second day of sufflok coast
6:12pm, 13th Aug 2019 | 17 Comments
Blog by DocM
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On to the second day of our 2 day walk of the suffolk coast, the remaining 29 miles to go.
The main factor was going to be the 50mph winds which were forecast and did appear.
We set off early from Sizewell, 2hrs before the parkrun starts, all ready brisk breeze that was going to be tough for the parkrunners on the return half.
We then headed up to Dunwich
and stopped for a coffee
Dunwich is interesting, there is one street and a lot of ruins. most of it is now under the sea, I believe it originally had 12 churches and was huge.
the route then took us along the sea defences. we were very glad to be walking with the wind as it was really picking up now.
We got to Walberswick where the river crossing is a rowing boat, the wind had got to strong for rowing so they had got their motor boat out and were continuing to ferry walkers across but expected to have to stop soon with the winds increasing
this brought us to southwold, usually very busy in mid summer but the wind had blown the holiday makers away
Next we had an 8 mile stretch on the beach. Hard to capture on a photo but this was where the wind was at its peak. The sand was blowing against our skin uncomfortably and even though we were walking with the wind it was tough. Perhaps the toughest part of the whole walk but also the most enjoyable with it wild remote feel.
much of this coast line is eroding and at a rapid pace, and we sheltered under some of the displaced trees for a short break
We then arrived in Kessingland. Our grandparents brought us here as children and my brother remembers it well (plus has many old photos). When we were children this was the beach, but is now Kessingland ness. sometimes the sea decides to fill in instead of destroying
here is what was the end of a groyne but is now nearly a mile inland
Then on to Lowestoft
officially the suffolk coast path ends here, and we did have a back up plan that we would finish here if it was too tough. But we chose to continue the final 6 miles to reach hopton where the county boundary is and we would meet the end of the 40 mile walk we did last year.
So we pushed on to the most easterly point of Britain
and onward for the final stretch, legs getting heavy now
we had a brief shower then the view to Hopton and our finish line
this is us at the end
then it was just a matter of trains home, negotiating the cancellations and diversions created by the weather, home by midnight
The main factor was going to be the 50mph winds which were forecast and did appear.
We set off early from Sizewell, 2hrs before the parkrun starts, all ready brisk breeze that was going to be tough for the parkrunners on the return half.
We then headed up to Dunwich
and stopped for a coffee
Dunwich is interesting, there is one street and a lot of ruins. most of it is now under the sea, I believe it originally had 12 churches and was huge.
the route then took us along the sea defences. we were very glad to be walking with the wind as it was really picking up now.
We got to Walberswick where the river crossing is a rowing boat, the wind had got to strong for rowing so they had got their motor boat out and were continuing to ferry walkers across but expected to have to stop soon with the winds increasing
this brought us to southwold, usually very busy in mid summer but the wind had blown the holiday makers away
Next we had an 8 mile stretch on the beach. Hard to capture on a photo but this was where the wind was at its peak. The sand was blowing against our skin uncomfortably and even though we were walking with the wind it was tough. Perhaps the toughest part of the whole walk but also the most enjoyable with it wild remote feel.
much of this coast line is eroding and at a rapid pace, and we sheltered under some of the displaced trees for a short break
We then arrived in Kessingland. Our grandparents brought us here as children and my brother remembers it well (plus has many old photos). When we were children this was the beach, but is now Kessingland ness. sometimes the sea decides to fill in instead of destroying
here is what was the end of a groyne but is now nearly a mile inland
Then on to Lowestoft
officially the suffolk coast path ends here, and we did have a back up plan that we would finish here if it was too tough. But we chose to continue the final 6 miles to reach hopton where the county boundary is and we would meet the end of the 40 mile walk we did last year.
So we pushed on to the most easterly point of Britain
and onward for the final stretch, legs getting heavy now
we had a brief shower then the view to Hopton and our finish line
this is us at the end
then it was just a matter of trains home, negotiating the cancellations and diversions created by the weather, home by midnight
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DocM
i took up running after I turned 40, having never run before, and unexpectedly found I liked it. I now run a lot, usually by myself or with my dog. I had a great year in 2019 with, things got a little slow during COVID, but hopefully will pick up again. go.sparkpostmail2.comProfile | Blog | Other Blogs