The landscape on this route is a mixture of shingle beaches, crumbling cliffs, marshes, estuaries, heathland, forests and farmland. The area handsomely repays a leisurely exploration on foot. This walk covers the first few miles of the Coast Path at its southern end north of Felixstowe, one of the most atmospheric and historically interesting stretches of the coast.
[1] Start from the car park at Shingle Street.
(A) Situated at the entrance to the Alde estuary leading up to Orford and Aldeburgh, Shingle Street is an isolated hamlet facing the North Sea comprising of just a row of houses and cottages behind a huge expanse of shingle beach.
From the car park it’s simply a matter of following the Coast Path signs, keeping the sea on your left.
The white Coastguard Cottages – which you pass first, just beyond the car park – are a landmark sight, visible from far along the coast.
On reaching the Martello Tower at the south end of the hamlet, head inland slightly to join a path along the embankment, continuing in a southerly direction.
(B) The Martello Tower is one of a number that are dotted along the Suffolk coastline. A chain of these was built in the early 19th century in response to Napoleon’s threat of invasion. With walls 3m thick, they could withstand cannonballs and return fire from guns positioned on the roof. Today they remain either derelict or converted to homes – a distinct feature in this flat panoramic landscape of sea and beach and grassy marshlands. You will pass two more Martello Towers (B & C) before reaching the car park at East Lane, Bawdsey.
[2] Continue alongside the sea until you reach a large concrete gun battery at the end of East Lane.
(C) The large concrete gun battery and observation tower nearby date back to World War II . There’s an information panel giving further details. A short distance beyond the car park is another Martello Tower. Because of coastal erosion the Coast Path has been diverted inland at this point.
Follow the lane and bear left at the first junction and left again. About 500m further on, look out for a gate on your left and turn down the signed track back to the coast. A few steps lead you down to the beach where you turn right. Continue past Bawdsey Manor to Bawdsey Quay.
(D) Bawdsey Manor was built by Sir Cuthbert Quilter in the late 1800s. The Manor was sold to the Air Ministry in 1936 when it became the first operational Radar Station after radar was developed here in 1936/7. Without radar the Battle of Britain would have been lost in 1940 – and perhaps World War II with it. The Manor is now Alexanders International School.
[3] When you reach Bawdsey Quay, return to your starting point by retracing your footsteps, with different views to be enjoyed.
Bawdsey Quay is found at the mouth of the River Deben. There has been a ferry crossing here for hundreds of years. A daily service operates at present from April to September, and weekends in October. The end of the Coast Path is about 1.5km/1 mile further on from Felixstowe Ferry.
For variety you could walk the shingle beach from East Lane, Bawdsey back to the start - but bear in mind it requires rather more exertion!