After a very good night’s sleep, we have an early breakfast booked for 7:15 and the shock horror news of the morning is that, for what must be the first time on any of our walks over the past 10 years, John is the last to appear – albeit only a couple of minutes after Ben. The brekker is of the same high standard as the rooms and, after checking out, we’re back to the sea front just before 8:10.
It's another bright and warm day. Our plan is to get to Dunwich, but this will only be possible in the time available to us if we can cover the stretch to Southwold along the beach, which apparently is achievable between low and mid tide. The beach route will take about three and a half hours (around 10 miles) and, with high tide not scheduled until 2:30, should be possible. The only alternative would be to take an inland route from Covehithe (about 6 miles from Lowestoft) because there are apparently no bail outs from the beach on the approach to Southwold. However, the inland route would add an extra 3 or 4 miles to the walk and make it unlikely that we’d get to Dunwich by the time we’re aiming for.
But we set off with a sense of optimism, and the sand along the beach to Kessingland and on to Covehithe is generally firm, so the underfoot conditions are pretty comfortable. Progress is good and, after a couple of hours, we’re in Covehithe and we’re as sure as we can be that we’ll get to Southwold before the tide comes in. Indeed, when Mike and Gary check with a couple on the beach who are apparently from the area whether we’ll be okay, they reply confidently “no problem – it’s not far”. There’s also another couple a few minutes in front of us who appear to be taking our route, which gives us even more comfort. However, our confidence starts to wane the closer we get to Southwold. We can see a small headland and, from a distance, it looks as though the tide might have reached the rocks at its foot, but the couple in front are striding onwards so we keep going. In any case, we’ve already walked 3 miles from Covehithe and it isn’t worth turning back now (shades of Macbeth). But when we get to the headland, the tide has indeed cut off the beach, and the only option available to us is to try and scramble over the rocks. The couple in front seem to have managed it, so we give it a go. And thankfully we succeed, with (as usual) varying degrees of proficiency and nimbleness!
On the other side of the rocks, it is something of a relief to see a path along the sea wall which leads, via a car park, to Southwold pier. It would probably be even more of a relief to stop for a refresher at the Lord Nelson, and Ben’s pace quickens as we approach it. Unfortunately, we arrive at 11:40, 20 minutes before opening time, so we continue through the town and, instead of waiting for a pint of Adnams at noon, we’re waiting on the edge of the River Blyth for the ferry to Walberswick. As we cross the narrow river, we see the Bell Inn a couple of hundred yards from the jetty. It’s a fair assumption that, by the time we get to the other side, it will be available to provide us with our delayed refresher. However, as part of the lifting of restrictions on pubs opening during COVID, customers have to sit at tables and, although the Bell is open, all of its tables are booked. So refreshment courtesy of the Southwold Brewery is further delayed, but this does prompt us to phone The Ship in Dunwich to reserve a table for when we arrive there.
The walk to Dunwich is around 4.5 miles and takes us largely away from the coast. It starts with a short stretch along a shingle beach and through some dunes but, after crossing a bridge over a creek, we then continue through reed beds along paths next to a series of dykes. These bring us to Dingle Great Hill (a name which, with the best will in the world, seems something of an exaggeration) and then to a path through Dunwich Forest which leads to a road into Dunwich and The Ship Inn. We arrive around 1:45 and, from the number of people there, it’s clear that booking a table was the correct decision. At long last, pints of Adnams are consumed – and quickly replenished. Non-liquid sustenance is provided in the form of squid, bread and cheese/pate, and a bowl of chips, and is almost as welcome as the beer. A pre-ordered cab collects us at 3:15 and takes us to Saxmundham station from where Mike travels north to Lowestoft to get back to Nottingham, and the rest of us go the other way to Ipswich and then on to Liverpool Street. It’s been a great couple of days and we can only hope that further COVID restrictions which are anticipated during the coming days don’t affect our next walk which is scheduled to take place in three weeks time.
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