Dunwich Heath and Minsmere Circular Walk

We drive towards Dunwich and then south a short way to the National Trust owned Coastguard Cottages and park in the car park there.

From here, we follow the Suffolk Coast Path; this borders rhe RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve, where there are reed beds, shallow lagoons, wet grasslands, and vegetated shingle sites for bird watchers to spot the many bird species here all year round. We reach Minsmere Sluice and turn inland; the land here was deliberately flooded in WWII for defence purposes and accidentally created the Nature Reserve - the Sluice manages water flow here now by discharging drainage from the Minsmere River Valley New Cut into the North Sea to prevent flooding. A little further south, we can see the Sizewell Power Station, close to the hamlet of Sizewell and the village of Leiston.

We turn inland and follow the walking route towards the village of Eastbridge, passing the remains of Leiston Abbey Chapel. From Eastbridge, we head north and then northeast through the Hangman's New Woods and the Westleton Ealks route. We then double back down across Dunwich Heath to our starting point at Coastguard Cottages. It's been an interesting 6.5-mile walk, despite the inclement weather.

Then it's back to the bungalow to relax.Read more