"A walk in the footsteps of Britain's best-known 20th-century composer."
Walk directions
Start at Slaughden Quay, once a thriving port, now a yacht club. Walk back briefly in the direction of Aldeburgh and turn left along the river wall on the north bank of the River Alde. There are good views to your left of the Martello tower that marks the northern end of Orford Ness. Stay on the river wall for 2 miles (3.2km) as the river swings to the right towards Aldeburgh.
When the river bends left, go down the wooden staircase to your right and keep straight ahead across a meadow with a water tower visible ahead. Go through a gate and bear half-left across the next meadow to cross over a footbridge. Next, ignore the waymark pointing sharp right along the edge of the field but bear half right across the field to another footbridge. After the fifth footbridge the path runs alongside allotments and goes through a gate to reach a lane.
Turn left by a brick wall and cross the recreation ground. Continue past the fire station to reach a road. Turn right for 75yds (69m) then go left on a signposted footpath almost opposite the hospital entrance. Follow this path between houses, cross a road and keep straight ahead with a caravan site on the right.
When you see a footpath on the right, leading to a track across the caravan park, turn left and immediately right on a permissive path that follows the trackbed of an old railway. Stay on this path for 0.5 mile (800m) as it climbs steadily between farmland to the left and woodland and marshes to the right. Turn right at a staggered junction of paths to reach the open meadows. Stay on this path, crossing the North Warren nature reserve with views of Sizewell power station to your left.
Cross the road and turn right along a tarmac path that runs parallel to the beach. As you approach Aldeburgh, you pass a striking scallop sculpture on the shingle (erected in 2003 to celebrate Benjamin Britten's life in Aldeburgh), fishermen's huts and fishing boats that have been pulled up on to the shingle. Pass the timber-framed Moot Hall and continue along Crag Path, past a lifeboat station and a pair of 19th-century look-out towers. At the end of Crag Path, bear right across a car park and walk around the old mill to return to Slaughden Quay.
Suffolk is Constable country, where the county’s crumbling, time-ravaged coastline spreads itself under wide skies to convey a wonderful sense of remoteness and solitude. Highly evocative and atmospheric, this is where rivers wind lazily to the sea and notorious 18th-century smugglers hid from the excise men.
"A walk in the footsteps of Britain's best-known 20th-century composer."
Walk details
2hrs 30min
Difficulty:
Easy
Gradient:
Flat
Distance:
5.75 miles (9.2kms)
Ascent:
0ft (0m)
Walk directions
Start at Slaughden Quay, once a thriving port, now a yacht club. Walk back briefly in the direction of Aldeburgh and turn left along the river wall on the north bank of the River Alde. There are good views to your left of the Martello tower that marks the northern end of Orford Ness. Stay on the river wall for 2 miles (3.2km) as the river swings to the right towards Aldeburgh.
1 of 5
When the river bends left, go down the wooden staircase to your right and keep straight ahead across a meadow with a water tower visible ahead. Go through a gate and bear half-left across the next meadow to cross over a footbridge. Next, ignore the waymark pointing sharp right along the edge of the field but bear half right across the field to another footbridge. After the fifth footbridge the path runs alongside allotments and goes through a gate to reach a lane.
2 of 5
Turn left by a brick wall and cross the recreation ground. Continue past the fire station to reach a road. Turn right for 75yds (69m) then go left on a signposted footpath almost opposite the hospital entrance. Follow this path between houses, cross a road and keep straight ahead with a caravan site on the right.
3 of 5
When you see a footpath on the right, leading to a track across the caravan park, turn left and immediately right on a permissive path that follows the trackbed of an old railway. Stay on this path for 0.5 mile (800m) as it climbs steadily between farmland to the left and woodland and marshes to the right. Turn right at a staggered junction of paths to reach the open meadows. Stay on this path, crossing the North Warren nature reserve with views of Sizewell power station to your left.
4 of 5
Cross the road and turn right along a tarmac path that runs parallel to the beach. As you approach Aldeburgh, you pass a striking scallop sculpture on the shingle (erected in 2003 to celebrate Benjamin Britten's life in Aldeburgh), fishermen's huts and fishing boats that have been pulled up on to the shingle. Pass the timber-framed Moot Hall and continue along Crag Path, past a lifeboat station and a pair of 19th-century look-out towers. At the end of Crag Path, bear right across a car park and walk around the old mill to return to Slaughden Quay.
Suffolk is Constable country, where the county’s crumbling, time-ravaged coastline spreads itself under wide skies to convey a wonderful sense of remoteness and solitude. Highly evocative and atmospheric, this is where rivers wind lazily to the sea and notorious 18th-century smugglers hid from the excise men.
