| An ever-changing coast |
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| Written by Catherine Dell, 2008 | |
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Unspoilt and unforgettable, the Suffolk coast is one of Catherine Dell's favourite British seascape.
The Suffolk coast, stretching some 50 miles from Lowestoft to Felixstowe, is a vulnerable zone. At the mercy of wind and wave since time out of mind, it is losing ground - literally - to the sea. Fierce tides and storm-filled waters displace sand and shingle, demolish cliffs and inexorably claim the land. The effects of erosion are exacerbated by the natural sinking of Britain's eastern seaboard and, of course, by rising sea levels due to climate change. All the more reason, then, to visit this threatened shore with its haunting history, friendly resorts and wild empty spaces. Time was - and not so long ago - Lowestoft had a split personality: prosperous fishing port alongside popular 'watering place'. Not any more. Towards the end of the last century, England and Wales' fifth fishing port became history and Lowestoft metamorphosed into a modern seaside resort. Attractions include two blue-flag beaches, concerts by the resident Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a smokehouse (Britain's oldest) producing kippers for the last 250 years, and a maritime museum that celebrates the area's seafaring heritage, especially the herring fishery. The museum stands close to the High Light whose beam, unusually, rotates anti-clockwise. In its original 1609 incarnation, the High Light started a trend: Suffolk set about lighting its shore systematically - the first county to do so. A firm favourite in the resort's calendar is the seafront Air Festival. Taking place in late July, the two-day event features wing-walkers, parachutists, Red Arrows... plus, at ground level, all the fun of the fair. And the town boasts another must-see - the sunrise. As Britain's most easterly point, Lowestoft enjoys a special relationship with the dawn. The smaller resort of Southwold has a caught-in-amber air, yet blends tradition and contemporary with evident self-assurance. Houses grouped around greens, an 1890-listed lighthouse, a clutch of local museums including one dedicated to amber, and St Edmund's - proudly built with profits from fish (in a county renowned for its wool churches). Among the many interesting items in the church is Southwold Jack, a wooden figure some four feet high, wearing Wars of the Roses armour and carrying a sword and battleaxe; at the pull of a cord, the axe strikes a bell. Jack also appears in the logo of local brewers, Adnams, who can trace their business back to 1254 when a Southwold 'ale wife', Joanna de Corby, was charged in court for serving short measures. Puppets on the promSouthwold has been in the tourist business for over 200 years and in 2007 was voted Britain's most Quintessential Holiday Resort. Contributory factors must surely have included puppets on the prom, beach huts - multi-coloured and much photographed - and the newly restored 623-foot long pier with its collection of wacky Tim Hunkin inventions.Southwold's long innings as a working port was facilitated by the early demise of its neighbour and rival, Dunwich. By the 12th century, Dunwich ranked as East Anglia's leading port and the largest town in Suffolk with some 15 churches (one chronicler says 52!), two hospitals, two priories and around 5,000 inhabitants. But within 200 years, Dunwich was in terminal decline. The sea's savage assault, aggravated by winter storms, had choked the harbour with shingle and swept away protective barriers of brushwood and boulders from the cliff base. With nothing left to restrain it, the sea advanced on the town, devouring the cliffs and the buildings on top of them. Medieval Dunwich now lies beneath the waves - though legend says the bells of the drowned churches can sometimes be heard. Essentially Dunwich is famous for not being there, but in today's tiny village, visitors find a fascinating museum, welcoming pub and, at Flora's beachside caff, the tastiest fish 'n' chips for miles. The cliff-top path, regularly rerouted as land falls away, passes a solitary headstone (last vestige of All Saints' graveyard) and the stark ruins of Greyfriars. Build in 1289 to replace a priory swallowed by the sea, Greyfriars survived 250 years, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Beyond the village lies one of the coast's loveliest landscapes at Dunwich Heath. Owned by the National Trust (thanks to funding from HJ Heinz, as in '57 varieties'), it is an important example of Suffolk Sandlings - sandy heaths that once stretched all along the Suffolk coast. From medieval times onwards, the Sandlings were used for grazing sheep then, during the 20th century, they lost 80 per cent of their area to arable farming and afforestation. The wide expanse of purple heather flecked with golden gorse provides a unique habitat for wildlife, ranging from lizards and adders to butterflies - including the scarce silver-studded blue, grayling and small copper - and an abundance of birds such as stonechat, yellowhammer, nightjar, nightingale, meadow pipit and Dartford warbler. Just a curlew's call away there are even more birds. The Heath drops down to Minsmere, the RSPB's flagship reserve attracting over 100,000 visitors a year and around 300 species of birds. Although the reserve has a variety of habitats, Minsmere is best known for its wetlands, home to an iconic trio and conservation success story: avocet, bittern and marsh harrier. A public viewing point accessible from the beach looks over the Scrape, the main wetland zone comprising shallow lagoons and shingle islands. Minsmere's skyline is punctuated by the unmistakeable silhouette of England's largest nuclear power complex: the grim, grey bulk of Sizewell A, now awaiting decommissioning, and the ghostly dome of Sizewell B. Incongruously, there are fishing boats and anglers on the beach below the reactors - the cooling water pumped out is warmer than the sea and the fish love it. Another incongruous sight occurs two miles further on. Thorpeness, a medley of mock-Tudor and weatherboard houses beside a shallow boating lake. Conceived in 1910 as an upmarket 'holiday village' by the writer Stuart Ogilvie, its most eye-catching structure is the House in the Clouds, a tree-top cottage built to disguise the village's water tower. |
