English: A Carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris). See also > 909969 - 909978 - 909981. The carline thistle is a member of the Asteraceae family and native to Europe, north Africa and Asia. The plant has properties which are believed to relieve dyspepsia and gastrointestinal upsets and to stimulate bile flow and cleanse the liver of fatty deposits. An extract of its root, called Swedish Bitters, is still used as a gastrointestinal remedy. A tea made from the plant's root was used to soothe toothaches. According to folk tradition, the root extracts prepared with wine and water are good for washing out wounds and sores, and studies have indeed shown that the acetone extracts of carline thistle root have strong antibacterial activity.

Leaving the saltmarsh behind, extensive dune systems > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/909088 form an impressive barrier between the saltmarsh and the foreshore > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/909116. The dunes at Holkham sit on old shingle ridges and their landscape is continuously changing due to the effects of wind and water.

One of the footpaths leading into the Holkham Nature Reserve can be accessed from the A149 east of Burnham Overy Staithe. The first section of this path leads through marsh pastures > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/908439 - https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/908447 which were reclaimed in the 18th and 19th centuries, beginning at Burnham Overy in 1639 and ending with the construction of the sea wall at Wells in 1859. Further seawards, the marsh pastures turn into saltmarsh > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/908459. Sediments deposited by the sea have built up into a skim of mud and silt and, over the years, evolved into saltmarsh. The middle and upper levels of the saltmarshes at Holkham are covered with plants such as sea aster and sea lavender > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/909205. Leaving the saltmarsh behind, extensive dune systems > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/909088 form an impressive barrier between the saltmarsh and the foreshore. Holkham beach > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/909862 - https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/909835 consists of many miles of clean golden sands, white sand dunes with mud and shingle patches and an area designated for naturists; there are no beach huts or deck chairs. Voted best British beach for a bank holiday break by readers of The Times, Holkham beach is three miles long and, at low tide it takes a half mile walk to reach the water line.