There’s a quiet kind of wildness on the Suffolk coast. It’s not the drama of jagged cliffs or mountain skylines — but a softer, slower beauty. One shaped by shifting tides, low windswept heaths, and wide skies that seem to stretch without end.
Welcome to the Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape — a walking destination where every path leads to peace.
This corner of East Anglia is a meeting point of land and water, where shingle beaches give way to reedbeds, saltmarshes blend into pine forests, and historic coastal towns appear from behind the dunes like mirages. From Lowestoft down to the Stour Estuary, the walking is quiet, varied, and deeply restorative.
One moment you might be following a track through heathered heathland, the next you’re walking along the top of a low sandy cliff, with gulls and sea air swirling around you. Inland trails snake past creeks, estuaries, and old fishing boats, while the coast offers miles of open walking between villages full of history and charm.
At the heart of it all is the Suffolk Coast Path — a 60-mile route between Felixstowe and Lowestoft that hugs the edge of England. Walk it in full and you’ll pass salt-rimed estuaries, old Martello towers, and timeless towns like Aldeburgh, Southwold, and Orford. It’s a journey of seascapes and stories, changing with every tide.
For those looking inland, the Sandlings Walk offers something different: a path through pine forests, ancient heaths, and hidden villages. And then there’s the Stour and Orwell Walk, tracing two great rivers through a world of wooded banks, saltmarsh, and wide skies.
Wherever you walk, nature is never far away. This is one of the most biodiverse landscapes in the UK — home to bitterns, marsh harriers, otters, and seals. The famous RSPB Minsmere sits within the landscape, but many trails offer just as rich an experience without a signpost or ticket.
One of Suffolk’s greatest strengths? Its accessibility. This is a landscape built for slow, self-guided exploration. The terrain is mostly gentle, the routes well waymarked, and rail stations like Saxmundham, Woodbridge, and Lowestoft connect walkers with the coast and countryside. Ferries cross estuaries, and circular trails make it easy to base yourself in a single place and explore on foot.
Better still, the towns and villages here feel untouched by mass tourism. Southwold’s pastel beach huts, Walberswick’s dunes, Orford’s riverside calm — all offer the sense of stepping off the map, even as the walking infrastructure quietly supports you.
You don’t need to walk far to feel it. Just a few miles along the shingle path from Aldeburgh to Thorpeness, or a loop through the forest at Rendlesham, and the modern world slips away. Even a short walk becomes something more — a chance to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with what really matters.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be featuring:
The Suffolk Coast & Heaths isn’t just a place to visit. It’s a landscape to walk into — and stay with, long after you’ve left the path behind.
