Practical Boat Owner - February 2016

Destination guide – Southwold and the River Blyth

Southwold fact file

Getting around

 By road, Southwold can be reached via

the A12 by taking either the A1095 or B1127.

Direct rail services to Southwold were closed

in 1929, but there are regular buses to

Lowestoft, Halesworth and Beccles where

you can access Abellio Greater Anglia’s

regional and intercity train services.

Harbour authority

 The port authority for Southwold is

Waveney District Council.

 Harbour master, 01502 724712, VHF Ch12

Boatyards

 Justin E Ladd Boatbuilding, 01502 724643

 Harbour Marine Services Ltd, 01502

724721, http://www.harbourmarine.co.uk

Visitor attractions

 Southwold Tourist Information Centre,

01502 724729

 Lighthouse tours, 01502 724729

(booked via the tourist information centre),

http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk

 The Alfred Corry Museum, 01502 723200,

http://freespace.virgin.net/david.cragie

 Southwold Pier, 01502 722105,

http://www.southwoldpier.co.uk

 Coastal Voyager, 07887 525082,

http://www.coastalvoyager.co.uk

 Adnams Brewery tours, 01502 727225,

http://www.adnams.co.uk

Slipways

 Harbour dues are payable to Waveney

District Council by all users of Southwold

Harbour, regardless of where they moor

or launch. The concrete public slipway by

the harbour master’s office can be used

free of charge by all trailable boats

throughout the tide, although those

wishing to avoid the mud at the bottom

of the slip may wish to avoid 3hrs +/- MLWS.

Alternatively, the slipways owned by

Harbour Marine Services and Justin Ladd

can be used by trailable boats up to 25ft

3hrs +/- HW by prior arrangement.

Pilot books

 Southwold Harbour Guide, free from the

harbour master

 East Coast Rivers Cruising Companion

(latest edition 2008), Janet Harber, Nautical

Data Ltd, £24.99

 East Coast Pilot Lowestoft to Ramsgate

(latest edition 2015) by Colin Jarman, Garth

Cooper & Dick Holness, Imray, £23.50

(updates listed on http://www.eastcoastpilot.com)

 Reeds Aberdeen Asset Management

Eastern Almanac 2016, Adlard Coles

Nautical, £35

 East Anglian Skipper’s Guide (published

annually), Sahira Publications, free from

local boatyards, chandlers and YCs,

http://www.skippersguide.co.uk

 Local Boating East Coast by Barry Hunter,

Bubbles Publishing, £9.95

Charts

 Admiralty Leisure Folio Thames Estuary

Essex and Suffolk Coast SC5607

 Imray C25 Southern North Sea Harwich to

River Humber and Holland Passage Chart

 Imray C28 The East Coast Harwich to

Wells-next-the-Sea

 Imray 2000 Suffolk & Essex Chart

Pack – Lowestoft to Burnham-on-Crouch

General interest books

Several books have been written about

Southwold’s rich heritage. My favourites

include the following:

 Southwold: Portraits Of An English

Seaside Town by Rebecca and Stephen

Clegg, Phillimore

 The Story Of The Southwold-Walberswick

Ferry by Dani Church with Ann Gander,

Holm Oak Publishing

 The Best Of Southwold, edited by

John Miller, Sutton Publishing

 Southwold River: Georgian Life In The Blyth

Valley by Rachel Lawrence, Suffolk Books

any future visits by MV Balmoral.
Those wishing to stop for a bite
to eat within the town will find
plenty of choice. I have always
found the Red Lion, the café
between the beach huts and
Mark’s Fish & Chips good options.
Not surprisingly, all of Southwold’s
pubs are owned by Adnams
brewery, which forms the town’s
economic backbone with a
portfolio that also includes the
prestigious Swan and Crown
hotels, as well as the Cellar &
Kitchen store. If the idea of finding
out how the company’s award-

winning beers and spirits are

produced appeals, you could join

one of the tours which include the

obligatory tasting sessions.

The town’s other nautical

attractions include guided tours

of the 101ft lighthouse and the

Sailors’ Reading Room on Long

Island Cliff, which is well worth a

visit. It was funded by the widow

of Captain Charles Rayley to deter

fishermen from working on the

Sabbath and drinking too much!

The room contains a selection of

artefacts, models and fading

photographs that provide a

fascinating insight into the town’s

rich maritime heritage. Another

aspect of this story is highlighted

by the Amber Shop’s museum,

which is dedicated to the story

of this translucent fossil resin.

Southwold is sometimes referred

to as the home of amber within

the UK because this substance

can often be found along the

beach following the winter

storms which tear lumps of

it from the seabed.

To complete the round trip,

simply follow an equally scenic

route along the seafront towards

the harbour which includes the

Tudor cannons of Gun Hill, more

luxurious villas, views across the

open marshes and the former

Tudor cannons still line the aptly-named Gun Hill The Alfred Corry Museum is based in the former Cromer lifeboat shed

Cromer lifeboat house which is

home to the Victorian lifeboat

Alfred Corry and situated a stone’s

throw away from the RNLI’s

current lifeboat station near the

harbour entrance. As you walk

back up the harbour, why not stop

off to buy some freshly-caught fish

before returning to the boat?

Alternatively, you could walk to

Walberswick by crossing the

Bailey bridge at the top of the

harbour and head along the

southern bank until you reach

the village. To return to the visitor

moorings, simply cross the

harbour in the rowing ferry and

walk along the northern bank

past the fishermen’s sheds

and boatyards.