This corner of Suffolk was once a thriving area of commerce and trade. However, the geography of this area has meant that its landscape and coastline is always changing. Where once harbour and ports stood, stretches of shingle beach now lie, deposited by the eternal ebb and flow of the North Sea. Fisherman’s boats are now replaced by pleasure yachts, and their cottages are now being snapped up by out-of-towners looking for a holiday home by the coast. But plenty of original architechture remains, and each town holds a key to unlocking the region’s history.

1 SOUTHWOLD
This picture postcard town remains in a fairytale time capsule from the ’50s. Its red brick and flint cottages and whitewashed houses are gathered around seven ‘greens’. The sandy beach is backed by a row of brightly-coloured traditional beach huts and its trademark lighthouse, built in 1890, stands at the hub of things. This is the town responsible for Adnams ale, and in 2000 its new pier became the first to be built in Britain for nearly half a century. The 623ft-long structure now welcomes visits from the seagoing paddle steamer the PS Waverley, and also retains the art deco entrance pavilion from the original pier. An exhibition covers the history of piers and seaside holidays and contains a collection of old amusement machines. A Punch and Judy show takes place most summer days.

2 BLYTHBURGH
At the head of the expansive estuary of the River Blyth stands the 15th-century Holy Trinity Church, which dominates the cluster of old houses and the White Hart Inn that is Blythburgh. Described as the ‘queen of the Suffolk coast’, the scale of this incredible gothic-style building is more in keeping with a cathedral than a parish church.
Among the many unusual interior features and carvings is a ‘jack-in-the-clock’, a painted wooden figure which strikes a bell when a connecting string is pulled.

3 WALBERSWICK
Like so many communities in this part of the world, Walberswick has lost its position as a port due to shingle drifts which spoilt its harbour. However, there are several buildings of interest here, including the Mercer’s Hall, an old timber-framed house moved from Lavenham in the ’20s. Although fishing has given way to pleasure boating, visitors still swarm to Walberswick for the annual crabbing contest.

4 THORPENESS
This holiday resort was laid out after WWI by author Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie, and is centred around a specially-dug 65ft boating lake called the Meare which is no more than 3ft deep in any place.
Ogilvie began planning his fantasy village in 1911. His half-timbered pavilion-style mock-Tudor houses and traditional Suffolk weather-boarded homes comprise ornamental facades fixed to concrete structures. Two of its unforgettable buildings are a restored post mill and the House in the Clouds, a home built inside the water tower that the mill used to serve. The mill now forms the Thorpeness Windmill Visitor Centre and contains an exhibition about the outstanding natural beauty of the area. The award-winning shingle beach offers safe swimming.

5 ALDEBURGH
This exquisite coastal town takes its name from the Saxon words meaning ‘old fort’ and prospered as a fishing port. However, the erosion for which this coastline is notorious has taken much of the old town beneath the waves. The Tudor Moot Hall (see page 89) once stood three streets away from the shore; those streets have long since gone and the Hall now finds itself at the top of the shingle foreshore, behind the beached row of small fishing boats.
The remainder of this busy whitewashed town, with its multitude of colourful small family-run businesses in Georgian shops along its main road, remains only three streets deep to this day.
The town is home to the Aldeburgh Festival founded by composer Benjamin Britten in 1948, and each year the town attracts big names from the classical music world who come here to perform.

6 SNAPE
The biggest attraction of this town is its Maltings, a group of Victorian malthouses built along a quayside on the banks of the River Alde, that has been tastefully converted into an arts centre. It also includes a concert hall converted from a malthouse, which is the main venue for both the Aldeburgh Festival and the Snape Proms. Visitors can take a one-hour river trip from the quay at high tide.

7 ORFORD
Time and tide have rendered this once-important port little more than an attractive village. The shingle spit which formed across the mouth of the River Alde now cuts off Orford from the North Sea. Before this, however, Henry II built a magnificent 90ft keep to maintain control over East Anglians; it remains in near-pristine condition and is open to the public. Ninety-one steps take you to the top floor and panoramic views out over the countryside.

8 WOODBRIDGE
There is much to see and do in this picturesque market town. The Suffolk Punch museum in the Shire Hall highlights Britain’s oldest heavy-horse breed, while Woodbridge Museum has a themed exhibition on the history of the town. On the western edge lies the fully-restored Buttrums Windmill, one of England’s finest tower mills. Another gem is the 18th-century weather-boarded Tide Mill with its fully-operational 20ft water wheel, driven by a pool that is filled at high tide, and its three floors of exhibits.