Lowestoft

Summary

As we were staying at the northern end of Lowestoft we decided a walk from our hotel along the north shore to find the most easterly point of Britain, thinking this would be preferable to getting in the car and driving somewhere. Whilst we were successful in our quest, the inclement weather and, it has to be said, the rather unattractive scenery didn't make this one of our favourite walks of the year.

Statistics

Start: The Foxburrow, Yarmouth Road NR32 4AA

Map: OS Explorer OL40: The Broads

Parking: The Foxburrow (but only if you are a customer!)

Distance: 11.1km (about 6.9 miles)

Refreshments: The Foxborrow

The Walk

Turn right as you exit the car park onto the busy Yarmouth Road and cross to the other side. Walk about 500 metres and then turn left into Gunton Church Lane. Go to the end of this road and turn right along the footpath, actually called Hubbard’s Loke. There is a green burial park and a playing field to your left and a number of houses on your right. The footpath comes out onto a road (the B1385) which you need to cross and take the path opposite. You are now in Gunton Warren nature reserve and there are many paths you could take here. We went straight on and down the dunes to come out on the beach. Whichever way you choose, you’ll need to turn right at some stage and walk with the sea to your left.

Not too far ahead is the north beach car park with a promenade of sorts running to the left. You can either take this or keep to the beach. Continue walking all the way now, passing a sad looking caravan park and the Bird’s Eye factory. Set in concrete on your left is a large compass showing the distance to various places around the world. This is Ness Point, Britain’s most easterly point. After wandering around the giant compass and noting that Ostende in Belgium is closer to you than London, continue the walk south until you reach the harbour. From here you can either take the road into town to you right or return the way you’ve come from. We chose the latter; frankly, the walk along the harbour did not look appealing!

Walk all the way back until you get the point where Hubbard’s Loke reaches Gunton Church Lane. Instead of turning left take the footpath through the trees straight in front of you. This pleasant walk through the woods brings you to a concrete lane. Turning right here would take you to the Pleasurewood Hills theme park but you need to turn left. Walk up the track and you will get to a proper road. Continue along here, passing Tesco, and turn left at the roundabout. A couple of hundred metres up the hill brings you back to the Foxburrow.

Notes and musings

Lowestoft is not the most picturesque town on the east coast and is probably overshadowed by its more famous neighbour, Great Yarmouth, some 12 km to the north. Its history, however, is long as evidence of human settlement from 700,000 years ago has been found in the nearby cliffs of Pakefield. Fishing was its main source of income until late in the 20^th century when its role in gas & oil exploration and now renewable energy became more dominant. Perhaps the town’s most famous resident was the composer, Benjamin Britten, who was born there in 1913. The Guardian once described him as “the only person of real celebrity to have emerged from darkest Lowestoft” although footballer Terry Butcher and the rock band, The Darkness, both having roots in the town, might have something to say about that.

NessPoint is Britain’s most easterly point; something few people seem to know and it is certainly less famous than the country’s northerly, westerly and southerly points. It seems to me that there is an opportunity missed here; surely there is potential for exploiting this fact? A compass point next to a smelly factory and what was once Britain’s largest wind turbine is not particularly inspiring, and the nearby thoroughfare being called Gasworks Road doesn’t really help. A quick look online shows that ideas for improvement have been mooted for some time but these don’t yet appear to have come to fruition.

GuntonWarren nature reserve contains a mixture of terrains: sand dunes, shingle, lowland heath and clifftops. Adders have been spotted here but not by us, unfortunately. Amongst the vegetation are a number of World War 2 pillboxes, sadly no more than places to dump rubbish now. Apparently the beach is a recognised spot for naturists although we saw no evidence of this and anybody deciding to bathe au natural in the weather we experienced is either incredibly brave or foolhardy in the extreme.

 

Felixstowe and King's Fleet

Summary

We often visit Felixstowe, probably because it is so easy to get to, being A14 virtually all the way. Our general routine is to walk to Felixstowe Ferry for a pint at the Ferryboat Inn before returning to the Fludyer's Hotel for a bite to eat (and another pint, of course). This time we made the walk a little more substantial, leaving Felixstowe to the surrounding countryside before making our way along side King's Fleet and the River Deben to Felixstowe Ferry and then back to Felixstowe proper via the coastal route.

Statistics

Start: Fludyer's Hotel Felixstowe IP11 7LU

Map: OS Explorer OL197 Ipswich, Felixstowe & Harwich

Parking: Free parking outside the Fludyer's

Distance: 14.2km (about 8.8 miles)

Refreshments: Fludyer's Hotel, Felixstowe and The Ferryboat Inn, Felixstowe Ferry

The Walk

The walk starts (and ends) at the Fludyer's Hotel, which is situated at the northern end of Felixstowe's promenade. Turn left as you leave the Fludyer's and left again into Brook Lane. There follows a bit of walking through town as you head up Brook Lane and turn right and then left into Picketts Lane. This then becomes Rosemary Avenue and you carry on until you get to the end, turning right into Links Avenue and then left into Hyem's Lane. You are finally in some countryside! 

With the sports field on your left, walk along the lane for a couple of hundred metres and then turn left through the trees. Keep on walking through the woodland and a you'll get to a "T" junction. Make a right here and another couple of hundred metres or so through the trees brings you out into a field. Follow this round until you get to the road. This is Gulpher Road. It's not too busy but take care as you turn left and walk for around 500 metres. The road will bear left but you need the track that takes off straight on. Walk for about 100 metres and then turn right; the track straight ahead is private. Walk down the track, passing some houses on the right, and then take a left. The path goes right after 100 metres; make sure you keep the hedgerow on your left! There's a footbridge over a stream and then you're in another field. This is where we went wrong, walking diagonally across the field into a herd of curious cows with no escape! A friendly farmer helped us on our way, though. What we should have done is kept to the edge of the field after crossing the footbridge with the hedgerow on our left. The path then runs across the field to a gate and into a wooded area where it runs straight for a couple of hundred metres with water on your right.You'll reach an open track where you'll turn right into an open field.

The "official" footpath is straight ahead over the field although when we were there it was not at all clear as the field had recently been ploughed.  We therefore followed the field boundary to the left and then right, climbing gradually uphill. At the end of the field you could carry on but we elected to turn right to see if we could find the "official" footpath. Sure enough there is a sign on the left after some 50 metres and this time the path was obvious. Whichever route you take you'll end up on Back Lane, where you need to make a right. Keep on this road, which sees little traffic, and pass the farm buildings and wonderfully named Honeypot Cottage on your right. Soon the track is bordered by open fields on either side and you need to keep walking, finding a waterway on your right, known as King's Fleet. Carry on walking until the water way ends and you climb some steps up a bank. You are then treated to a view of the River Deben estuary. Turn right at the top of this bank and continue walking more or less straight on until you reach the hamlet of Felixstowe Ferry, all the while keeping the river to your left. Eventually you'll reach the sea where you'll have no choice but to turn right.

You'll pass the golf club, a number of colourful beach huts and two Martello towers as you head back to Felixstowe. The path is mostly along concrete promenades, although there is a small section where you need to walk up some steps and head along the road if the tide is too high to allow beach access. Eventually you'll be back in Felixstowe and the Fludyer's Hotel will be on your right.

Notes and musings

Felixstowe, situated on the east coast of England, has existed as a settlement since pre-Norman conquest days, albeit under the name of Walton and is listed in the Domesday Book as such. It took its modern name in the 13^th Century and may have been named after St Felix, who lived in East Anglia in the 7^th Century, although other sources suggest the name comes from Fylthestow, which means a place where trees or meadowgrass was harvested. In 1667 the town was the site of an invasion when Dutch forces landed close to where the Fludyer’s Hotel now stands and marched toward Languard Fort at the mouth of the River Orwell. The invaders were defeated by troops from the fort and hostilities ended soon after with the signing of the Treaty of Breda. Felixstowe is probably best known for its container port and its 29 gantry cranes, some over 50 metres in height, are visible from some distance away. The port handles more than 4 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and welcomes approximately 3,000 ships each year, including the largest container vessels afloat today.

A feature of the east coast of England are Martello Towers which are small defensive forts that were built throughout the British Empire in the 19th Century. The majority of the towers in England were built between 1804 and 1812 as a defence against possible attack from Napoleonic forces. Although never tested in war they did provide a useful deterrent against smugglers. Eight towers were built around Felixstowe of which five remain. Tower P forms part of the National Coastwatch Institution; Tower R was incorporated into the fabric of the former Bartlet Hospital, which has been converted into new housing; Towers Q and U have been converted into private dwellings and Tower T remains unused and exposed on Felixstowe Ferry golf course.

Despite its name, Felixstowe Ferry is quite distinct from Felixstowe itself. It is a small hamlet at the mouth of the River Deben and consists of several houses, The Ferryboat Inn and a collection of houseboats and other moored vessels. In the summer it is possible to catch a ferry across the Deben to Bawdsey Manor which played a large part in the development of radar in World War 2. The River Deben is  not a long river, flowing around 54km into the North Sea.The salt marsh and intertidal mud-flats that occupy most of the estuary have the widest range of salt marsh flora in Suffolk. The King's Fleet waterway once flowed into the Deben and played a vital role in the 100 Years War against France, being the place Edward III assembled his fleet of ships in 1338. 

The Seven Sisters and Friston Forest

 

Summary

We'd never visited the South Downs and this walk was a good introduction, taking in several different landscapes: the chalky coastal cliffs of the Seven Sisters, the wide estuary of the Cuckmere River and the woodlands of Friston Forest. The coastal section is very popular and was quite busy on our visit. This was quite a contrast to the relative seclusion of the forest on the journey back to Birling Gap.

Statistics

Start: Birling Gap, Eastbourne BN20 0AB

Map: OS Explorer OL25 Eastbourne & Beachy Head

Parking: Pay & Display at Birling Gap

Distance: 14.4km (about 8.9 miles)

Refreshments: Birling Gap 

The Walk

Birling Gap is owned by the National Trust and there is ample car parking, toilet facilities and refreshments available. When ready, you take the track to the west with the buildings to your left, gradually going uphill. The track bears right but you need the path in the hedgerow on your left. Before long you will be in the open with wonderful views all around. The walk continues along the clifftops on well trodden paths for around 3.5km but don't be fooled; it's like a roller coaster as you walk the up, down, up, down of the Seven Sisters! 

You will eventually reach the estuary of the Cuckmere River where you turn right and descend gradually, walking along good paths with the river on your left and the Seven Sisters Country Park on your right. Cross the road (the A259) and take the path that bears right up the hill and into the trees. After a bit of descent you'll emerge into the open and onto a tarmacked road. Turn right here (ignore the "South Downs Way" sign) and bear left with the road. Pass some cottages to your left and continue walking into Friston Forest. It's pretty much a straight track now for the next 2.5 km. You'll emerge from the forest at a crossroad where you need to take a left turn. 

After about 150 metres take the path to the right. There's a footpath sign on the right after another 250 metres but be careful; it's easily missed!  This footpath takes you diagonally across the field with Friston Place to your right. Go through the tree line and across another field, emerging at a crossroad. Cross the A259 into Crowlink Lane and head down here for roughly 500 metres, passing some houses on the right. At the cattle grid take the path to the left and cross the field, through a gap in the hedgerow and through another field. Pass a stone barn on your left and continue downhill. Soon, you'll get to the track where you bore left near the start of the walk. Head back down the track, observing the Beachy Head cliffs in the distance, to return to Birling Gap.

Notes and Musings

The Seven Sisters are a series of chalk cliffs, remnants of dry valleys that are part of the South Downs National Park. Each peak and trough is individually named (eg Rough Brow and Rough Bottom) and an eighth peak is gradually being formed through sea erosion. Quite why they are called the Seven Sisters is a mystery, although it's possible returning sailors, who loved to give things female names, first came up with it as a reference to the Seven Sisters stars of the Pleiades cluster. Interestingly, the Seven Sisters often "double" as the White Cliffs of Dover in films as the latter are considered not white enough.