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OrfordIn partnership with

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Local Adnams pubsTHE JOLLY SAILOR Tel: 01394 450243Quay Street, Orford, Woodbridge, IP12 2NU. Location: Near Quay Restaurant/dining room YesGarden/courtyard Yes Bar meals YesChildren welcome Yes Accommodation YesDisabled access - Dogs welcome YesParking available Yes Credit cards welcome Yes

KING’S HEAD Tel: 01394 450271Front Street, Orford, IP12 2NULocation: Village Restaurant/dining room YesGarden/courtyard Yes Bar meals YesChildren welcome Yes Accommodation YesDisabled access Yes Dogs welcome YesParking available Yes Credit cards welcome Yes

In partnership with

Felixstowe

Ipswich

oodbridge

Harwich

Aldeburgh

Southwold

Lowestoft

Beccles

NorthSea

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01 Pin Mill02 Levington03 Waldringfield04 Woodbridge 05 Butley06 Orford07 Snape

08 Aldeburgh09 Eastbridge10 Westleton11 Walberswick12 Southwold 13 Wrentham14 Blythburgh

In partnership with

This leaflet has been produced with the generoussupport of Adnams to celebrate the 40th anniversaryof the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.

“Adnams has been proud to work with Suffolk Coast andHeaths for many years on a variety of projects. We are basedin Southwold, just inside the AONB and it is with thisbeautiful location in mind, that we have great respect forthe built, social and natural environment around us. Overseveral years we have been working hard to make ourimpact on the environment a positive one, please visit ourwebsite to discover some of the things we’ve been up to.

We often talk about that “ah, that’s better” moment andwhat better way to celebrate that, than walking one ofthese routes and stopping off at an Adnams pub for somewell-earned refreshment.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the walks (and thepubs!), please upload your comments and photos to ourwebsite adnams.co.uk.”

Andy Wood, Adnams Chief Executive

You can follow us on twitter.com/adnams

More Suffolk Coast and HeathsAONB pub walks

OrfordLong route – 5.5 miles/8.9 km

Short route – 2.5 miles/4 km

Due to parking restrictions in Orford these walksstart off together at the public car park just

behind the quay and opposite The Jolly Sailor pub.

Both walks: From the car park turn left, oppositeThe Jolly Sailor pub, and walk to the quay .

When Orford Castle wasbuilt, in 1165, neighbouringmarshes were drained, andOrford became an importantport. Trade declined withsilting of the river, and thecastle ceased to be a centreof local government, butnonetheless, in Tudor times,Orford sent four ships tofight the Armada.

The port has long been a smugglers’ haven, though itrequires some knowledge and seamanship to negotiate theentrance, and some cargoes end up on the outer shore of

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The King’s Head

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GEDGRAVE ROAD

BROAD ST

ORFORD

GedgraveMarshes Chantry

Point

ChantryMarshes

RiverAlde/Ore

RichmondFarm

D ST

OrfordCastle

Quay

B1084

Long WalkShort Walk

Public House

Points ofinterest 1Car Park/Layby

Place ofworship

Path, track orother roadFootpath/bridleway

A/B/C Roads

Woods

Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONBTel: 01394 384948 www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org

Orford Castle: www.english-heritage.org.uk

East of England Tourismwww.visiteastofengland.com

Public transportBus services to Orford: few and far between, but there is a busservice between Woodbridge and Orford, that connects(occasionally) with trains and buses from Ipswich. The neareststation is 11 miles away, at Melton.www.suffolkonboard.com, 0845 606 6171

Further information

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JOLLYSAILOR

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KING’SHEAD

Orford Orford can be very busy at weekends in the summer, and parking canbe difficult. The main public car park (with toilets) is near the quay,just opposite The Jolly Sailor pub, and the walks begin from here.

The walks start together, but where the short route cuts back toOrford across the marshes, the long route carries on to take in alarger circuit. The routes then rejoin at Orford Castle, and pass theKing’s Head Inn before returning to the start point.

Be prepared for some muddy paths in winter. The terrain is flat – the biggest incline is going to be getting up on to the riverwall. There are some short stretches along minor roads, and inOrford itself, but most of thewalk is on footpaths.

Dogs will enjoy both routes, butthey should be on a lead orunder close control. It isespecially important not to allowyour dog to run off the river wallon to the foreshore to disturb thebird life. Stock may be grazed insome of the fields. Please followany advisory signs.

Crown copyright. All rights reserved.© Suffolk County Council. License LA100023395

The Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of OutstandingNatural Beauty (AONB) is one of Britain’s finestlandscapes. Located on the coast of East Anglia andcovering 403 square kilometres, the AONB extendsfrom the Stour estuary in the south to the easternfringe of Ipswich and to Kessingland in the north.

www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org

the Ness – even today! Imagine the disappointment onhaving made landfall on the shingle spit, only to find, onheading inland, that there is still the river Ore to cross, or16km of shingle to trudge...

In times gone by the King’s Head pub was used, allegedly,to store goods run via Hollesley Bay, just south of thetreacherous river entrance.

Turn right at the quay and take the path up onto the river wall, from where there are

fine views of the castle, and the “pagodas” onOrford Ness.

Orford Ness is the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe,internationally renowned for its flora and fauna. It has beenunder the care of the National Trust since 1993, and isdesignated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and aNational Nature Reserve.

The spit is joined to the mainland in the north, at Aldeburgh,from where it has extended some 16km southwards as thesea has swept shingle along the coast, and diverting thecourse of the river Alde to join the river Ore.

It is locally known as ‘The Island’; and it could actuallybecome one, if the sea breaks through to join the river atthe narrow neck at Slaughden, as is feared.

Orfordness Lighthouse has been an important seamark,but is now under threat from coastal erosion, and will soon be lost.

In World War One, over 600 people were based on OrfordNess, when it was a secret military test site, with two airfields.

Just before and during World War Two, the site was pivotal in the development of radar. Explosives testing also took place here.

The pagoda-shaped structures date from the Cold War(1947-1991), and were used to test atomic weapondetonators. At the same time, a radar detection systemknown as Cobra Mist, also operated from Orford Ness,though much of its forest of masts has now been dismantled.

Continue on river wall path.

About 400m along is a concrete block house, dating fromWorld War Two. When the river walls were built up afterthe 1953 floods, this was reputedly completely covered bythe wall – so the path level today suggests that the heightof the wall crest has dropped considerably over the years.

After passing through a wooden gate, followthe path around Chantry Point, with

excellent views of Havergate Island to the left.

RSPB reserve Havergate Island is now particularly notedfor Avocet, extinct in the British Isles as a breeding speciesfrom 1842, when sea wall building and land reclamationdestroyed the bird’s coastal lagoon habitats. During WorldWar Two, Havergate flooded when a stray bomb damagedthe river wall, while grazing marshes elsewhere along theeast coast were flooded as a defensive measure. Theresulting shallow muddy pools and low islands were idealfor the Avocet, and by 1947, four breeding pairs hadarrived at Havergate and Minsmere.

Avocets and terns are a star attraction during spring andsummer and, in autumn and winter, there are largenumbers of ducks and wading birds in the estuary as well.

The short route and long route diverge at thispoint .2

The reclaimed land is productive agricultural acreage butonly if it is not contaminated by salt water flooding – fromwhich it takes years to recover.

After the Suffolk Coast Path sign, drop down tothe right . Pass through a metal gate onto a

farm track between the reeds. Follow this track andat tarmac lane turn right towards the castle.

At Richmond Farm (on the right, after 350m), notefootpath leading left , but take a smalldiversion by staying on the road a few steps more.

On the right beyond the barn is a small geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, a farm pit dug into theCoralline Crag, probably for use as building stone. Thestrata show marked cross-bedding planes, indicating howthis Pliocene deposit was laid down in sand waves. SandMartins also appreciate these crag pits for nesting and, if present, their holes will be clearly visible.

Retrace steps and take the footpath asabove, up past the barn, then right up some

steps and onto another footpath behind the barn.

Cross several fields, heading towards the castle, andpass between bungalows. On your left is anotherlarge pit. You will emerge below the castle keep –follow on to the common route below.

Carry straight on to the castle car park.

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Short route – continued

Combined route – long and short walk

When the river wall path turns sharp left by apost, turn right down off the bank, cross a

wooden bridge and stile, then after about 100mturn left through a wooden gate onto a footpathalongside a ditch. Bear left at sewage works, thenright to join a wider access track. At the tarmaclane turn right, and after the entrance toGreen Lane House take the next left up a footpathpast Chantry Cottage.

At the cross tracks , turn right to emerge belowthe imposing castle keep.

Follow the combined route (see below, at end oflong route) back to the quay car park.

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Long route – continued

Stay on the river wall path round to the left for about 700m, and another sharp left

hand bend.

In the floods of 1953, these river walls breached, floodingthe marshes behind, right up to Orford itself. In The JollySailor pub is a marker recording the level reached there.The walls were improved after 1953, but are currentlyunder review again in the light of threatened sea level rise.

It is easy to see here that thesaltings and river level are higherthan the land behind the river wall.

Travelling around in this low-lying part of Suffolk, you willcatch glimpses of Orford Castle from many unexpectedangles. This fact has saved it from demolition: as late as1805, it was still wanted as a navigation mark, andprobably had a beacon on it.

Building started in 1165, using a polygonal shape thatbetter resists attackers by making it more difficult toundermine the corners. There were extensive outer works,now grass-covered mounds. It was built by Henry II tocounter the threat from barons such as the Bigod family (in Framlingham Castle) and against seaborne foreignmercenaries that might support them. An unsuccessfulattempt by the Bigods in 1173 justified his fears. Furtheraction was seen in 1216, when Prince Louis of France tookthe castle, and the Bigods had possession twice, briefly, in the Barons’ Wars in the 1260s.

From the castle car park head left uphill andcross Market Hill toward the church where

you will find the King’s Head Inn.

Pass to the right of the pub through some irongates into the churchyard and follow this pathpast the church porch to leave the churchyard bythe lower gate.

The Church of St Bartholomew repays a visit. Theattached Norman ruins are extensive, and speak of thetown’s past importance. Seek out, too, the font and thecollection of brasses.

Carry straight on down the main street pastthe cottages back to the quay car park and

The Jolly Sailor pub.