Suffolk: Snape Maltings to Orford 23/6/09

 

Snape Maltings   Thames sailing barge     Grass vetchling

Our path started by the side of the Maltings where we watched pied wagtails among the buildings until a sparrowhawk scattered them.  We were surprised to see an oystercatcher pitched on a rooftop like a gull.  The former path beside the south bank of the river at the Maltings had been disrupted by an incursion by the River Alde years ago, so the present path kept further south through reed-beds until just before Iken, where there was a picnic site and car park.  We saw a red-sailed Thames sailing barge on the river.   We passed along the sandy edge of the river, recording many standard saltmarsh plants, including sea milkwort.  The path did not remain by the river, as the embankment around Iken Marshes is not open to walkers.  We had to follow the minor road from Iken to High Street.  As we pulled to the side for an oncoming car, a lizard dashed from one verge and across to the other, just in front of the car.  With only one vehicle about every 5 minutes this was really bad timing!  At High Street a footpath led across farmland before reaching the river embankment.  We soon came to a gap in the embankment where we had to walk a narrow track at the head of saltmarsh to gain the next section of embankment, which was then continuous for the rest of our walk beside the river Alde.  We came close to the Aldeburgh Yacht Club on the other side and broke for lunch when we reached opposite the entrance to Orford Ness.  There was a low grassy ridge running out into the saltmarsh a few metres and this provided a useful perch.  Another couple were picnicking nearby, but otherwise no-one else seemed to be walking this long remote path.  We shared it mostly with birds, although these were not very numerous.  There were plenty of black-headed gulls along the river and the occasional curlew.  We passed several nesting sites of common sandpiper and oystercatcher, both of which made a great deal of noise and flew in close attendance as we passed them, even at a distance of 100 metres.  The ditch behind the embankment had several families of mute swans.  Another lizard was disturbed basking on sun-warmed hay.  It was not until we got much further south that we saw a couple of herons, although little egrets were more frequent.  By then there were also plants of bur chervil and grass vetchling on the banks.  Across the river we could see the radio mast of what had once been BBC’s World Service. There were buildings left by the military from the last world war, when the spit was used for communications interceptions and experimental work.  The National Trust has excursions from Orford only at weekends and the bulk of the shingle spit is still out of bounds, the southern end (with Havergate Island) being a national nature reserve for the birds.  We reached the quay at Orford and a harbour full of boats just after 3pm.  This allowed plenty of time for a drink/ice-cream at Riverside Tearoom before walking a short way up Quay Street and we could get a taxi back to Snape.  This evening we had a meal at the Lighthouse Restaurant, also in the High Street at Aldeburgh.

Common lizard   Opposite Aldeburgh across R.Alde   Pagoda, Orford Ness built for A-bomb testing   Orford Quay from Tearoom