Log No 343. Thu 12th Jun 2014 - Blaxhall to Sizewell, 12 miles (5287 miles walked)

There wasn't a cloud in the sky when I left at 08.00 and no wind either, it was going to be very warm.

I retraced my route on the roads back to Snape Maltings, crossed the bridge and turned onto the Suffolk Coast Path to walk along the river bank.

There was another path closure notice by the bridge, dated 14th May 2014 saying from 20th May the path will be temporarily closed for 5 days for test drilling.

Why is the notice still up, is the path closed or open? The council should update these notices or remove them.

I didn't take the suggested alternative route, the footpath was only by the river for a short distance and there were no obstacles. The closure notice at this end of the river bank didn't look like it was going to remain here much longer!

The SCP turned north through a small wood (not shown on the map) then east along a farm road and track.

It was to be another short day so I took an early break just before the track went through another wood.


It was nice and cool walking through the wood in the shade, I paused for a while to watch some crop pickers in action.

Suffolk seems to grow a wide variety of crops and most of the fields have a water cannon/spray operating, I have to time it right on more than one occasion to avoid getting soaked where the water jet went onto the road.

The track joined the main road and the SCP went along this for a bit before turning off to bypass Aldeburgh, I continued on the road, stopping at the Co-op to get supplies, then taking a side street to get to the beach at the south end of Aldeburgh.


The beach was all shingle and there were no beach huts as such. There were a few larger wooden shacks on the beach next to the road but they were all selling fresh fish, with no pier or harbour it looked like the small fishing boats were just winched straight up the shingle to the shacks to offload their catch.

Something that I never seen before was the 2 large chairs on the beach, a red one and a blue one. There was a pair of headphones in them and a notice said "Enjoy sitting in this chair. Try on the headphones. Share your thoughts as you look at the horizon." I was tempted to sit in one and have some lunch but opted for a lower seat a bit further up the beach.

At the north end of Aldeburgh there was a giant scallop on the beach, this big metal sculpture was created in 2003 to celebrate Benjamin Britten who was inspired by Suffolk.

The campsite was only 4 miles away and it was only 12 o'clock so I stopped in Thorpeness and had a Cream Tea by The Meare and spent a while idly watching the rowing boats on the water.

From Thorpeness the land rose a little bit and there was a small sloping cliff, the footpath was up the side of the slope and easier going than on the shingle.

Looking down onto the beach I saw another piece of artwork, which would put a smile on anyone's face.

I got to the Beach View Campsite, just before the Sizewell Power Station, at 14.00 and was given a pitch at a reduced rate of £5.

A slow & easy 12 miles.

It's another short day tomorrow.