Walking the Suffolk Coastal Path - Dunwich Village - Dunwich Heath - (Walk 13)
(Friday 24th May Distance 2miles plus 2miles back. Coastal and heath. (Time Taken 2 hours)
The buzz from the car park soon disappeared as I made my way up the hill towards Greyfriars 13th century, medieval friary. Very little of the friary remains today, but standing quietly along side the perimeter wall I could feel a sense of peace which I'm sure must have existed in this community all those years ago.
Dunwich is known as the 'lost city of England' having once been a thriving medieval port. Storm surges causing coastal erosion in 1286 and again in 1287 washed away much of the harbour, buildings and land. The last building to fall into the sea was All Saints Church and now all that remains is one grave stone belonging to Jacob Forster.
Standing atop of the cliffs looking out to sea on a calm day, it is hard to imagine a once thriving port below, bustling with people, loading and unloading cargo from the boats, and fishermen landing their catch for the day.
Skirting the perimeter wall of Greyfriars I entered Greyfriars Wood. The suns rays streamed through the trees creating a mottled effect on the ground. There was a quiet calmness about the place. Stopping in an open space I found myself surrounded by tall, majestic foxgloves, lifting their heads to the sun. The buzz of the bees could be heard as they popped in and out of the pink bells.
Continuing on I came across a stone bridge seemingly going nowhere. The bridge is sometimes known as the 'fairy bridge'. It is actually a Victorian bridge and was built to link the grounds of the Victorian Barne Mansion to the wood and to the ruins of Greyfriars.
Continuing on along a track and through some more woods, passed a camping and caravan site I eventually found myself on Dunwich Heath. I felt saddened and unhappy at the sight before me. What was once beautiful heather was now a tangled, twisted mass of debrie; a victim of the summer of 2022 when temperatures reached an unprecedented 40 degrees. I asked myself if man can be responsible for all this destruction or if it is another phenome such as took place in Dunwich in 1286/87!
My mood lifted as I neared the Coast Guards Cottages where a coffee and a piece of cake had my name on it. Rested, I just had to walk the two miles back to Dunwich village again.
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