According to various letters and documents, Nelson learned to row and sail a dinghy at Burnham Overy Staithe, at the age of 10, two years before joining the Navy.

Both settlements lie on the River Burn, and until the end of the Middle Ages trading ships were able to reach the village (now Burnham Overy Town).

[5][6] To the east of the Burnham Overy creek, the former salt marshes between dry land and the sand dunes have been reclaimed to form fresh water meadows, part of the Holkham estate.

A one-and-a-half-mile (2.4 km) long footpath links Burnham Overy Staithe to the sand-dunes and beach, running along the crest of the embankment which protects these water meadows from the creek.

[8] The church was not restored in the 19th century and retains many of its Medieval features in addition to a set of Stuart royal arms which have been re-lettered with the name of King George III.

[9] In Joan G. Robinson's 1967 book When Marnie Was There, the villages of Little Overton and Barnham are based upon Burnham Overy, especially the key locations of the staithe and the windmill.