The village of Snettisham has the only beach in Norfolk to face due west. The sun setting over the sea is a highlight along with the extensive sand and mud banks that attract tens of thousands of water birds. The spectacle of the pink-footed geese can be seen from November to early February. These geese migrate to the mud flats of The Wash from Iceland and feed on the nearby beet fields then roost on The Wash making the best viewing time either early in the morning or late afternoon. At other times, many thousands of birds feed on the reserve and in the summer you can see nesting gulls and terns.

Snettisham is steeped in history with treasures found locally dating back to the Iron Age between 200 and 50 BC. Before the Roman Conquest, Snettisham was an important religious centre for the Iceni tribe. Among dozens of gold, electrum, silver and bronze torcs found in ritual pits at Snettisham, are some of astonishing craftsmanship. The 'Great Torc' is made of eight ropes of wire twisted together, each rope formed of eight wires similarly twisted, and the massive hollow terminal rings are decorated with a complex pattern of flowing tendrils and cross-hatching. In 1985, Roman remains were found dating back to AD155, scrap gold and silver, ingots and a quartz burnishing tool indicate a thriving gold and silver trade in the area. Archaeological investigations at Park Farm, Snettisham have revealed the remains of a Roman villa, St. Thomas's chapel and a water mill. The church, built in 1340, has a spire 175ft tall, the second tallest in Norfolk, second only to Norwich cathedral. During the First World War most of the windows on the south side on the church were shattered as a result of a bomb being dropped by a German Zeppelin on the 19th January 1915. The storms of 1953 devastated Snettisham Scalp with 34 lives lost as the wooden bungalows, beach huts, chalets and caravans stood no chance against the oncoming storm.