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Suffolk
The Suffolk shore with its teeming bird sanctuaries is popular with naturalists and also sailors of small boats. There are great coastal areas to explore and also, up the Deben river, the site of the Sutton Hoo ship burial where excavations in 1939 revealed the remains of a Saxon ship and a vast treasure hoard.
Dunwich Heath is one of the few remaining areas of ancient Sandlings heaths in East Anglia. In summer it is ablaze with heather; in the dark months of winter the gorse comes into its own. Here there are red deer and lizards, otters and frogs, ant lions and damsel flies. In summer, sand martins shrill overhead, sky larks sing, and the determined bird-watcher may glimpse one of the resident Dartford warblers.
A short walk down the cliff path is the beach, an ever-changing expanse of sand and shingle. The views are wonderful, the beach safe, the water cold! Picnic parties are very welcome on the beach and heath. We hope they will take home happy memories.
One of the county's most important nature conservation areas, Dunwich Heath looks south over the reedy marshes of the RSPB reserve at Minsmere and north to the site of the once-flourishing port that vanished beneath the North Sea, houses, wharves and all.
| Extra visitor information for Dunwich Heath
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Location: 1 mile S of Dunwich, signposted from A12.
Map: Map of Dunwich Heath
Warden: +44 (0)1728 648501
Rail: Nearest station is Darsham 6 miles away.
Car parks: Car parking at Dunwich Heath (free for NT members); car park viewing points. Chauffeur-driven/self-drive powered vehicles afford access to most of the footpaths for disabled visitors (booking essential). |
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Norfolk
The North Norfolk coast is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. West of Weybourne, the long shingle bank of Blakeney Spit begins; further west are sand dunes, marshes, creeks, small boats in inlets and swirling crowds of birds. Hunstanton is known for its high striped cliffs, facing out over the watery wastes and flats of the Wash.
Blakeney Point is famous for its rare migrants and good for sea views and salt-marsh. The shingle ridge, colonised by yellow horned poppy and sea kale, is the first landmark for birds on the move. This is a place of lonely and eerie beauty, a magnet to botanists and bird watchers with its mudflats and salt-marshes, sandy hillocks and spreading lawns of sea lavender. There's a colony of seals here.
| Extra visitor information for Blakeney Point
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Location: A minor road runs N from Cley through the marshes to Cley Eye on the coast. From here, there is a walk of 3 miles or so over the narrow shingle spit to the nature reserve. Blakeney Point can also be reached by boat from Blakeney Quay or Morston.
Map: Map of Blakeney Point
Opening times: Tel: +44 (0)1263 740480 (April to Sept), +44 (0)1328 830401 (Oct to March). |
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