing wildlife opportunities, especially for migrant birds. A range of chats, wheatears, thrushes and warblers, Firecrest and Goldcrest and much more may be found during autumn migration, while there’s always a nice array of plants on offer, from a plethora of different pine species to coastal dune and saltmarsh plants, several orchid species and the unusual looking Yellow Figwort, among many others. Autumn also has the added attraction of all the pomp and bluster of the Fallow Deer rutting season.
Where we go and what we see will vary according to season, but we’ll always be sure to seek out the prime locations and to enjoy a wide cross-section of what this excellent venue has to offer.
Led by naturalist Mike Crewe or John Williamson, the tour will start from the village car park. We may drive to another location during the course of the day, but only within 5 miles of our start point and aiming to finish our day at 5pm (or prior to sunset, whichever is earlier). Walks may be up to 3-4 miles over the course of the day but will be easy on dirt trails, occasionally with the odd stile to climb over. You should allow up to £10 for local parking fees (in many cases it will be less).
- Remarkable variety of protected habitats
- Grey Herons, egrets and Spoonbills breeding
- Migrant birds according to season
- An extravaganza of geese!
- Interesting and rare flora, insects and more…
- Led by an expert naturalist guide
Day Trip Location
Reviews
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Day trip round the Holkham Estate, beautiful landscapes, lakes, parkland and wildlife. [Naturetrek are] one of the very best as far as wildlife holidays go - if not the best. Always good value with excellent guides. They get their priorities right - the wildlife.
C.A. Suffolk, May 21 -
What a great day, excellent organisation from start to finish. The guide was very informative and knowledgeable knowing the correct areas for us to search for birds - at the end of the day we had seen a huge amount of birds. Naturetrek - they always get 11 out of 10 for service and expertise. A company used regularly that we would recommend every time.
P.L. Norfolk, Apr 21 -
Small group (5) full day with guided bird and wildlife introduction to the area by a very experienced and knowledgeable guide, both in the understanding of the habitats in the area around Holkham Estate and the National Nature Reserve, and in the plant and animal communities. Thoroughly enjoyable. We can recommend Naturetrek trips and holidays. We have travelled with them many times - always well organised and skillfully led, whether at home or abroad.
M.R. Kent, Apr 21 -
Fantastic guided one day trip to Holkham in Norfolk. We went birdwatching from the beach and sand dunes, through the marsh to the woodland and lake of the Holkham estate. Excellent guide who really knew his birds and listened, then catered, to our priorities. Thoroughly recommend!
J.H. Hertfordshire, Dec 20
Dates & Prices
2026
Departures
Availability
Cost
Mon 9th Feb – Mon 9th Feb
4
£50
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£50
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
John Williamson
Tour Leader: John Williamson
Born in Norfolk, John has been birdwatching in the county for almost 40 years. He is currently the county liaison with the British Birds Rare Breeding Birds Panel, and has been involved in the production of the Norfolk Bird & Mammal Report for over 25 years. More recently John has worked in wildlife conservation for over 15 years filling various roles with RSPB, Natural England and Norfolk Wildlife Trust. John has also travelled quite extensively to over 20 countries, many of which were visited on birdwatching or wildlife trips. His experience gained working within Norfolk on breeding shorebird protection along the North Norfolk coast from Scot Head Island to Stiffkey Binks for Natural England (including several years working on the Holkham Estate NNR), on monitoring CAP agri-environment schemes and barn owl projects with RSPB, and operating wildlife watertrails on boats at Hickling Broad NNR and at Ranworth Broad nature reserves for Norfolk Wildlife Trust means he has acquired a broad knowledge of the fauna and flora of the county. John also has his own environmental consultancy and has been working on a long-term bird monitoring scheme (15 years to date) in operation on a lowland organic mixed farm in North-west Norfolk. His interests extend to all forms of natural history but John also has an extensive understanding of the past history of Norfolk and is particularly well-versed in the areas of Broadland, North and North-west Norfolk.
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
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Tour Reports
Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
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