Summer Walks In Suffolk – Aldeburgh Walking Route

Suffolk Walking Routes

A Circular Walking Route In Aldeburgh…

It was really windy today and quite chilly despite the gloriously sunny day. Tedi was in his child carrier so I thought I would soon warm up. Wearing walking shorts was an error of judgement and I only had a thin wind proof jacket on so the beginning of the walk was a little cold to start with. Underfoot was quite bumpy across the marshes and my North Face Boots were put to good use.

Aldeburgh Marshes and The River Alde May 2011

Driving in to Aldeburgh from Walberswick we headed straight down through the village to the very end of the road before it becomes gravel to the car park, early in the morning to avoid the crowds. There is plenty of free parking but we decided to pay and display and get a safe spot for the car. It gets very busy in Aldeburgh and people are likely to park so close you’ll need a can opener to get back in to your car!

Aldeburgh Marshes in the wind May 2011

Aldeburgh Marshes May 2011

Walking left out of the car park we walked up the gravel road until we reached the first footpath signpost, just before Slaughden Quay,  taking us right in to Aldeburgh Marshes. We then followed the raised banks alongside the River Alde heading leftbefore bending right about 2 miles later. We pass through a few gates until we reached steps going down to our right that we climbed down to reach the open fields.

Following the obvious track gently bending round to our left we entered the farm land at Hall Farm Shop before walking through the garden centre at the front and on to Saxmundham Road, A1094. Crossing over we turned right to the roundabout taking the second turning down Church Farm Lane to reach the footpath on our left. We continued down the footpath until we found an entrance to the caravan park on our right.

We continued straight up to the permissive path and continued walking up this lane until we reached a sign for the North Warren Nature Reserve on our right.Walking across the reserve we could see the coastline in front of us. There were plenty of walkers and twitchers in Aldeburgh by this time so plenty of “Hellos” and “Good Mornings” were exchanged. Reaching the tarmac path we turned left by the shingle beach where we saw the Scallop Sculpture Memorial which was erected in 2003 to celebrate the life of Aldeburgh resident English composer Benjamin Britten.

Timber Framed Moot Hall May 2011

Passing the timber framed Moot Hall, the lifeboat station and then back to the car park our walk was complete at just under 6 miles and 2 hours. The rest of our day was spent enjoying Adnams beer and a hearty crab sandwich at the Cross Keys pub.