Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex

A great fractured maze of muddy creeks and forgotten islands in eastern Essex gives way to the largely unspoilt coastline of Suffolk and Norfolk with steep shingle terraces and low crumbling cliffs, a sign of constant battle with the sea.

Inland is the Broads National Park British Isles's magical water land, a uniquely beautiful environment shaped by people working hand in hand with nature over thousands of years.

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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 - Site of Special Scientific Interest - because of the rare flora that survives this wind-swept area of the 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