Exploring theSuffolk Coastwithout a car
Boasting England's most easterly point, the Suffolk coast is the first place in the country to see the sun rise. With miles of golden beaches, long-distance footpaths, nature reserves, and great food, Suffolk’s coastline has a big range of attractions. The scenery varies from kiss-me-quick arcades to remote marshland. And whatever you're looking for at the seaside, you don’t need a car to get there. Here are five great coastal areas in Suffolk that you can explore by train, bus, bike, foot and even boat.
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1. Lowestoft
One of the best beaches on the whole coast is just a few minutes’ stroll from the railway station in Lowestoft, England’s most easterly town. Direct trains arrive every hour from Ipswich (1¼ hours away) and Norwich (45 minutes).
- To reach the main beach on foot, turn right and right again out of the station. Cross Commercial Road and keep on over the bridge into Pier Terrace. Wave to the statue of the RNLI lifeboat man as you cross the water.
- East Point Pavilion is the colourful building on your left. With cafés serving everything from Caribbean fritters to cornflake cake, it’s a great first stop for refreshments. There’s also a tempting timetable of morning yoga, creative workshops, live music and more.
- Two minutes’ stroll beyond the pavilion, you will find the Jet Adventures office, home of speedy boat trips around Lowestoft’s historic harbour. Boats head out into the North Sea for watching the local seals and viewing the coast from a whole new angle. You can even catch the famous sunrise around England’s most easterly point. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
- Further along the beach, you will find vibrant Claremont Pier with its Edwardian history, bars, shops, arcades and Saturday DJ nights. Nearby, there are the new Eastern Edge beach huts for hire so you can settle in and enjoy Lowestoft’s miles of sand all day long in any weather. These contemporary beach huts are sleek and stylishly designed with fold-down furniture to maximise the space.
- There’s more to explore heading up the coast in the other direction from the station too, including several quirky museums and the Marina Theatre (follow Good Journey’s directions to the Marina Theatre). The theatre is just five minutes’ walk from Lowestoft station, but if you’re heading there from the beach, you can hop on bus 99 or bus X2/X22. They both stop at the bus station, which is very near the theatre and a short walk from the high street. There more car-free ideas around Lowestoft in our Good Journey guide and lots more information on the fabulous Suffolk Coast site. Read on too for more things to see in the wider area.
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2. Oulton Broad and beyond
Lowestoft makes a great base for exploring the watery Broads. These boat-friendly lakes, surrounded by miles of wildlife-rich marshland, are surprisingly easy to get to without a car. Here are a few Broads-based attractions near Lowestoft that you can access without driving.
- Jet Adventures offer peaceful cruises along the lovely River Waveney to Somerleyton or trips designed for watching wildlife as the sun sets over the Broads. These boats set off from Oulton Broad Yacht Station, which is ten minutes’ walk from Oulton Broad North on the railway line between Lowestoft (5 minutes by train) and Norwich (30 minutes). You’ll find the Yacht Station in well-signed Nicholas Everitt Park near the flint-walled Lowestoft Museum and lots of great cafés and restaurants like the Copper Smokehouse. At the far end of the Somerleyton boat trip, you can stop off in the pretty Broadland village for a five-minute stroll to the Dukes Head. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
- Equally close to the station, you’ll find the Excelsior Trust office, home to unique sailing adventures. Built in 1921, Excelsior is one of Britain’s most historic vessels. A traditional brown-sailed Lowestoft fishing smack, the boat was lovingly restored over many years and now offers adventures and sailing days.
- The hidden gem on Lowestoft’s doorstep for wildlife lovers is Carlton Marshes. Facilities at this thousand-acre nature reserve have recently been upgraded thanks to a £4 million grant from the National Lottery. There’s a visitor centre with great views from the café and a network of trails through the reed beds.
- How do I get to Carlton Marshes without a car? Follow Good Journey’s directions. Get the train one stop (5 minutes) from Lowestoft to Oulton Broad South railway station on the line between Lowestoft and Ipswich (1¼ hours by train). From here, it’s about twenty minutes’ pleasant walk to the Visitor Centre. Follow the Angles Way signs along a lane. When the lane turns right, keep straight through the holiday lodges and past the Ivy House Hotel. Go through a gate and follow signs to the Visitor Centre. Here, you’ll find maps of the reserve with a choice of way-marked trails.
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3. Southwold
With a coastal brewery, a tour-able lighthouse, an award-winning cinema, colourful beach huts, harbourside fishmongers, and lots more seaside fun, Southwold is one of those towns that everybody loves to visit. So how do you get there if you haven’t got a car or want to avoid driving?
- Bus 99 Coastal Clipper leaves hourly from Lowestoft bus station (every two hours on Sunday) and takes about 45 minutes to get to Southwold. On the way, the bus runs beside Lowestoft beach and seafront gardens before turning inland and through Kessingland.
- The bus ends near the King’s Head pub in Southwold or you can get off earlier next to the pier (see below). From the King’s Head, it’s a short walk along Victoria Street past Adnams brewery to the still-working lighthouse, where you can climb 113 spiralling steps for great views across the surrounding land and sea. The tour includes a voucher for a drink at the nearby Sole Bay Inn.
- Walk a few more steps to the seafront and turn left to reach the quirky pier, full of imaginative arcade machines. A couple of minutes’ stroll beyond the pier, Southwold boating lake offers paddle boats, adventure golf and a waterside tea room.
- Back in town at the King’s Head, the Electric Picture Palace is nearby and shows a great selection of films each evening. Book ahead by email to attend one of the shows that celebrate cinema’s glory days, complete with Wurlitzer organ and national anthem! Worth staying overnight in Southwold for since the last bus back to Lowestoft currently leaves at 6.10pm.
- To explore, the wider area with its heathland and wild marshes, you could walk across Southwold common and catch the ferry to Walberswick. You could rent a bike from Southwold Cycle Hire and can take it on the ferry for a small fee.
- There are some really fabulous stretches of the Suffolk Coast Path and long-distance Sandlings Walk between Walberswick and legendary Dunwich with the chance to walk through windmill-studded marshes, purple heath and woods full of bracken and birch trees. From Dunwich and beyond, you can book up to a week ahead for a demand-responsive minibus to collect you and take you to the nearest bus stop.
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4. Thorpeness
A windmill, a fantastical boating lake, a cottage in the clouds… in the early 20th century, wealthy barrister Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie developed Thorpeness as a whimsical holiday resort of half-timbering and fantastical houses. Today, it’s a lovely seaside village with buses from Saxmundham railway station.
- So how do I get to Thorpeness without a car? Bus 521 leaves every couple of hours from the end of Chantry Road, five minutes’ stroll from Saxmundham’s railway station. It takes about half an hour to get to Thorpeness and stops by the magical mere (or meare), where you can hire boats.
- Five minutes’ walk away around the lake, near Thorpness windmill, get a closer look at the iconic House in the Clouds. It’s not open to the public, unless you want to rent it as a holiday cottage, but it’s a striking landmark.
- Just beyond this is Thorpeness Golf Club, where the courses include the nine-hole, family-friendly Jiggers miniature golf. The affordable prices include club and ball hire and a souvenir scorecard.
- Thorpeness also has some great cafés and fabulous stretches of the Suffolk Coast Path nearby, including the walk along the beach to neighbouring Aldeburgh, passing Maggie Hambling’s Scallop sculpture, a tribute to the composer Benjamin Britten, who lived locally. Read on for more…
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5. Aldeburgh
Surrounded by meadows, marshes, woods and heath, arty Aldeburgh is where you will find the Red House, former home of composer Benjamin Britten and singer Peter Pears. Aldeburgh’s sixteenth-century Moot Hall contains the local museum, exploring everything from Anglo Saxon burials to the local fishing industry.
- So how do I get to Aldeburgh? Bus 64 and bus 521 both take about half an hour from Saxmundham and run right through Aldeburgh so you can explore the long café-lined high street and the surrounding coast path.
- Both buses stop about five minutes’ walk round the corner from Hall Farm Lane, where you can rent an e-bike from Eezybike to explore the area. Don’t miss Snape Maltings, an impressive riverside complex with bars, cafes, galleries, sculptures and cultural events, surrounded by wild waving marshes. You can also book a Katch minibus to Snape Maltings from Wickham Market Station.
- From Snape Maltings, you could follow the delightful Sailors’ Path through woods, heath and marshes six miles to Aldeburgh and get the bus back.
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6. Felixstowe
Fifteen minutes’ on foot from Felixstowe station are the town’s Victorian seafront gardens. Among the nearby eateries is the Greenhouse, the town’s first and finest plant-based café, serving seriously tasty vegan dishes.
- From the Stanley Road bus stop nearby, catch bus 77 to Landguard Fort at the southern tip of the town. In its maze of tunnels, you can learn about the Dutch invasion of 1667 and how soldiers stored gunpowder. From one bastion of the citadel, there are views across the water.
- From a shingle bank below the fort, in the shadow of Britain’s biggest container port, you can catch a ferry hourly to the old pier at Harwich.
- Trimley station is also useful for accessing Trimley Marshes and walking as far as Felixstowe Ferry, where you can catch another little ferry across to Bawdsey and explore the Deben peninsula. For more car-free adventures in the area, take a look at this guide.
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7. Shotley Peninsula
Saltmarshes, purple with sea lavender, oak woods full of foxgloves and scented honeysuckle, fields of poppy-freckled barley. The wild Shotley peninsula, where two mighty estuaries converge at the south end of Suffolk, is a hidden gem, served by buses from Ipswich and ferries from Harwich.
- Bus 97 runs from opposite Ipswich railway station to the far end of the peninsula. Ten minutes’ stroll up Oldhall Road is Shotley vineyard with summer tours and tastings and year-round coffee and cake at weekends.
- On the way, the bus stops at Chelmondiston for a lovely ten-minute stroll to Pin Mill Woods with views over the boats below, including some old wrecks melting atmospherically into the sea purslane. The 17th-century waterside Butt and Oyster pub nearby is perfect for a drink after walking.
- Both bus 97 and bus 92 stop by the huge Orwell Bridge, a short walk from the Suffolk Food Hall, a big farm shop-café complex. It’s five minutes’ walk down a signed lane from the bus stop.
- To see the river from a different angle, take a cruise on the Orwell Lady from Ipswich. For more adventures in the area, take a look at our car-free guide to the Shotley Peninsula.
