Felixstowe’s Coast
Felixstowe has a fine, five-mile coastline between the estuaries of the Rivers Deben and Orwell. Sandy and shingle beaches and land behind offer opportunities for a wide range of leisure activities from sunbathing to birdwatching, walking to water-skiing and fishing to history.
Felixstowe Ferry to The Dip
The tiny fishing village of Felixstowe Ferry has a timeless atmosphere. A cluster of homes, pub, little church, Martello Tower, sailing club and boatyard stand defying the waves on low-lying land at the mouth of the River Deben. On weekdays sometimes all that can be heard is the chugging of boat engines and the eerie “chink-chink” of mast wires caught by the breeze. Weekends – especially in summer – offer sharp contrast as visitors flock to “The Ferry” eager to enjoy its charm or in search of the sellers of freshly-caught fish. Over the years, the village has been home to poets, painters, writers and singers and, of course, the fishermen – men who love the sea.
Walkers love Felixstowe Ferry. People are encouraged to leave their car parked on Clifflands, Old Felixstowe, a little south of the Ferry, and walk the mile and a quarter to the village along the sea walls. The walls allow superb views across to Bawdsey, which can be reached via a foot ferry run across the Deben during summer. Bawdsey Manor, a former RAF headquarters and where radar was developed, can also be seen. Two Martello Towers, walls 15 – feet thick, stand close to the shore – symbols of a time when it was feared Napoleon would overrun Europe
Upriver from the Ferry is the Kingsfleet, reached via a winding walk along the river wall. This ancient once-navigable creek, but now no longer running into the river, was where Edward 111 assembled his fleet of 40 ships in 1338 before setting off for battle with the French at the beginning of the 100 Years War. While at Felixstowe, he stayed at the Manor House, later known as the Old Hall, the few remains of which can be seen in the corner of the town Ground, Dellwood Avenue. The Kingsfleet is a popular place for fishermen and a haven for wildlife and birds, as are the adjoining marshes. A visitor can feel so remote it seems almost impossible that busy Felixstowe is only a few minutes away.
Old Felixstowe to Cobbold’s Point
Beaches at The Dip at Old Felixstowe have been enjoyed by families for decades as a peaceful area for picnics, sandcastle building, sunbathing, lazing and getting away from it all.
The Dip and Brackenbury, just to the south, are purposely kept as quiet areas – a contrast from the more traditional seafront two miles further on.
It is also an ideal place to watch shipping using some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world travelling to and from the Port of Felixstowe.
At low tides at The Dip, the remains of the Roman shore fort Walton Castle can be seen. In the 11th century a newer castle was built within the Roman walls, but this was dismantled in the 1170s, with some stone used for building and some for paving footpaths.
Evidence of the Roman occupation of the area can still be seen on some beaches when large amounts of oyster shells are washed ashore. Roman soldiers feasted on the shellfish found in abundance in local oyster beds and buried the shells in middens, now under the sea but occasionally reopened by shifting sands.
Just beyond Brackenbury cliffs is Jacob’s Ladder, a flight of stone steps linking Golf Road to the beach.
Cobbold’s Point to Manor End
This area is Felixstowe’s main seafront, characterised by the two miles of promenade which sweep around a picturesque bay.
Immediately south of Cobbold’s Point the area still features quiet beaches but, unlike the rural coastal areas of Brackenbury, is built up with houses along Undercliff Road East. Some of the turn-of-the century architecture is quite distinctive – a mix of traditional seaside-type wood-clad buildings and those designed by architect T W Cotman, responsible for many of the resort’s finest properties.
Walking south along the promenade, visitors arrive at Felixstowe’s celebrated, colourful seafront gardens which give the town its title, “The Garden Resort of East Anglia”. Landscaped and planted areas around the Spa Pavilion Theatre provide the centrepiece for the displays, which stretch for more than a mile along the promenade and include the terraced south Cliff Gardens, alongside the Town Hall. From spring to autumn the gardens are a blaze of colour. As well as being areas for walking, sitting and admiring the flowers, the gardens are of keen interest to botanists as they contain many unusual plants.
Continuing along the promenade, the hub of the seafront is reached at Pier Bight. Arcades, amusements, bars, an array of kiosks, restaurants and fast-food outlets, gift shops and the Leisure Centre make this area the first stop for many visitors day and night – when the twinkling decorative lights give the seafront a magical quality – and the focal point for the resort’s activities.
Throughout the summer season, a variety of activities are staged on the seafront, including an historic vehicle run and parade, Art on the Prom, road running races, fairs, with the highlight being the town’s carnival in August.
The Leisure Centre is one of the town’s main attractions. It has a multi-purpose hall, which stages children’s holiday activities and a variety of events all-year-round, indoor bowls centre, fitness suite and an exciting soft play area for young children. Its swimming facilities include three pools – a mother –and-toddler pool, a full-size one, and a fun area – and a water slide. Beyond the Leisure Centre are more amusements and arcades, and open air attractions such as crazy golf. Every Sunday also features a seafront market on the site of the former Cavendish Hotel.
Landguard
After the busy seafront, Landguard arrives as a peaceful haven for escape – somewhere to forget the hustle and bustle, somewhere to reflect, look and learn.
This windswept, shingle spit – sandwiched between the North Sea and the kaleidoscope of containers stacked in the adjacent port– is Suffolk’s southernmost point.
Today, the area attracts thousands of migrating birds, which use it as a stop-over for feeding, breeding and resting before continuing their journeys. Ornithologists manning its observatory monitor the visiting birdlife, ringing birds and carrying out research.
Landguard features a 58 acre Nature Reserve – one of the most important coastal sites in Britain – and includes rare fauna and flora. More than 375 different species of plants have been found on the reserve and one-third of all British grasses. Rare plants include sea pea and kales, yellow-horned poppy, and the endangered stinking goosefoot, which grows in only three places in England. In summer the mossy and grassy wilds become a mass of colour, speckled with the fluttering shapes of dozens of different kinds of butterfly. The reserve includes a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and visitors are asked to treat it with care. Sometimes areas are fenced off to protect vulnerable plants or breeding birds.
Landguard can be reached on foot from the shore, or by road and then on foot from a large car park at Manor Terrace, and other parking areas in Viewpoint Road and at the Port Viewing Area. The Viewing Area attracts thousands of people to watch the shipping while Landguard Fort and the museum it houses are also major attractions.
