Locals have been pushed out of one of England’s most picturesque villages where tourists have taken over.

During the summer months, Blakeney in North Norfolk becomes extraordinarily busy. The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty draws significant crowds, who flock to see its charming stone cottages, a hotel crowned the nation’s finest, and substantial seal populations. However, winter tells an entirely different story. Tourist numbers drop dramatically and numerous former fishing cottages lie vacant.

The village’s appeal was immediately apparent to me when I visited at the end of November. Mere metres from the acclaimed Manor Coastal Hotel and Inn sits the River Glaven, meandering through the National Nature Reserve. Blakeney Point has gained recognition for its seal colonies, with Beans Boat providing guided excursions year-round. During the 1800s, this coastal settlement sat considerably closer to the seafront than its current position. Over the last century, the estuary has gradually silted up, corresponding with the area’s fishing industry decline, now permitting only the tiniest vessels to access the quay.

What functioned as a fishing community has transformed into a tourist destination. Throughout summer, Blakeney’s pair of public houses and trio of hotels operate at full capacity.

“I love living here, but unfortunately, during the summer, it is just a full, full village. There’s far too much traffic going through such a small place, but that does mean I’m busy with my work, which is fantastic. The cottages and second homes are so quiet during the winter. It’s sad to know that there are so many people who’d love to live in those houses, but unfortunately, they can’t live in them permanently. They’re sitting there empty during the winter, and then it’s so, so busy during the summer. It’s a tricky one for me, as working in the tourist industry, I need it to be busy. But to see the small village that’s very quaint and dainty overrun with people, yeah, it’s a lot,” Tore continued.

Tore is amongst the small number of residents born and bred in Blakeney who haven’t inherited property but still reside there. She returned to the village a decade ago following a whirlwind romance in Libya.

Her local roots meant she was eligible to register with the Blakeney Neighbourhood Housing Society, which serves the community of 400 homes. The Society’s website outlines its mission: “The price of housing has risen steeply as many properties have become second homes or places to retire to, and many local people can no longer afford to buy or rent them. The purpose of the Blakeney Neighbourhood Housing Society, founded 1946, is to provide affordable housing for local people. It owns 39 houses and cottages in Blakeney or neighbouring villages and they are all let at affordable rents to tenants with a local birth tie.”

Half a century ago, a staggering number of UK residents found themselves in Tore’s situation, with 30% of the entire population residing in some form of social housing. However, after years of Right to Buy policies and sluggish construction rates, this figure has been halved.

“I started working at the hotel at 14, and lived in the area my whole life. Working in a hotel and in the trade that it is all around here, the chances of buying a house would just be impossible. I was lucky enough to be signed up to Blakeney Housing Society in 2017, and then moved in in 2019,” Tore added.

“It has changed my whole life. It means I can be around my whole family. A lot of my friends who were born and bred here couldn’t live here due to housing problems, so they moved away to somewhere cheaper. But it is the perfect place to live. There’s community spirit, it’s a very olde-worlde place. I’d never want to be anywhere else but here.”

The statistics highlight the harsh reality of the area. Properties in Blakeney command an average selling price of £714,000 as of November 2025, according to OnTheMarket – triple the national average of £273,000.

Office for National Statistics data shows the median average wage in North Norfolk stands at £571 per week.

Due to her controlled rent arrangement, Tore pays merely £478 monthly for her family residence.

Alarmed by the substantial disparity between typical earnings and property values, the district council took action earlier this year. It introduced an additional 100% premium on Council Tax bills for owners, leaseholders, or tenants of second homes in North Norfolk, effectively doubling the amount payable for their additional property.

Blakeney Parish Council chairman Rosemary Thew emphasised that the policy is not intended to deter tourists, stressing that tourism forms a “big part of the village economy”. Nevertheless, she acknowledged that the prevalence of second and holiday homes in the locality was a significant concern.

“The volume of second homes is very high, around half. It’s pushing prices up quite considerably. It means that, as far as locals are concerned, they can’t afford to live here. It’s a lovely place to live but you’ve got people [taking up dwellings] who are not key workers. A lot are retired people or second home owners. In winter time, it’s [the impact] particularly marked. The streets are jet black because there are no lights on in houses,” she told Mail Online.