Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (England Wales & N Ireland)

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a designated exceptional landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are precious enough to be safeguarded in the national interest. AONBs are protected and enhanced for nature, people, business and culture.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland has 46 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covering 18% of the countryside, over a fifth of the English coast, and including 12,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways.

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Shingle Street - Suffolk

Shingle Street is a small coastal hamlet in Suffolk at the mouth of Orford Ness, situated between Orford and Bawdsey and was originally a home for fishermen and river pilots for the River Ore. It is a rather strange, desolate but magical place. The notice boards you see before you leave the car park rightly declare the area as a "special place" which is also formally designated an SSSI - Sight of Special Scientific Interest - because of the rare flora that survives this wind-swept area of beach. A report from October 2004 suggests that Shingle Street is at risk from the sea and could disappear within 20 years if sea defences are not erected.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Heritage Coast seascape beach shingle coastal coastline

From Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex