Walking the Suffolk Coastal Path - Landguard Point - Cobbold Point (Walk 1)

(Monday 4th March - 3.3 miles. Route taken along the sea front. Time taken 1.35hrs + 30mins walking to starting point).

Today is perfect for walking. Light cloud with sunshine and no wind. It is 9.55 and I am about to start my walk from Landguard Point.

The Point, one of the driest places in Britain, contains a 33 acre Nature Reserve of vegetated shingle which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. 

To my left I can hear the noise of machinery and lorries coming from the Port of Felixstowe. It is one of the largest container ports in the country.

I walked away from the nature reserve, through the car park and passed several holiday caravans before walking back to the sea front. There are a number of people out enjoying the best of the weather after several days/weeks of rain. I headed towards the pier passing the children's play area and the gym equipment. (I'll not stop here today). The latest addition to Felixstowe, The Seashore Village, is now open and contains twenty-seven beach huts as well as a larger hut containing pods for hire.

 

Felixstowe Pier with Cobbold Point in the distance

The pier is very quiet this morning. From here to Cobbold Point always seems to be more noisy due to being nearer to the road. The Spa Pavillion is on my left and although there is no show on at the moment there are plenty of people enjoying coffee and cake in the restaurant.

On approaching Felixstowe Seafront Gardens I decide to cross the road and have a closer look. The gardens sit on cliffs between the town center and the beach. The eight Grade II listed gardens are of significant interest and given the town its title "The Garden Resort of East Anglia" The gardens were landscaped and planted over one hundreds year ago and were very popular in Victorian times. Many of the original plants still remain today.

Having passed the gardens and the Felix Hotel, which was built by Douglas Tollemarche in 1903. It was a hotel for nearly fifty year before changing to Harvest House which is a wedding venue and also sixty retirement apartments.

I can see Cobbold Point in the distance. Felix Thornley Cobbold erected the groynes known as Cobbold Point to protect his property which was becoming seriously threatened by the sea. It is now a popular landscape for photographers to take sunset shots.

My first walk is now complete. I have walked 3.3 miles between the two points and also another mile walking to Landguard Point to start the walk.

Previous                           Return to Index                             Next