Visit
Walk the pans, taste the brine
Every Thursday afternoon in season, one of the rakers takes twelve people from the sluice to the crystallisers. You taste the water at every pan and watch it turn to salt.
- When
- Thursdays at 14:00, May to September
- How long
- About 90 minutes on flat, open banks
- Cost
- £8 a head, under-12s free
- Group size
- Twelve people, booked ahead
What you will see
The walk starts at the sluice house, where the seawater comes in through the wall on the spring tides. From there it follows the brine: along the wide condensers where the water is still clear, past the pans where gypsum settles out in needles, to pan 5, which in August is pink.
It ends at the six crystallisers. On a still day you will see the flakes forming on the surface, and a raker working the salt on the floor into ridges. Everyone takes home a 100 g bag of whatever came off the pans that week.
The gate shop is open when you finish, and every salt is £1 cheaper there than online.
Getting here
- Address
- The Sluice House, Lowfield Marsh, Holme-next-the-Sea, Norfolk PE36 0XX
- By car
- Off the A149 coast road; turn at the white sluice-house sign. Free parking for twenty cars on the hard standing by the gate.
- By bus and on foot
- The Coasthopper stops at the end of the lane, ten minutes' walk away. The Norfolk Coast Path runs along the seawall behind the works.
- Gate shop
- Gate shop open daily 08:00–16:00, May to September. Closed through the October sweep.
- Phone
- 01632 960 683
Before you come
Hats, flat shoes and a dog lead. There is no shade anywhere on the works.
- Can I visit the saltworks?
- Yes. The gate shop is open every day from 08:00 to 16:00, May to September, and pan walks run on Thursdays at 14:00.
- What happens on a pan walk?
- Ninety minutes along the banks with one of the rakers, from the sluice to the crystallisers. You taste the brine at each pan and finish at the mound. £8 a head, twelve people.
- What should I wear?
- Flat shoes you do not mind getting salty and a hat. There is no shade anywhere on the works.
- Is the site accessible?
- The gate shop and the first two pans are on a firm, level path. The banks beyond are grass and can be soft after rain.
- Can we bring a dog?
- On a lead, yes. Please keep them off the pan floors — paw prints go straight into the harvest.