Tags
beach huts, beach shop, cannon.Battle of Sole Bay, community radio station, flowers, fungus, GunHill, herring gull, high tide, lichen, life guards, pier, promenade, sand dunes, sea, seaside, shrubs, Southwold, Southwold & Walberswick ferry, Suffolk
My last but one post featured a walk we took on Dunwich beach. This post is about a walk at Southwold.
As most people who live near the sea know, the best time to visit the beach is after the end of the school holidays. There are fewer visitors and there’s a greater chance of finding somewhere to park your car. The sea is warmer than at the beginning of summer and with luck the weather is good too.
We have been having fairly changeable weather this summer so when we saw that the weather was bright and breezy the other Saturday afternoon we decided to make the most of it and go to Southwold. When we arrived we saw that the tide was right in and the northerly wind was causing the sea to be quite lively.
The waves were rolling in round the base of the steps that go down to the sand so we couldn’t get onto the beach just yet.
We walked along the promenade while the tide started to recede.
As I mentioned in a former post about Southwold, the pier was restored a few years ago. It is fun to walk out there when the tide is in and see the waves splashing just under your feet. There are places to sit and watch the waves and there are places to buy food and drink and shelter from the wind. The end of the pier is very popular with fishermen. This is a link to the Pier Cam which will show you a little of what we like to see. There isn’t much to see at night except the lighthouse flashing but during the day-time it’s quite interesting and you get to find out what the temperature is on the coast too. Don’t forget the time difference if you live overseas!
There seemed to be a number of young Herring Gulls about. (Larus argentatus)
It was a really pleasant walk along the front with other promenaders. As the sand started to appear people ventured onto the beach and the life guards marked out the safe bathing areas. Huddled in coats and blankets, the beach hut owners were sitting with the doors opened as they read or drank hot tea or coffee.
Elinor bewails the fact that our sea isn’t blue. The North Sea is not deep and the sand on the sea-floor gets churned up especially in stormy weather. Our sea is brown most of the time.
At the end of the prom. the path goes up the slope to Gun Hill.
On the 28th May 1672 a famous sea battle was fought just off-shore from Southwold. This was the Battle of Sole Bay when the English and French fleets clashed with the Dutch fleet. It was the first naval battle of the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War and ended with a tactically indecisive result though a strategic Dutch victory. The English and French fleets combined had a total of 71 warships and the Dutch had 61 vessels and the total number of men taking part was said to have been 50,000. There was great loss of life. James, Duke of York the brother of King Charles II was Admiral of the English Fleet and took up residence for the duration of the battle in Sutherland House in the town.
There are six 18lb cannon on the green and were given to the town in 1746 by The Royal Armouries as protection to shipping against raids.
Their last known firing was in 1842 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales birthday. Southwold was bombed during the First World War because the German army considered that Southwold might be a fortified place because they had seen the cannon. The cannon were buried for safety during the Second World War!
Another feature of Gun Hill is the radio station building.
The primary radio transmitting studio is located in an old WWII bunker in the grounds of St Felix School Reydon, a village next to Southwold but further inland.
A few naturalised garden plants thrive on the slopes up from the beach.
I don’t know what this flower is; I see it is suffering from mildew!
These plants are often planted for soil stabilisation or to act as a wind-break. They aren’t native but have been established here for a long time and do very well on the coast.
There are beach huts all the length of the sea-front.
This is one of the two kiosks that sell food and drink.
Walberswick is the seaside village next to Southwold going south down the coast. The two places are separated by the River Blyth as it flows out to sea. There is a ferry operating during the summer months.
We thought we might walk through the sand dunes to the ferry.
The Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria) was bending in the strong wind.
I found a rather shrivelled fairy-ring.
The tree is small and suckers easily. It has thorny twigs that have silvery scales that rub off. The bark is fissured and peeling.
The leaves are long and thin with silvery scales on them. I couldn’t see any fruits on these trees so they were probably male trees.
There is a camp-site on the outskirts of the town.
We almost got to the River Blyth but Elinor began to get a back-ache and we had to turn round and make our way back to Southwold.
As well as the lighthouse you can see the tower of St Edmund’s church and the water tower.
Here we were approaching the pier again and the car park beyond it. You can also see the two-storey pavillion building at the end of the pier built in 1936.
I hope you have enjoyed this visit to Southwold.
Thanks for visiting!
dobetteralways said:
Lovely, thank you for taking us with you.
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clarepooley33 said:
You are kind, thank-you!
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quietsolopursuits said:
I can see why you love to visit the sea, and it shows. You did a magnificent job of bringing the area, and your love for it to life in your photos!
If not for the tides, it looks much like the shores of the Great Lakes, with the dunes and sparse vegetation holding the dunes in place. So, it was interesting to compare what we have here to what your part of the world looks like.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thanks Jerry! I do like the local sea shore very much. It is different to many of the beaches I used to visit when I was a girl and living in Kent (SE England). Most of those beaches were covered in large pebbles and the beach shelved quite quickly into the sea.
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Thom Hickey said:
Thanks very much for that bracing and informative walk. Feel I need to find a good pub now with a window seat to watch the waves (and maybe sip a warming whiskey!). Regards Thom.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thanks Thom! If you are ever in the area The Lord Nelson is a great pub and Adnams the local brewery has now started making Suffolk whiskey – though I haven’t met anyone who has sampled it yet!
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Thom Hickey said:
Thanks. Notebook updated!
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clarepooley33 said:
🙂
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womanseyeview said:
What a great seaside area to stroll around. I didn’t know that was the reason for the North Sea being brownish – interesting information.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! We enjoy walking here all year round as there is plenty to do and the town offers cafés, pubs and restaurants to shelter in when we get cold.
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womanseyeview said:
Sounds like a great place. I too enjoyed the pier cam…bet they’re wondering why they got so much international interest today😊.
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clarepooley33 said:
A cat among the pigeons!
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I so enjoyed this post, Clare. I always enjoy the ocean after the summer crowds have departed. I LOVE the pier cam! Thanks for sharing it.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jill. I can’t keep away from the pier cam!
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I saved the link. 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
😀
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Gallivanta said:
You do go on lovely walks. I could almost feel the sea breeze. 🙂 The pier cam told me it was 13 degrees…..quite fresh!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Ann! I had a look last night and was surprised to see the temperature had gone down to 1 degree!
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Gallivanta said:
Yikes! That’s autumnal.
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clarepooley33 said:
Yes! I thought it was a little early to be that chilly!
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Gallivanta said:
Yes, although the equinox will be upon us soon and that usually marks a significant change in weather.
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clarepooley33 said:
It does and the nights are really drawing in now we are well into September.
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tootlepedal said:
I did enjoy the visit. It is a charming place.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! We think so too.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
The pier is quite dark right now but there was at least one person on it.
Our local river, the Ashuelot, is also very brown but it has taught me that if I look at it with the sun behind me it will turn very blue. I don’t know if it will work on the ocean but next time see if you can find a place where the sun is over your shoulder. You might see blue!
I like the ocean but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it. I really should go next summer but meanwhile, thanks for the tour.
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clarepooley33 said:
My pleasure Allan! In fact, when I was at the coast again the following weekend the sea turned a lovely dark Prussian blue as the sun got lower in the sky – it looked so good!
My husband is a little uncomfortable about this pier cam. He calls it the ‘peer’ cam because he thinks people are peering at him. He doesn’t like the idea of being watched by cameras all the time but it is something we have to get used to unfortunately. This cam isn’t too intrusive I think.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I have a new job at a place frequented by the public and though it is in a forest there are cameras everywhere, even strapped to the trees, so I can understand what your husband is saying. It is a little hard getting used to your every move being watched by someone.
I’m glad you saw a blue ocean!
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clarepooley33 said:
I’m not sure that I would be happy with cameras strapped to trees in a forest. Definitely Big Brother is watching you!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
Yes!
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Jane said:
You may not have blue sea, but I still love it. Whether it’s wild and wooly or glassy and tranquil, I always feel better at the sea. I particularly like your colourful beach huts and that tiny house. How cute are they! I’ve never seen beach huts like that on our beaches here. Thanks for sharing this seaside jaunt, Clare. 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Thanks Jane! Beach huts are a feature of many of our beaches. They are very popular but cost thousands of pounds to buy and rental is expensive too. They are likely to get smashed up in winter storms so only the very well-off can afford them. Our beaches aren’t often the warmest places so a little shelter from the biting wind is a God-send! People keep little stoves in them so they can brew up tea and coffee or make soup. They also keep all their beach paraphernalia in them.
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greytabby1 said:
Hello Clare! I’m a bit behind in reading blogs and doing email etc as I just got back to Florida from England. I have enjoyed your lovely post and the wonderful photos. I, like you, like to visit the beaches when the summer season is over. It looks absolutely lovely there and you have so much knowledge of the local area and all the different plant material. I loved the Tiny House! Look forward to reading more and learning about your lovely corner of England.
Kate
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clarepooley33 said:
Thanks a lot Kate! I hope you aren’t too jet-lagged!
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