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Here is a winter walk starting from a quiet car park on the edge of Aldeburgh, with the opportunity to travel along the old railway line to Thorpeness and return via the coast along the beach. Aldeburgh Station opened on 12th April 1860 and provided an 8 mile link through Leiston to the main line at Saxmundham until it closed on 12th September
1966. The track is now available as a permissive footpath and provides very easy walking between the two settlements. From the small car park at the King's Field playing fields walk up the stony lane, past the fire station to the road. Across the other side of the roundabout is The Railway Inn, the only remaining building left from the former station complex that stood to the right of the hotel. Turn right along the roadside footway for about 100 metres and cross to the footpath on the left by some mature trees and before a bungalow. Follow this well used path across a road and on for 400 meters to the caravan site where it turns left to join the raised track bed of the former railway. Turn right along the old railway, now a little overgrown but with a well used path down the middle. At a metal gate across the track there is an opportunity to take a short cut, by turning right on the public footpath towards the coast it is possible to shorten the walk to 2½ miles. At one point the path on the track bed ends and it is necessary to go off into the trees on the left and then turn right, marked to Thorpeness, back onto the track again to continue the walk northwards. Follow the line of the old railway past the end of the ponds of Thorpeness Mere and North Warren Nature Reserve and through a wooden barrier at Sheepwash Crossing, once a halt serving the village of Thorpeness. Turn right onto the footpath into the trees, and not along the driveway of Mere Cottage, heading alongside the lake then through the trees towards the golf course and Thorpeness. As you approach the golf club a notice says 'Caution, flying golf balls being hit from the right', a fair warning as you cross the line of play. Keep straight along the well defined path past the clubhouse, up the hill with a view of the House in the Clouds ahead. Continue on the track, Uplands Road, passing between the House in the Clouds and the windmill which is now a Visitor Information Centre, following the lane out to the road in the village. The village of Thorpeness was developed from a fishing hamlet to provide self catering holidays after the first world war. The water was supplied from a large raised tank and pumped up by a metal wind pump. In keeping with the picturesque look of the village, it was decided in 1922 to move a windmill from nearby Aldringham to be used to pump the water. The tank was the next structure to receive attention and the metal work was boarded over to create the unusual House in the Clouds. Turn right through the village on the roadside footway, passing the Mere and around to the main public pay and display car park. Turn left through the car park and walk up along the walkway to the sand dunes beyond the houses along the front. Turn right (south) along the top of the dunes in front of the houses where you will find grassy stretches and patches of firm shingle to make walking easier, or walk along the beach or the road if you prefer. After the last house there is a large open area known as The Haven which once provided a safe harbour before becoming silted up. Half way between Thorpeness and Alderburgh there is a Tarmac footpath to walk on which will bring you to Aldeburgh's Moot Hall. Turn right by the Moot Hall by The Mill Inn on Victoria Road, crossing Wentworth Road, the main street of Aldeburgh, and on up the hill past the church of St Peter and St Paul to return to the roundabout at the junction with Leiston Road. Turn left down the track to return to the start. Aldeburgh Fact FileLocation: Aldeburgh is 23 miles northeast of Ipswich (15 miles from Woodbridge)Start: Aldeburgh King's Field playing field car park, Ordnance Survey map reference TM 458569 Length: 5 miles (short cut 2½ miles) Conditions: Well used paths, tracks and roadside footway, no stiles - flat with no hills How to get there: - Public Transport: For details telephone Suffolk County Council's Public Transport Information TraveLine - 08459 583358 By Road: From the A12 turn east on A1094 to Aldeburgh Car Parking: Turn right at the first roundabout in Aldeburgh - a stony lane signed Fire Station and Toilets Refreshments: Pubs, shops and other refreshments in Aldeburgh and Thorpeness Public Toilets: At the start of the walk in Aldeburgh and adjacent to the Mere in Thorpeness Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer sheet 212 Woodbridge and Saxmundham Information: Aldeburgh Tourist Information Centre and Thorpeness Windmill Walking on the web: http://www.anderton.btinternet.co.uk
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