Walberswick and Southwold

The River Blyth enters the North Sea at Sole Bay. The Blyth estuary is part of the Suffolk Heritage Coast; erosion has formed a bar across the harbour, hampering access to the sea, and there is a lifeboat station near the Harbour Inn. The hinterland of heath, marsh, and farmland provides a rich habitat for vast numbers of migrating birds, and the reeds and rushes alongside the Dunwich River form Dunwich Marshes.

Water levels were once maintained with wind-powered pumps (an old brick tower is near the walk, and another is across the mudflats from Tinker's Bridge). This is now a bridleway linking Walberswick and Southwold, but from 1879 to 1929 it carried a railway line (vehicles must go the long way via Blythburgh and Reydon).

St Andrew's Church in Walberswick provides evidence of a more prosperous past: the current church consists of the south aisle of a larger 15th-century church built with napped flint. The Church of the Sacred Heart in Southwold is made from dressed blocks of stone rather than local materials, contrasting with St Edmund's Church.

In Southwold, East Street leads to High Street, the two being separated by Market Place, where you will find the town pump dating from 1873 and the Town Hall.

On Gun Hill, there is a row of cannons — a gift from the Duke of Cumberland, who put ashore at Southwold on his return from Culloden — which were fired upon by enemy guns during World War I, supposing them to be part of the town's defences.

Return to the start of the walk is by way of the Walberswick Ferry. If this is not available, the walk is extended by walking inland along the River Blyth to the crossing you used getting from Walberswick to Southwold, returning back along the other side of the river to the ferry point.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.