Wells Lifeboat RNLI Lifeboats Wells Norfolk UK
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Safety Advice

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 when the siren sounds, the water starts to flow into the harbour or four hours before the time of the next high water! 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 from the beach bank or 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.

Shop Opening Times


The shop is open!

Shop and viewing gallery open 10-4 Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday

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.

Safety Warning!

A new sandbar means people 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 effects 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 when the siren sounds, the water starts to flow into the channel or four hours before the time of the next high water! 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

13 April 2025
18:07

Wells Inshore Lifeboat was tasked by Humber Coastguard to assist two persons cut off by the incoming tide on the high sand on the west side of the harbour entrance. The ILB with a crew of three launched from the north slipway at 18:19 and proceeded to the harbour entrance. At 18:24 it was establised that the two persons had been able to wade to the safety of the main beach and the ILB was stood down to return to station. The lifeboat was recovered, rehoused and made ready again for service by 19:00.

Weather Overcast Visibility Good Wind SW2 Sea Slight

12 April 2025
16:49

The inshore lifeboat was paged after the Wells Coastwatch lookout reported people cut off on the sandbank at the mouth of Wells harour. The ILB launched from the boathouse at 17:00 and arrived three minutes later to find one person still cut off on the sandbank with the others having been seen to have swum back to the beach. The person was taken on-board the lifeboat and dropped ashore at the lifeboat house. The ILB was recovered and rehoused by 17:25.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind ESE3 Sea Slight

30 March 2025
18:52

The inshore lifeboat crew were paged for immediate readiness while local coastguard officers were establishing the location of three persons reported cut off by the tide at Stiffkey. The casualties were spotted trapped on the marsh north of the Stiffkey car park and, with a 9.4m spring tide with a 1m surge covering the marsh, it was clear the coastguard would be unable to reach them from land. The ILB was paged at 18:52 and launched at 18:58 with a crew of three and, using the big tide, took a direct route round East Hills and into the marshes. The persons were waist-deep in water when the ILB arrived and picked them up at 19:10 but required no medical attention. The ILB made its way carefully in towards the marsh footbridge where the persons were passed into the care of the coastguard team at 19:25. The ILB was released and returned to station at 19:40 and was rehoused and made ready for service again by 20:15.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind NW2 Sea Slight

29 March 2025
16:05

The inshore lifeboat launched with a crew of three from the boathouse to assist a person cut off by the incoming tide on a sandbar to the west of Wells harbour entrance. The person was visible from the boathouse and when the ILB arrived at 16:17 was knee deep in water. He was taken on-board and brought back to the lifeboat station at 16:27 where he was met by local coastguard officers. The lifeboat was rehoused and made ready again for service by 17:00.

It remains dangerous to walk right out across the sands to the harbour entrance when the tide starts to rise... make sure you are back on dry land or the main beach FOUR HOURS BEFORE high water!.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind NW3 Sea Slight

Lifeboat running ashore after assisting in a search at Weybourne, 12/3/25

Lifeboat running ashore after assisting in a search at Weybourne, 12/3/25

12 March 2025
15:39

Humber Coastguard requested both Wells lifeboats to conduct a shoreline search for a vulnerable person missing from Weybourne beach who it was believed may have entered the water. Given the sea conditions and distance, it was decided that it was inappropriate to send the inshore lifeboat. The all-weather lifeboat launched from the boathouse at 15:59 with a crew of seven. Sheringham and Cromer coastguard and the police were also tasked to attend and the missing person’s car was quickly identified in Weybourne beach car park. The lifeboat arrived off Blakeney at 16:15 and began searching close-in to the shingle beach along Blakeney spit towards Weybourne, arriving off Weybourne at 16:24. At 16:33, the coastguard passed a detailed search plan to the lifeboat but at 16:36 a Sheringham coastguard officer reported finding the missing person safe ashore on the beach. This was confirmed at 16:40 and the ALB was stood down. The ALB returned to Wells and was recovered at 17:36 and was rehoused and ready again for service by 18:51.

Weather Part cloudy Visibility Good Wind NW4 Sea Moderate

9 March 2025
11:43

The inshore lifeboat was paged to assist two persons and a dog cut off by the incoming tide at the mouth of Wells harbour. The ILB launched at 11:54 and quickly located the persons on the sandbar to the west of the harbour entrance. They were taken on-board and safely landed outside the lifeboat house. The ILB returned to station and was recovered and rehoused and made ready for service again at 12:20.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind E2 Sea Slight

2 March 2025
16:32

Wells inshore lifeboat was requested to join a search for a missing person who had become separated from a group walking on the foreshore at Holkham with concerns for their safety. The ILB launched at 16:50 in the outer harbour and its Softrak launching vehicle and six shore crew were then deployed to help search the beach. The ILB proceeded out of the harbour and commenced a shoreline search towards Scolt Head. At 17:10 the missing person was located safe and well in the car park at Lady Ann's drive. Both the ILB and Softrak were stood down and rehoused by 17:50.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind SW2 Sea Slight

1 March 2025
16:26

The inshore lifeboat was launched to assist three people and a dog cut off to the west of Wells harbour entrance. The ILB arrived on scene at 16:38 and took the party on-board and returned them to the boathouse. The ILB was recovered and rehoused by 17:15. Safety advice The sandbars right out by the harbour entrance quickly become cut off by the incoming tide... while it looks tempting to walk right out alongside the harbour channel at low water, it is easy to become trapped. Please return to the main beach around four hours before high water.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind SW2 Sea Slight

25 February 2025
14:15

The inshore lifeboat was paged to assist a couple with two dogs cut off by the incomoing tide at the eastern end of Scolt Head island. The ILB launched from the boathouse at 14:25 and arrived in the entrance to Burnham Overy Staithe harbour at 14:44, quickly finding the couople and dogs safe and well on the island. They were taken on-board and taken across the harbour channel to the beach by Gun Hill from where they could walk back to their car. The ILB arrived back in Wells at 15:03 and was recovered and rehoused and ready again for service by 15:19.

Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind W2 Sea Slight

Latest News

Cambridge golfers donate to lifeboat

Fri 28 Feb 2025

Our thanks to members of LEGS Golf Society based in Cambridge who visited the station today to present a donation of over £1500 to the RNLI. The society organises around nine events each year and this year, society captain Leonard Cawley nominated the RNLI as the group's chosen charity, a cause he has personally supported for many years. Volunteer crew members gave an impromptu tour of the all-weather lifeboat followed by a chat and a cuppa in the crew room. 


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The shop is open!

Shop and viewing gallery open 10-4 Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday

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.

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.

Thursday 10 Apr 2025 18:30
Regular exercise

Sunday 27 Apr 2025 08:30
Low water recovery Holkham beach

Thursday 15 May 2025 19:00
Regular exercise

Thursday 29 May 2025 18:30
Regular exercise

Sunday 8 Jun 2025 14:00 tbc
Helicopter exercise

Sunday 29 Jun 2025 09:00
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