Suffolk

A weekend trip to Suffolk revealed more unexpected gems on the East Anglian coastline. Our first stop was in Woodbridge, an ancient and pretty market town nestling in a curve of the River Deben. The area is dominated by a stunning white 12th century Tidal mill which sits at the confluence of river estuary and town, enticing you to meander further downstream. This is further encouraged by a boarded walkway along the quayside which threads it's way around the winding river, past moorings and jetties, and boats of very size, colour and shape.

Our next stop was to the much acclaimed pretty coastal town of Aldeburgh, known by music lovers and poets worldwide. The famous annual Aldeburgh Festival was introduced by Benjamin Britten, who lived there until 1957. Every summer this quiet Georgian town transforms into a vibrant arts centre as hundreds of visitors flock to concerts in the old disused malthouses, now sympathetically restored and renovated to house musicians. When we visited Aldeburgh out of season we saw only a handful of visitors, wandering along the shingle shore, watching the fishing boats and admiring the unique 4-metre high steep scallop sculpture on the beach, a tribute to Britten, whose inspiration is said to have come from the sea.

Further up the coast is another well known historical Suffolk town, or rather, what remains of one. Hard to believe that Dunwich was once a thriving city with a population of 3,000, an important boat building industry and harbour, and an impressive fleet of royal ships. It's position on the coast led Dunwich to prosperity, but also to it's downfall, for the cliffs were made of sand and gravel and were subject to constant ‘soil creep,’ and cliff erosion.

On the 14th January 1328 disaster struck. A wind of hurricane proportions drove the sea against the spit of land called the Kings Holme, shifting the shingle and effectively blocking the entrance to Dunwich harbour. Despite the valiant efforts of it's inhabitants the supremacy of the port was lost. Dunwich’s inhabitants worked hard to clear the harbour entrance but this was a battle that could not be won. The sea continued to make incursions, and during the fourteenth century it was recorded that 400 houses, 2 churches, as well as shops and windmills, succumbed to the tempest. Tales of a lost city under the waves are indeed true, although the ravages of the sea left little intact. Despite this divers have been exploring the murky waters off Dunwich for many years and certain items have been found. We listened for the ghostly tolling of church bells, but heard only the sound of the shingle as it was pushed and pulled back and forth by the tide.

Southwold, however, is a thriving, charming, well groomed and quintessentially English seaside resort on the Suffolk Heritage Coast, complete with working lighthouse, smart pier and colour co-ordinated beach huts. A placed loved by artists, photographers and authors. For just as Aldeburgh is linked with the Arts, so too is Southwold, but with all things literary rather than music. In November every year this genteel town buzzes with words, from book lovers, authors and speakers at the 'Way with Words' Southwold Literary Festival. There was not a book to be seen nor a speaker to be heard when we visited, just a very beautiful sunset over a very pretty pier which needed no words, just photographs!