Wells Lifeboat RNLI Lifeboats Wells Norfolk UK
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Wells Beach
Safety Warning!

Wells Beach Safety leaflet

The sands to the west of Wells harbour entrance now quickly get cut off by the incoming tide.

Make sure you are back on dry land or the main beach FOUR HOURS BEFORE high water!

People walking out on the sands by the water's edge to the west of Wells harbour entrance at low water can easily be cut off when the tide starts to come in. This particularly catches out people walking along the foreshore from Holkham beach or those walking right out across the sand down the side of the harbour channel from Wells beach.

Make sure you come back to the main beach four hours before the time of the next high water, when the siren sounds or if you see the water start to flow into the harbour or start covering the beach. See our Sea Saftey Advice page for more information and tide times. Tide times are also displayed on the NCI Coastwatch Hut as you come onto Wells beach and on the toilet block in the car park.

3D Tour

3D virtual tour of the new Wells Lifeboat Station

Explore the new boathouse and Shannon lifeboat

Launch A Memory Wells
 

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Welcome to RNLI Wells

The RNLI Lifeboat Station in Wells-next-the-Sea houses an all-weather lifeboat and an inshore lifeboat to save lives and assist with emergencies around Wells and off the North Norfolk coast. Manned by volunteer crews, the boats are ready to launch within minutes, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. This website will tell you more about the station and give you a taste of what we do and the traditions of the lifeboat service.

Cut off on Stiffkey marshes

The inshore lifeboat goes to rescue people cut off by a large spring tide on Stiffkey marshes, 30 March 2025

Shop Opening Times


The shop is open!

The shop is normally open every day 11am-3pm at present

Our shop and viewing platform are normally open Fridays-Mondays from 10-4 plus additional days in the holidays and whenever we can (see above for latest info). In good weather, the main boathouse door may be open so you can view the all-weather lifeboat from the front.

Wells Beach Safety Warning!

People on the sands near the water's edge to the west of Wells harbour entrance at low water can easily be cut off when the tide starts to come in. This particularly affects people walking along the foreshore from Holkham beach and those walking right out across the sand down the side of the harbour channel from Wells beach. Make sure you come back to the main beach four hours before the time of the next high water, when the siren sounds or if you see water flowing into the harbour or starting to cover the beach. See our Sea Saftey Advice page for more information and tide times.

3D Tour

3D virtual tour of the new Wells Lifeboat Station

Explore the new boathouse and Shannon lifeboat

Recent Services

18 March 2026
17:28

Wells Inshore Lifeboat was paged to assist two persons, two dogs and a wheelchair cut off near high water by a spring tide on the foreshore on Holkham Beach. The inshore lifeboat launched from the boathouse with a crew of four and sighted the group at 17:45. Crew members were landed on the beach to help the party to safety at the boardwalk from Lady Anne's Drive. Local coastguards were in attendance but with the tide up to the fencing at the edge of the beach were unable to reach the stranded group. At 18:25, with the tide now ebbing, the lifeboat crew and the group reached the boardwalk from where the coastguard assisted the persons to return to their vehicle on Lady Anne's Drive. The lifeboat was released and returned to station at 18:45 and was rehoused and refuelled by 19:15.

Weather Part Cloudy Visibility Good Wind ESE3 Sea Slight

17 March 2026
14:31

Wells Inshore Lifeboat was paged to a report of a person cut off by the tide north of the boathouse. The ILB launched with a crew of three on the first of the incoming tide and proceeded to the sands to the west of the harbour entrance where two persons and two dogs could be seen from the boathouse to be in danger of being cut off. The lifeboat was on scene at 14:38 and ferried the persons and dogs to the safety of the main beach. It had become apparent that the first informant had been referring not to these people but to a person potentially cut off on sands in the channel nearer to the town. At 14:45 the lifeboat proceeded towards the quay with nothing untoward sighted on the marshes or in or by the channel. The ILB conducted further sweeps and then stood by while local coastguard officers clarified the situation with the first informant and the Wells Harbour Master. At 15:38, it was confirmed that the person believed to have been cut off had been seen on the Wells Harbour Office CCTV and had made it safely to the shore. The inshore lifeboat was stood down and was recovered at 15:45.

Weather Part Cloudy Visibility Good Wind SW3 Sea Smooth

7 March 2026
16:25

Wells all-weather lifeboat was paged after an EPIRB distress beacon was activated in a position approximately 53 nautical miles north east of Wells. The crew mustered and were preparing to launch the lifeboat when the beacon was identified as being on the Blyth offshore gas platform and had activated unintentionally. The crew were stood down without launching.

Weather Cloudy Visibility Good Wind ESE4 Sea Slight

2 March 2026
11:16

Wells all-weather lifeboat was requested by Humber Coastguard to join a search for a person in the water some 55 nautical miles north of Sheringham. The person had been reported missing from a ferry. The lifeboat launched in Holkham Bay at 11:55 and made best speeed to the search area. Bridlington Lifeboat, a Coastguard SAR helicopter and a fixed wing SAR aircraft were also tasked in the search. Wells lifeboat arrived on scene at 14:10 and commenced a search pattern provided by the Coastguard. At 16:15 the designated search patterns were all completed and, with no sighting of the missing person, Humber Coastguard called off the search and stood the vessels and aircraft down. Wells Lifeboat then set a course for Wells harbour and was recovered on the east side at 19:07.

Weather Part cloudy Visibility Good Wind SW3-4 Sea Slight-Moderate

15 January 2026
09:50

Humber Coastguard paged for an immediate launch of Wells lifeboat to a report of a person in the water off Cromer. Mundesley lifeboat and Coastguard helicopter Rescue 912 had also been tasked and a nearby offshore standby vessel also proceeded to the area. Wells lifeboat launched from the low water launch site on Holkam Beach at 10:21 but was stood down shortly after as by now the casualty had been located and recovered to Cromer beach. Wells lifeboat was recovered on Holkham beach and returned to the boathouse where it was washed down and made ready again for service by 12:00.

Weather Overcast Visibility Good Wind SSE3 Sea Slight

29 October 2025
06:06

Wells lifeboat was called to assist a 42' yacht Margrete some 36nm east of Spurn Point. The yacht was disabled and the single-handed skipper had activated a distress beacon. The lifeboat launched at low water from Holkham beach at 06:55 and made best speed to reach the casualty, around 49nm north of Wells, by 09:00. Once there, a tow was attached and the lifeboat set course for Grimsby as the nearest safe port. At 14:00, the tow was transferred to the Humber Lifeboat to complete the passage into the Humber and Grimsby docks. Wells Lifeboat was then released and was back off Wells by 16:00 but then remained offshore to await the evening flood tide before entering the harbour and being refuelled and safely moored in the outer harbour by 22:00.

Weather Overcast Visibility Good Wind SSW4 Sea Slight

Latest News

Dangerous sands to the west of Wells harbour entrance

Mon 12 May 2025

In the last few years it has become dangerous to walk right out onto the sands by Wells harbour entrance channel at low tide, either from the main beach and beach huts down the side of the harbour channel or along the foreshore and edge of the sea from Holkham beach. While it looks tempting, there is a series of undulating sandbars and when the tide returns, it will fill the low lying areas and drains from both ends before covering the sandbars, If you're standing out just to the west of the harbour entrance, the sea will come in behind you and you'll find yourself trapped on an island of sand that will soon be covered entirely.

In this new video, our sea safety officer walks out by the harbour channel as the tide comes in and is rapidly surrounded by water.

Our inshore lifeboat has been called to people trapped here 6 times already this year.

To avoid the risk, stay away from this area or make sure you come back to the main beach four hours before high water, if you hear the siren sound or see the tide flowing into the harbour. Check the time of the next high tide in Wells on a tide table, on the sign on the Coastwatch lookout or on an app before venturing out... and take four hours off this time as the time you need to be safely back on the main beach.

  See our local sea safety pages for more advice and information

See all news...

The shop is open!

The shop is normally open every day 11am-3pm at present

Shop Opening Times

Our shop and viewing gallery are normally open weekends from Friday to Monday 10-4 along with extra days in the holidays and whenever we can. In good weather, the main boathouse doors may also be open to view the all-weather lifeboat from the front. See our visits page for more information.

Cut off on Stiffkey marshes

The inshore lifeboat goes to rescue people cut off by a large spring tide on Stiffkey marshes, 30 March 2025

RNLI 200

The RNLI celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2024, a milestone marked nationally and by lifeboat crews and stations around the UK.
Wells RNLI 200th Lifeboat Horse scuplture
Lifeboat Horse marking 200 years in the quay

Shannon lifeboat
and boathouse build

New boathouse build

Wells RNLI is now operating from the new building. See the boathouse build pages for the story of how the new station was built.

Our new Shannon lifeboat was funded in part with a station appeal for £250,000 in 2014-15 and also by the Civil Service charity The Lifeboat Fund with its 150th Anniversary Appeal. We are hugely grateful to everyone who has donated, fund-raised, helped and supported us both locally and across the UK and further afield.

Exercise Launches

You are welcome to watch the lifeboats launch on exercise from a safe distance on the beach bank or beach; please keep clear of the boats and launching vehicles and keep children and dogs under supervision. Exercises are roughly every two weeks and we try to post dates and times in advance when we can. All dates are subject to change or cancellation at short notice for operational reasons.

Sunday 29 Mar 2026 09:30
Launch/recovery Holkham beach

Sunday 19 Apr 2026 08.30
Regular exercise

Thursday 30 Apr 2026 18:30
Regular exercise

Sunday 17 May 2026 08:30
Low Water recovery

Thursday 28 May 2026 18:30
Regular exercise

Sunday 7 Jun 2026 09:30
Regular exercise

Sunday 21 Jun 2026 09:30
Regular exercise

Launch A Memory Wells
 

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The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity, registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SC037736). This website is managed and maintained by local volunteers at Wells-next-the-Sea Lifeboat Station and is not the main RNLI site. All text and images copyright (C)2005-2021 RNLI Wells Lifeboat Station, or as indicated, and may not be downloaded, copied or reproduced elsewhere without prior permission of the station or the relevant copyright holder. Site Manager