From the 12th century onwards, Orford flourished as a busy market town and prosperous port, its wealth based on fish (herring, sprats, and oysters) and on the wool trade (in medieval times, wool was Suffolk's main export, and the grazing lands around Orford supported huge flocks of sheep).
However, in the mid-1500s the Ness — which had contributed greatly to Orford's rise — brought about its fall. From about 1530 the spit rapidly thrust further south, restricting the harbour entrance, and Orford's fortunes declined. Today Orford survives as an attractive village full of character that is very popular during the summer months.
The walk starts at the quay, which long since filled in and paved over bears no resemblance to the bustling harbour of former centuries. The hump at the end of the road is an anti-flood measure designed to prevent water flowing up Quay Street; as general protection against flooding and to reclaim low-lying land, the sea wall was built in stages from the 12th century onwards (even so, on several occasions storm waters have breached the wall and swept over the marshes, turning the village's high ground centre into an island).
The quay area is associated with Orford's most celebrated legend: the Merman (Orford Ghost). In the late 1100s local fishermen caught a wild man in their net who was completely naked but covered with hair; although imprisoned in the castle and horribly tortured, he refused to talk (probably because he could not). He ate everything he was given, both raw and cooked, and always slept between sunset and sunrise. Eventually he was taken back to the harbour and — heavily guarded by the fishermen and their nets — allowed to re-enter the water, diving down deep under the nets to escape, though surprisingly returning to custody of his own free will before later giving his captors the slip, fleeing to the sea, and never being seen again.
Across the River Ore on the Ness are some deserted Ministry of Defence buildings. During World War I an airfield was built on the site and aircraft stationed there, while during World War II the spit was used for ballistic experiments, and in the 1930s Robert Watson-Watt carried out his early research into radar on Orford Ness (the various MOD stations on the Ness have now closed).
From the quay the path leads through to the sea wall, almost immediately passing the remains of old oyster beds. Since earliest times oysters have been a specialty of the rivers Alde and Ore, and excavations at a nearby Roman villa revealed a large number of oyster shells. Oyster fisheries grew in importance over the centuries and by the 1600s were subjected to strict controls under the supervision of a special water bailiff, one of whose duties was to measure oysters so no undersized ones were gathered. Today oysters are grown around the corner in Butley Creek rather than Orford itself and sold in the Butley Oysterage Shop and Restaurant on Market Hill, which also specializes in smoked fish.
The sea wall path follows the Ore round to Chantry Point. Here the river divides into the Gull (a medieval word meaning channel) and the Narrows, with Havergate Island lying between them. The island — 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) long and covering about 267 acres — probably dates from the mid-1500s, the same era as the shingle spit's southward thrust. Traditionally used for grazing sheep and cattle (and for smuggling), the island was bought by the RSPB in 1948 as a nature reserve and has since become one of Britain's most important breeding sites for the avocet (the RSPB's logo bird).
Although these elegant black-and-white waders were once spread regularly along the east coast, they became extinct in the mid-1800s largely because their eggs were stolen for collections and cooking, and birds were killed for feathers used as fishing flies. The island's colony now has a stable population, some staying all year round, and due to this success they are colonising other parts of the country. Other birds found on Havergate Island include terns, redshanks, oystercatchers, and ringed plovers, as well as numerous wintering waders and ducks (the island is also noted for its salt marsh flora, butterflies, and hares).
Some distance beyond Chantry Point, the walk heads inland and eventually climbs gently up to Gedgrave Broom. Though part of Tunstall Forest — an extensive Forestry Commission plantation — Gedgrave Broom is distinct in that it has always been wooded, containing stands of Corsican and Scots pine alongside traditional broadleaves like oak, ash, lime, and cherry. Wildlife includes three species of deer (roe, fallow, and red), birds such as nightjars, hobbies, woodlarks, skylarks, and barn and tawny owls, and butterflies like the meadow brown, tortoiseshell, and comma.
The route now heads into Orford village, with Orford Castle being the first place of interest. Featuring a tall, slender, imposing keep, it was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England to consolidate royal power in the region. Next port of call is Orford Church. Dedicated to St Bartholomew, the ruined arches and pillars at the eastern end belonged to an original Norman church built in the 1160s at the same time as the castle; in the 14th century, at the height of Orford's prosperity, the church was rebuilt in magnificent style with a tall, broad nave and sturdy tower (most of the present building dates from this era).
The last stage of the walk heads southeast across reclaimed marshes to the sea wall. Straight ahead, the red-and-white tower of Orfordness Lighthouse warns against the treacherous shifting shallows of the Suffolk coast. In medieval times mariners had little to guide them except prominent landmarks like windmills and church towers, and by night lighted beacons (at Orford there were at least two beacons: one on top of the castle and another on a nearby green).
From the late 1500s there was such a restless surge of sand and shingle building up offshore that the waters became even more hazardous and shipwrecks increased tragically (one stormy night in 1627, over thirty vessels foundered). As a consequence, in 1634 two timber lighthouses were built on the Ness. The High Light pinpointed the Ness and lined up with the Low Light to indicate a safe passage northwards off Aldeburgh; over the next 250 years the Low Light was replaced eight times (mostly because its shingle site had been scoured away by the sea) before eventually being discontinued, leaving the High Light as today's lighthouse. Dating from 1792, Orfordness Lighthouse is one of the oldest on the east coast, standing 99 feet (30 metres) high with a white light flashing at 5-second intervals visible for 15 miles (24 kilometres) around. Away to the left, further north along the Ness, are the tall masts of the BBC World Service.
