The fishing boats and wide landscapes of Suffolk


We have recently returned from a weeks holiday in Suffolk, on the East coast of England (opposite Holland.) We spent the week enjoying time exploring it's coastline, river estuaries and birdlife. It seemed a flat landscape compared with our cliffs and rolling hills. 

One of my favourite and fascinating places was the tiny village of Dunwich. In the 13th century it was the 10th largest town in England, but severe storms in the 13th and 14th century lost most of it to the sea.  Legend has it that if you stand on the beach and listen carefully you will hear the sound of the bells tolling beneath the waves, they didn't seem to be ringing when we visited!


It was a tranquil place to sit and enjoy the sunshine, although hard to comprehend the scale of land that had been lost below the waves. The only buildings close to the water were fishermen's huts.


We rented a cottage in the attractive town of Aldeburgh. The seafront overlooking the pebble beach is lined by colourful buildings. It has been a popular seaside resort since the 18th century. This was also the home of Benjamin Britten and his opera telling the tragic story of the fisherman Peter Grimes was based here.


It was lovely to walk along the seafront and on a Sunday morning and watch children having fun sailing their boats on the Model Boat Pond, helped by their parents and grandparents. It was almost a scene from the past.






The fishermen launch their boats direct from the beach and sell fresh fish from their wooden huts that sit on the edge of the beach, you couldn't get much fresher than that! The local fish and chip shop was very popular and it was worth the long queues to taste their food.



The fish and chip shop in Southwold also caught my eye, as did the beach huts and views from the pier.








Over the last few years I have become interested in how settlements along the coast have developed.  The tiny fishing hamlet of Thorpeness was bought in 1910 by Stuart Ogilvie ,a Scottish baron who converted it into a fantasy holiday village for the upper middle classes.


The most eye catching building is the ' House in the Clouds', which was converted from a water tank into a very different holiday home.



There were some grey days but the colour of the skies just seemed to enhance the landscape.




We enjoyed exploring the distinctiveness of Suffolk, I hope you enjoy this sample of it too. Finally I couldn't finish without featuring this amazing sculpture of a scallop on the beach, which was designed by Maggie Hambling to celebrate the life of the composer Benjamin Britain, mentioned above.  The sculpture splits opinion, I loved it and it seem to encourage many to walk a distance along the seashore to see it close up. 


Those words ' I hear those those voices that will not be drowned', almost take us back to those lost bells at the beginning of this post.

Sarah x

Comments

  1. My kind of vacation, Sarah. So much to absorb and enjoy. It looks wonderful and the moody skies were perfect! Love this pist!

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  2. Thank you for the lovely tour of Suffolk!

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  3. I loved all your beautiful photos Sarah. Suffolk is a stunning area and I have yet to explore Southwold which is high on my to do list. Bet those fish and chips were delicious. B x

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    1. There was too much to include in this post! If you go there you must visit the Southwold the Sailors Reading Room - unfortunately you can't any pictures there. Sarah x

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  4. Sarah, how exquisite to see the east side of Great Britain. As crazy as this sounds, I can't remember seeing the east coast. North, south and west, but not east. Thank you for showing us. You should be a travel writer and photographer. Now my interest is piqued.

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  5. Wonderful houses, boats and landscapes! And wonderful seen! Great photos!

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  6. Thanks for your wonderful post, Sarah...gorgeous photos and thoughtful prose that help me to enjoy a part of the world I might not were it not for you :) The tale of the bells and the sculpture both encourage me to remember with appreciation those who knew this place in the past. xx

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  7. Beautiful pictures from a beautiful country...I really like the house in the clouds :)
    Love from Titti

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  8. An interesting post. I've head a lot about Aldeburgh and that area via blogs over the last few years but have never been to Suffolk... so many places to see, so little time!

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    1. I expect you would love RSPB Minsmere, as we had Tavi with us it did limit where we can visit. Sarah x

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  9. Lovely shots - hope you enjoyed it!? I still have to catch up on my Suffolk posts.

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  10. You outdid yourself with these photos Sarah. They are really gorgeous. Several of them look like paintings. I vote for the scallop sculpture and your are right, the quote does recall those drowned bells.

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  11. Lovely photos! I visited that area several years ago and on another trip drove north along the coast to Newcastle. What a beautiful area!

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  12. So very beautiful. Love love those beach cottages and the colors...and then the "House in the Clouds" is wonderful!

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  13. How lovely, Sarah! I enjoyed the tour. Are the beaches dog friendly? Did Tavi get to play on the beach?

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    1. There were restrictions on dogs from May until the end of September on the popular beaches, just like here. More remote beaches there isn't a problem. Sarah x

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  14. Hello Sarah,
    Oh my these are amazing photos. Just beautiful to see things going on where you live.
    About taking photos of butterflies, vary hard. I had to purchase a new camera. I am trying to get use to it. It has a function for fast action. So I hope to perfect it soon. I was just lucky on the last photos. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos. Have a great day.

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  15. You have captured the feel of the Suffolk coast very well in your photos, Sarah, it's so different from the south west. I have good memories of a family holiday at Southwold as a child although wind breaks were essential!

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  16. What an interesting post Sarah! I enjoyed the wonderful photos and the little bits of history in between ... Suffolk is not well known to me and it has inspired a visit when next we are in the UK.

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  17. Amazing pictures you have captured the beauty of the place and somehow the old wrecks in your photos (the hut and boat) enhance the mood of the coastline here. I love that sculpture too. This is definitely one for my list to visit - I haven't been here since my teenage years.

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  18. Lovely post! I really enjoyed learning about Suffolk. The grayness of the sky did add to the panorama. It's all so beautiful and thank you for sharing!

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  19. Enchanting and spectacular as usual, Sarah!

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  20. I almost cannot tell how I enjoyed your marvellous series of photos of the Suffolk coast Sarah. You had indeed the same idea as I had, photographing boats. I love those old fisherboats, especially the last one, but also the one with the seagulls. And what about the colourful beachhouses, so beautiful!

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  21. It's such a photogenic area and your photos are fab, Sarah. I love Southwold (although it is a bit busy in summer). Did you visit Walberswick? It's lovely and interesting, too. Glad you had a good holiday - thanks for sharing these photos. Sam x

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    1. Yes we did visit Walberswick, the last boat was in that location. It was difficult selecting just a few pictures to show. Maybe in the depths of winter I will feature more of Suffolk! Sarah x

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  22. Your little seaside beach towns are so much cuter than ours!

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  23. Hello Sarah,
    wow, I like your photos from the seaside and I love it to stay there.
    I'm fascinated from the 'House in the Clouds' und I would enjoy it to stay there for a few weeks.
    Two weeks ago I stayed for one day on the island SPIEKEROOG. I enjoyed this day so much and I made a lot of photos.
    All the best for you
    Edith from Germany

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  24. Fantastic! I don't know that area well - I always connect it to Viking settlers and raiders. A lot of history there. Great photos as always and I also loved that sculpture.xx

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  25. Very intersting - you have seen an other Suffolk than I, because I can not walk at the waterside. Beautifule pictures!

    Sigrun

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  26. I think I'd rather have my feet on the ground than 'up in the clouds' but that house does make for a very interesting local building! Love this post, Sarah; your photos capture the feel of that landscape and the local history. So haunting, I think I'd not leave once I got there. PS Love the Fish and Chip shop signs in 'old money'!

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  27. Britain is so varied and beautiful!

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  28. Hello Sarah, my husband was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and so we’ve visited quite a few times but we’ve not been to Dunwich or seen the ‘water tower house’. I feel another visit coming on! Your photos are wonderful.

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  29. that row of houses on the beach look as if a child built a town with a set of blocks. Surreal and oh so pretty!

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  30. I've been saying we must get up to this coastline soon!
    Perhaps next year we may ... seeing your photographs really does make me want to go!

    All the best Jan

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