Ipswich – Coastal Road Trip

Day 36 – Ipswich to Southend-on-Sea

After a few weeks break from our coastal road trip, we are now continuing our journey, this time over four days from Ipswich in Suffolk to Worthing in West Sussex. Hence the sunny weather in the Ipswich picture (September), then a bit gloomy as we continued into Essex (October).

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Helter Skelter, Helter-skelter, empty, closed — A helter-skelter on Clacton-on-Sea’s pier.

Ipswich

Coastal Road Trip, Ipswich Waterfront, Marina, Roadmap, Julian, Jarno — Our last photo as we finished the first 5 weeks of our Coastal Road Trip at Ipswich Waterfront. Feeling quite pleased with ourselves!

Mistley

Coastal Road Trip, Mistley Towers, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, English Heritage, Essex — Working our way down the south side of the River Stour we made the first stop of the day at Mistley Towers in Essex, the remains of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.

Harwich

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Ha'penny Pier — The wooden Ha’penny Pier at Harwich, named after the original toll charge for the Victorian pier. The Port of Felixtowe in the gloomy background.

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Lightvessel LV18, Ha'penny Pier — The Lightvessel LV18 moored off the Ha’penny Pier, the last surviving example of a manned Trinty House light vessel, now a museum.

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Harwich High Lighthouse, Old Harwich — Harwich High Lighthouse that was used in combination with the Low Lighthouse as a leading light for Harwich Harbour.

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Harwich Maritime Museum, Low Light House Harwich — And the Low Lighthouse on the promenade, now the local Maritime Museum.

Coastal Road Trip, Dovercourt Lighthouses, Low Light House, High Lighthouse — Then just a few minutes further along the coast we reached the two matching iron towered Dovercourt Low and High Lighthouses.

Walton on the Naze

Coastal Road Trip, Walton on the Naze, The Naze, Naze Tower — The navigational Naze Tower north of Walton on the Naze. With a beacon at the top, it was used as an early form of lighthouse to guide ships through the Goldmer Gap.

Coastal Road Trip, Walton on the Naze, Beach, Pier — Walton on the Naze Beach… and the sun trying to make an appearance. Yay!

Coastal Road Trip, Walton on the Naze, Beach, Pier, Beach Huts — Walton on the Naze Pier. To be honest we had seen better looking piers, though the brightly painted beach huts attempted to brighten-up the area.

Frinton On Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Frinton On Sea, Esplanade, Frinton Beach, Clock, The Clock Tower Shelter — A rather elaborate looking clock tower shelter on the Frinton Beach Esplanade.

Holland-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Holland-on-Sea, Holland Haven, Beach Huts — More beach huts adding some colour to Holland Haven near Holland-on-Sea.

Clacton-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Entrance, Jarno — Stopping for some lunch at Clacton Pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Helter Skelter, Helter-skelter, empty, closed — The helter-skelter looking a bit spooky on the deserted pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Helter Skelter, Helter-skelter, Julian, Jarno — Just proving we were there 😉

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Steps — Some rather scary looking steps down to the sea from the pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Noticeboard, quiet, empty — Clearly we were out of season with the empty entertainment noticeboards.

Brightlingsea

Coastal Road Trip, Brightlingsea, Beach Huts — If it’s not lighthouses it’s beach huts today!

West Mersea

Coastal Road Trip, West Mersea, Marine, RNLI, Lifeboat, Launch, Upside down boat — A rather unloved looking boat at West Mersea….

Coastal Road Trip, West Mersea, Marine, House boat, Pandora, Coast Road — … and the houseboats looking like they are in the middle of a field.

Tollesbury

Coastal Road Trip, Tollesbury, Trinity Lightship — Another Trinity Lightship, also with the illusion of being moored in a field.

Heybridge

Coastal Road Trip, Heybridge, Heybridge Basin, Lock — The picturesque lock at Heybridge Basin, joining the Blackwater estuary and the canal to Chelmsford.

Maldon

Coastal Road Trip, Maldon, Hythe Quay, Boats — Old Thames barges moored at Maldon’s Hythe Quay.

Coastal Road Trip, Maldon, Hythe Quay, Boats — The barges had been beautifully restored, several are still in use as charters.

Bradwell-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Bradwell-on-Sea, St Peter's Chapel, Signpost, Coming Soon, Saltmarsh Coast — As walked down a long farm track to the remote St Peter’s Chapel we came across this funny sign. Something was ‘coming soon’, not sure what…

Coastal Road Trip, Bradwell-on-Sea, St Peter's Chapel, Saltmarsh Coast, Julian, Jarno — St Peter’s Chapel on the headland near Sales Point, one of the oldest Chistian churches in England, dating from the 7th century. Around a thousand years later, in the 17th century it was in use as a barn. You can still see where the barn doors were placed on the side.

Coastal Road Trip, Bradwell-on-Sea, St Peter's Chapel, Interior, Nave, Altar, Saltmarsh Coast, — We were surprised that the church door was open, so we had a quick look inside. Pretty good condition for 1,400 years old!

Burnham-on-Crouch

Coastal Road Trip, Burnham-on-Crouch, Burnham Yacht Harbour, Boat, Night — The Yacht Harbour at Burnham-on-Crouch, our final stop of the day before heading to Southend-on-Sea for the night.

Daily video

Day 35 – Lowestoft to Ipswich

So we’ve managed to complete thirty-five days of continuous travel, as we drove from Cardiff to Ipswich. Yay! That’s the first and main leg of our coastal road trip completed, and what a great day to spend this milestone, as we travel the beautiful Suffolk coastline….

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe Ferry, Sunset, Dusk, Boats, Reflection — Calm reflective waters as the sunset at Felixtowe Ferry.

Lowestoft

Coastal Road Trip, Lowestoft, Lowestoft Lighthouse — Bam! Our first stop of the day and it’s a lighthouse. The bright white Lowestoft Lighthouse looking great against the fresh blue morning sky.

Coastal Road Trip, Lowestoft, Ness Point, Euroscope, John Wylson, Most Easterly Point of Britain — On this trip we have traveled to the most westerly point of Britain at Ardnamurchan (day 17), the most northerly point at Dunnet Head (day 24), and now we have reached the most easterly point at Ness Point! Not the most exciting view, to be honest…

Coastal Road Trip, Lowestoft, Ness Point, Euroscope, John Wylson, Most Easterly Point of Britain, Julian — Julian sitting on the Euroscope at Ness Point, designed by John Wylson.

Coastal Road Trip, Lowestoft, South Beach, Houses, Green — A handsome row of houses along Lowestoft’s South Beach Promenade.

Coastal Road Trip, Lowestoft, South Beach, Lifeguard — The Lowestoft South Beach lifeguard keeping an eye on a lone swimmer (that just swam out of the photo).

Benachre

Coastal Road Trip, Benachre, Waveney, Suffolk, Sunflower, Fields — Driving past glorious meadows as we meandered along the small country lanes near Benachre.

Coastal Road Trip, Benachre, Waveney, Suffolk, Fields — Such rich colours in the mid morning sunshine.

Southwold

Coastal Road Trip, Southwold, Lighthouse, Waveney, Suffolk — The grade II listed Southwold Lighthouse towering over Southwold’s seafront houses.

Coastal Road Trip, Southwold, Pier, Beach, Huts, Waveney, Suffolk — Southwold Pier, extending 190m in to the North Sea.

Walberswick

Coastal Road Trip, Southwold, Walberswick, River Blyth, Harbour, Ferry, Rowing Boat, Waveney, Suffolk — The small ferry being rowed from Southwold across the fast moving River Blyth to Walberswick. He was doing a busy trade this sunny Saturday lunchtime.

Blythburgh

Coastal Road Trip, Blythburgh, Holy Trinity Church, Suffolk, Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Nave, Interior — A short detour inland to view the Holy Trinity Church in the small village of Blythburgh. Also know as The Cathedral of the Marshes, it was surprisingly light inside.

Dunwich

Coastal Road Trip, Dunwich Beach, Sizewell, Saxmundham — Children playing in the waves at Dunwich Beach, silhouetted against the sea. Sizewell nuclear power station lurking in the distance.

Leiston Abbey

Coastal Road Trip, Leiston Abbey House, Theberton, Leiston, Suffolk, English Heritage — The remains of the Augustinian Leiston Abbey, originally home to the strict Premonstratensian order, who favoured remote locations.

Coastal Road Trip, Leiston Abbey House, Theberton, Leiston, Suffolk, English Heritage — A farmhouse had been built into the remains of the nave after the suppression.

Thorpeness

Coastal Road Trip, Thorpeness, Sign, Leiston, Suffolk — The Thorpeness village sign with its iconic House in the Clouds and windmill.

Coastal Road Trip, Thorpeness, Meare, House in the Clouds, Leiston, Suffolk — The large meare that had been dug out by hand in the early 20th century, with the bright red House in the Clouds living up to its name.

Coastal Road Trip, Thorpeness, House in the Clouds, Julian, Jarno, Leiston, Suffolk — The House in the Clouds, originally built as a water tower, and now a pretty cool holiday house.

Coastal Road Trip, Thorpeness, Windmill, Leiston, Suffolk — In the 1920s and 30s Thorpeness Windmill had been used to pump water into the tank at the top of the House in the Clouds.

Aldeburgh

Coastal Road Trip, Aldeburgh, Beach, RSPB North Warren, Scallop, Sculpture, Benjamin Britten, Maggi Hambling — The Scallop sculpture at RSPB North Warren, designed by Maggi Hambling as a tribute to Benjamin Britten, the Aldeburgh born composer.

Coastal Road Trip, Aldeburgh, Beach, Boats — Boats on the beach behind the upmarket Aldeburgh high street.

Snape Maltings

Coastal Road Trip, Snape Maltings, Sculpture, Metal, Mirrors, Snape, Suffolk — One of the many sculptures at our next stop at Snape Maltings. A fascinating place, with an amazing music venue, shops, artist workshops, sculptures and nature walks. Quite a curious mix, but done so well, we were really impressed.

Coastal Road Trip, Snape Maltings, Barbara Hepworth, Family of Man (1970), Sculpture, Rainbow, Snape, Suffolk — A rainbow forming over Barbara Hepworth’s Family of Man sculpture.

Coastal Road Trip, Snape Maltings, Dovecote Studio, Snape, Suffolk — Anther dovecote, we haven’t seen one of these since leaving Scotland. But this one had a modern take, and had been converted into a studio.

Orford

Coastal Road Trip, Orford, Orford Castle, English Heritage, Woodbridge, Suffolk — Orford Castle, Henry II’s splendid keep.

Coastal Road Trip, Orford, Orfordness Lighthouse, Quay, River Alde, Nature Reserve, Suffolk, Boats — Just down the road from Orford Castle, views from the quay across the River Alde to the Nature Reserve and Orfordness Lighthouse.

Felixtowe

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe, John Bradfield Viewing Area, Container Ship, Port, Docks — The view of Felixtowe’s busy container port from the John Bradfield Viewing Area.

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe, John Bradfield Viewing Area, Sunset, Fishing — Fishing in the UK’s largest container port.

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe, John Bradfield Viewing Area, Sunset — A beautiful golden sunset across the water to Harwich.

Felixtowe Ferry

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe Ferry, Beach Huts, Sunset, Dusk — Beach huts along the coast to Felixtowe Ferry.

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe Ferry, Sunset, Dusk, Boats, Reflection — A final stop on our way to Ipswich for the night. We looped a short way back north east to Felixtowe Ferry, and had stunning views over the calm River Deben, reflecting the yachts in the dusk light.

Coastal Road Trip, Felixtowe Ferry, Sunset, Dusk, Boats, Reflection — Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight…. let’s see in the morning.

Daily video