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The Cleanest Coastline: Norfolk's Blue Flag Beaches

Posted on: 01/06/2018

Cromer beach in the morning sun. One of Norfolk's 6 Blue Flag beaches.

With miles of serene coastline, acres of beautiful woodland, historic landmarks and many famous figures, Norfolk is among the most beautiful counties in the UK. While we may be a little biased from our east coast base, there are many people who agree with us. Our beaches have always been an attraction for those visiting Nelson’s County and with 6 beaches that have been awarded blue flags, our coastline is among the cleanest in the country – an achievement we are particularly proud of.


What Does the Blue Flag Mean? 


The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, Marina or sustainable boating tourism operator has met its standards. The Blue Flag is owned by FEE, which is a not for profit organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 countries around the world. 


Before a beach can be awarded this certification, they must meet FEE’s Blue Flag criteria which takes cleanliness of the water, safety, environmental education and information, the provision of services and general management into consideration. Spain currently has the most Blue Flag certified sites, with 696 sites around the country receiving the award. England is 12th in the rankings with 65 sites achieving the award.


Norfolk’s Blue Flag Sites


East and West Runton joined Cromer, Mundesley, Sheringham and Sea Palling as certified Blue Flag beaches around this time last year and the scheme has already proved to be a success in attracting more visitors. Since they were first awarded with the Blue Flag certification, the number of visitors to the beaches has increased from 100,000 to around 400,000. All of the beaches are in North Norfolk, which has more Blue Flag beaches than any other district in the country. 



Why Are Norfolk’s Beaches So Successful? 


It’s not really a big surprise that so many of our beaches have received this achievement. Regular beach clean ups are organised by volunteers, removing any litter left on the beach or in the sand dunes. The presence of the RNLI also helped secure the award, with lifeboat stations in Sheringham and Cromer keeping beachgoers safe. 


The brilliant facilities that are situated around the beaches, including public toilets, cafes, restaurants and beach huts are all other factors that were taken into account when the beaches were being assessed for achieving the awards.


We’d love to see Great Yarmouth’s beach be awarded a blue flag!


Planning a job that will produce lots of waste? We can help you dispose of it responsibly, call us on 01493 668118 or email us on info@wtskiphire.co.uk.


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