SUFFOLK

Southwold to Walberswick (3 miles)

Southwold and Walberswick on the Suffolk coast are separated by the beautiful River Blythe and walking between these two pretty villages is heavenly. The Bailey Bridge joins the two villages and used to be the route of the old railway. There are still the remnants of the platform on the Walberswick side, incongruous as it is, by the side of a lane looking out across the marsh. One-stop to nowhere. But this is a beautiful walk, where the light is ever-changing and it may inspire you to get out your camera or your paintbrush as many in the area do. 

Walking from Southwold you can cut across the golf course and make your way down through the gorse to the Bailey Bridge. As you leave the bridge, walk straight on, up Palmer’s Lane to come out on the only road into Walberswick. Turn left and a short walk down the high street will bring you to the ideal coffee stop – The Black Dog Deli. Carry on through the village, following the road around to the left. There’s a ferry/ rowing boat to get you back to the Southwold side in a slightly quicker time, but if it is not running then it’s lovely to walk back to the bridge along the riverside, admiring the pretty boats, and looking out for the odd seal as you go. View the route here.

Dunwich Heath circular (2.5 miles)

Image: © National Trust Images/Justin Minns

Heath and beach combine to make a lovely easy and short walk along this part of the Suffolk Heritage Coast that is teeming with wildlife and gorgeous purple swathes of heather. The walk starts at the Dunwich National Trust car park, walking parallel with the coastline, then turns inland to double back over the heath. Plenty of facilities to make this an enjoyable stroll too including toilets, a lovely café, and it’s dog-friendly. When you’ve worked up an appetite head down the road to either The Ship at Dunwich or The Westleton Crown – two amazing pubs with stunning interiors and top-quality pub food. View the route here. 

Thorpeness Circular Walk (6.5 miles)

Plenty to see other than the sea on this coastal walk, which starts in Aldeburgh and loops around Thorpeness, the fantasy holiday haven created by the Ogilvie family in the early 1900s. It takes in Maggi Hambling’s famous scallop sculpture on the beach, The House in the Clouds, a Martello tower, a windmill and the Meare at Thorpeness, which is based on JM Barrie’s Peter Pan stories, who was a friend of the Ogilvie family. Music-lovers will be in their element on this walk too as it follows the footsteps of Benjamin Britten, who used to enjoy the route. All the details here.

RSPB Minsmere circular coast trail (2 miles)

Image credit: RSBP Minsmere

Spring’s a brilliant season for twitchers in Suffolk as all the feathery fair-weather visitors arrive at RSBP Minsmere, a really important wildlife site and a favourite with the likes of Chris Packham. Grab your binoculars and enjoy the 2 mile stroll around this famous coastal reserve, keeping your eyes peeled for wading birds, bitterns and otters among the reedbeds. The beach here is also well known for its rare single flowers that grow in the very specific conditions. Public footpaths continue in both directions along the beach if you want to make the walk longer and head to either Dunwich or Sizewell. Route here.

Southwold to Covehithe circular (10.5 miles)

Image credit: Andrew Stawarz on Flickr

Pack a picnic as this is a long walk, but with beaches this beautiful why not make a day of it? This route is full of contrasts starting with the candy-coloured beach huts of Southwold with the bleak but beautiful Covehithe. The walk begins in Southwold and follows the coast northwards, over Easton Broad towards Covehithe. Once you’ve seen the incredible church ruins at Covehithe, you head inland to circle back to the start taking in the beautiful countryside in this part of Suffolk. Make sure to check the tides before you set off as the beach part of the walk is only accessible at certain times. See the route here.

NORFOLK

Cley (5 miles)

Start by grabbing supplies at Picnic Fayre deli and then head out past Cley Windmill (FYI you can overnight in style here) where you’ll join the Norfolk Coast Path taking you around the stunning marshes, along the beach to the award-winning NWT Cley Marshes Visitor Centre. Continue the nature gazing in the centre’s café with its panoramic views over the marshes and coastline, before carrying on your way. (Map here). The George & Dragon in Cley is an iconic North Norfolk spot for post-walk pint or seasonal meal.

Horsey Windpump and beach walk (3 miles)

Young grey seals on the beach at Horsey (National Trust Images)

Be at one with nature on this lovely walk around Horsey, where the Broads meets the coast (route here). Starting in the NT Horsey Windpump carpark (bring change), the route firstly takes you through some fields where you may, or may not, come face to face with some cows but almost certainly will spot some geese and wading birds. This leads into some marshlands (side note, bring wellies) which soon meets the dunes of Horsey beach and, if you’re lucky, a colony of seals. Once you can pull yourselves away from the seals (trust me you’ll be gawking at them for a while), step back in time at Poppylands tea room – a homage to the 1940s where you’ll be served hearty home-cooked food. There’s also a great vintage shopping floor upstairs and a chance to get a quarter of cola cubes at the wonderful retro sweet store. 

Cromer Happy Valley circular walk (1.5 miles)

A short walk on paper (1.5 miles) but there’s plenty to stop, see and admire on this lovely little circuit (map here). The route follows the ascending clifftop path out of Cromer – and hello gorgeous views! From up here, you can see the quaint town below, the rise and fall of the cliffs and, on a clear day, all the way out to sea. You then come to Warren Woods which is a wonderful forest walk providing shelter on a windy day and a blanket of bluebells in the spring. This loop brings you through the town where it is always nice to stop off at The Old Rock Shop Bistro for a fresh crab salad (when in Cromer and all that) or fuel your sugar rush with a warm drink and delicious homemade cake. 

Happisburgh and Walcott circular walk (4.5 miles)

Leave Happisburgh by the clifftop path and, along this 4.5 mile route (map here), you’ll walk above the site where *fun fact* early human footprints (over 800,000 years old) were found in sediment on the beach and are the earliest evidence of human occupation found outside of Africa (amazing, right?). Further along the cliff are the remains of a World War II radar station and you’re also not far from the iconic Happisburgh Lighthouse – the oldest working lighthouse in East Anglia and the only independently run lighthouse in the whole of Great Britain. Smallsticks Café is a cute little place to grab a bite at Cart Gap (hot tip: the fresh seafood is amazing here). It’s also only a stone’s throw from the beach and a slightly shorter walk to the lighthouse if you all you want is a blast of fresh air.

Hunstanton walks (up to 6 miles)

Photo: Mark Timberlake 

Depending on your zippiness on the day, there are a few lovely walks here – all varying in distance. If the tide is out you can walk along the beach to Old Hunstanton and around the multicoloured cliffs, or for a slightly easier option on the calves take the clifftop path. Walk up behind the beach huts and on to Holme Dunes. You can then stop off en route at Old Town Beach Café for a warming homemade soup or sarnie. If you fancy extending it, continue along the Norfolk Coast Path through Holme Dunes Nature Reserve and on to Thornham (6 miles total). Here you will find the glorious Thornham Deli and café packed with all sorts of yummy treats (open 7 days a week). It’s dog friendly too if you’ve got your four-legged friend in tow. 

Wells-next-the-Sea to Holkham circular walk (9 miles)

This 9 mile circular walk between Wells and Holkham takes you along Wells beach, past the iconic beach huts, through the pinewoods and back onto the coastal path to Holkham and into the estate to explore the grounds and gardens. A great walk with dogs plus plenty of parking! And, again, if you’re lucky you might’s even spot some grey seals. Our tip? Fuel up at the very funky Beach Café at Wells for a selection of homemade treats and finish with fresh-as-can-be seafood at Wells Crab House.

Winterton-on-Sea circular walk (3.5 miles)

Listen out for the natterjack toads on a bracing 3.5 mile romp through Winterton Dunes (map here). This is a favourite walk not just because of the Baltic-like dunes, but also because of the spectacular ruins of St Mary’s Church at East Somerton. You’ll find it slightly inland, covered in ivy with a great oak tree growing through the now roofless chancel – prepare to have your breath taken away as it’s really quite something. Start with a coffee and bacon sarnie in the log cabin at the Seal View café at Winterton Beach carpark, and finish at the neighbouring Dunes Café, a short drive away at Waxham, which offers exceptional cream teas and enormous scones next to the historic Waxham Great Barn.

The Burnhams circular walk (4.5 miles)

A 4.5 mile walk through the atmospheric salt marshes and past a couple of pretty churches (map here). You might like to take a detour at Burnham Market and look around some of the lovely little boutiques on your way round. Then time for tea at Tilly’s, which is open Mon to Sat for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, all of which include freshly baked goodies. Or rest weary limbs at The Lord Nelson in nearby Burnham Thorpe (birth place of Horatio Nelson), where you’ll be welcomed by the freshest Woodforde’s beer and tastiest pub food.

ESSEX

Frinton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze (2 miles)

With its ice-cream coloured beach huts and generous nod to nostalgia, a slow stroll along the Southcliff prom from Frinton-on-Sea in north Essex to the wide, butterscotch beaches of neighbouring Walton-on-the-Naze is what weekends were made for. Stretching two beachside miles from Frinton high street to Walton’s historic wooden pier, take in the bracing views out across the North Sea before stopping for trad fish and chips at Yates Fish Bar. This is one coastal delight you don’t want to miss – especially when the waves are rolling in and the sun is shining.

Southend-on-Sea to Old Leigh (3 miles)

Starting at the buzzy seafront attraction, Adventure Island, make your way west along the prom until you’re completely clear of the casinos and crowds, and bound for a series of artisan beach cafes that sit under the arches. From here, this three-mile seaside potter will thread through characterful boat yards that clink and clatter in high winds, cobbled lanes dotted with salty dogs, and gorgeous deserted coves the colour of pale ale. Once you’ve hit Old Leigh, stop for one of the town’s famous cream teas or head beachfront for a fish platter at The Peterboat.

Cudmore Grove (3 miles)

A nature reserve comprising 102 acres of unique coastal landscapes overlooking the Colne and Blackwater Estuaries, this two-hour waterside jaunt spans more than three miles of rustic Essex coastline and will take you past an oyster fishery, 17th century fort and Langenhoe Marsh – aka, birdwatchers’ paradise. Rich in wildlife, be sure to stop and spot the resident flocks of wildfowl, soaring peregrine falcons and dipping sparrowhawks.

The Thames Estuary Path (29 miles)

Up for a challenge? This 29-miler along the Essex strait wiggles its way through some of the county’s most dramatic landscapes, from a tapestry of mud flats in the south and Tilbury town’s industrial docks, to the sheaf of cockle-shed bays that bid the Thames goodbye in Old Leigh. Positively brimming with biodiversity, a criss-cross of bubbling creeks and clay-like marshes dominate this low-lying riverscape, but the trail is clearly marked out and you can easily break it up, too: stations along the London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness line serve to slice the route into manageable weekend romps. 

Tollesbury Wick (12 miles)

Always a crowd pleaser with the sailing set, this 12-mile route (don’t worry, you don’t have to walk it all) launches at Tollesbury Marina and hugs the seawall for unrivalled views of the Blackwater Estuary’s lattice of salt-marsh and mud creeks. Oystercatchers, terns and little ringed plovers may thread their way with you to Shinglehead point, where ribbons of green signal Rolls Farm. Follow the natural footpath here to loop back round to Church Street and sink a well-deserved wine at The Harbour View Bistro & Bar.

Fambridge to Burnham-on-Crouch (8 miles)

This calming riverside ramble, which spans eight miles of sea wall, begins at Fambridge Yacht Haven marina and peruses the rolling hills of Althorne before bouncing gently along the river’s blue-grey tides to bunting-festooned Burnham-on-Crouch. The sea wall path ends here at the town’s harbour, where an orchestra of yacht masts chime in the wind and a rug of wild flowers carpet the quay. 

Bradwell-on-Sea (6 miles)

Bathed in a cream crush of cockle shells, Bradwell’s small stretch of beach marks the point where River Blackwater meets the North Sea and it’s an atmospheric find. Overlooked by ancient monasteries, oyster sheds and layers of salty grey mist, consider this your new go-to hideaway. Start with a slow saunter past the decommissioned Power Station before embarking on a six-mile circular sea-route ramble, which takes in spectacularly haunting views out to Mersea Island, as well as a charming chapel, mash-studded nature reserve and WWII memorial.

Wrabness to Manningtree (6 miles)

Home to Grayson Perry’s Turner-prize-winning ‘House for Essex’, Wrabness is a humble little corner in the north that deserves more coastal consideration. Set against the rolling hills of nearby Manningtree, its generous slice of sandy coves hug a pretty stretch of the Stour Estuary and, dotted with rustic beach huts and a smattering of chalets on stilts, it’s not uncommon for passing dinghies to pull up on the sheltered shoreline for an impromptu picnic (again, the weather will soon be warm enough, you just wait). Grab your budding David Attenboroughs and set off on a fossil-foraging mission along the six-mile stretch of shoreline – shark’s teeth and whale bones are prized finds here.a

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