Beach used as Hollywood set under two hours from Cambridge named one of best in UK

A North Norfolk beach that is considered to be one of the most unspoilt stretches of sand in the country, has been named one of the best in the UK. Filled with rare wildlife and connected to a historic hall, Holkham has also been visited by some major Hollywood actors.

Open all year round, it is a great place to walk your dog or stroll along the sand. The beach is also frequented by royalty, as The Household Cavalry often take their summer break here and can be seen galloping up and down the beach and splashing in the sea.

At low tide, the beach stretches for miles and miles and you can walk from one end to the other in an unspoilt landscape of just sand, sea and sky.

Of course, with the pine forests and large flocks of birds that nest there, it is a protected area, coming under the Holkham National Nature Reserve. This means that dogs have to be on leads and visitors must follow the rules and regulations in place to protect the wildlife.

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So, it's no surprise that Condé Nast has named it one of the best beaches in the UK. Coming in at number nine, it said the beach is "wild and free and almost lunar-like." Condé Nast specifically loves Holkham's "golden sands backed by pine woods and huge sand dunes held in place by wildflowers and marram grass".

This unspoilt beauty is also connected to the historic Holkham Hall. The impressive 18th century hall with large pillars and many beautifully decorated rooms is still privately owned today by the Earl of Leicester. It is however open to visitors, including the glorious parkland that spans 25,000 acres.

If you think you might have seen both the Hall and beach before, it's possible you could have seen them on the big screen.

According to Holkham website, Holkham beach has been the backdrop for quite a few movies including Shakespeare in Love in 1998. This monumental seven-Oscar-winning movie featured Holkham beach as the backdrop in the final scene when Gwyneth Paltrow walks across it.

Huge Hollywood stars including Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield also filmed on the beach in 2010 as part of the dystopian film Never Let Me Go . The beach also became the backdrop for a sci-fi apocalypse in 2018 when Natalie Portman walked through the beach that had been recreated into 'Area X' in Annihilation .

But Keira Knightley had already been to Holkham in 2008 with her co-star Ralph Fiennes when they walked through the halls and parkland of Holkham Hall for The Duchess.