Philip Miles dreamed of working by the sea. And he could not be much closer to his ideal location.

For, as the new manager of The Mo Sheringham Museum, his office is just a few yards from the North Sea at it nips at the shingle beach.

The 28-year-old has an idyllic sea view from the windows of the museum, which was opened in 2010 with the help of a �1.5m Heritage Lottery grant.

The museum centres around three of Sheringham lifeboats, but also has a free first-floor exhibition of the Sheringham Shoal offshore windfarm, which can be seen from The Mo on a clear day.

And Mr Miles is the man entrusted with the task of protecting and developing the museum - a job that he relishes.

He said: 'It's a wonderful museum with some great displays, and I love the fact that it has so many volunteers working here. They are so knowledgeable about Sheringham and love to work here.'

Mr Miles is from Camden in London and studied biological archaeology at Bradford University - specialising in 'bog bodies and gut contents'.

Returning to London, he got a job in 'front of house' at the British Museum, which he thought would be a 'stop-gap'.

But he said: 'Within a week of working there, I knew that I wanted to work in museums.'

He became an area supervisor, but after three years took a job for the Wellcome Trust, helping to open and establish the new �30m Wellcome Collection museum on Euston Road in London.

A spell as site development officer followed at Temple Newsam House in Leeds, a 500-year-old Tudor/Jacobean mansion that had become a museum of fine and decorative art.

He said: 'After four years there, I decided it was time for a fresh challenge. My father lives in Norfolk and I wanted to be nearer to my family. And I had always fancied working by the sea.'

Mr Miles added: 'I had worked in a large national museum, a smaller museum, and an historic house run by a local authority. I thought it would be nice to put something back. Working for Sheringham Museum Trust, which is independent, gives me the chance to do that.'

He said he was looking forward to building up the team of volunteers and trying to engage more with local schools.

? The Mo re-opens on March 19 until the end of October. Opening times are 10am-4.30pm and 12-4pm on Sundays. It is the first time that the museum will be open on Mondays.