When there are blue skies overhead - and temperatures are soaring - nothing beats a day beside the Suffolk seaside

A day at the beach is one of the great joys of summertime in Suffolk. Indeed nothing compares to packing a delicious picnic (brimming with crusty Suffolk pork pies, locally smoked fish, fresh local juices and the like...), digging out the bucket and spade and heading off with the family for a day of sun-drenched relaxation.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Suffolk’s Heritage Coast boasts some truly outstanding beaches – from upmarket resort destinations like Southwold - where you can swim to your heart’s content and amuse yourselves on the old-fashioned style pier - to off-the-beaten-track rural beaches for paddles in the sea and long walks against a backdrop of stunning scenery.

The award-winning, gently-sloping golden sandy beaches of the The Sunrise Coast (encompassing Lowestoft, Southwold and the Southern Broads) are ideal if you want to take the children out for a day’s swimming and messing about in the sand and there’s no shortage of cafes, kiosks, tea rooms and restaurants to be found for refreshments and good local food.

Around four miles north of Southwold is the somewhat isolated and melancholic - but nevertheless quite formidable and unique - beach at Covehithe. Found on the cliffs overlooking the North Sea between Lowestoft and Southwold, it contrasts starkly with the hustle-bustle of these places but it’s definitely somewhere to include in your itinerary, if only to observe the extent of coastal erosion.

Across the River Blyth from Southwold you'll find the affluent coastal village of Walberswick - another charming destination which is popular with ramblers and nature lovers owing to its wide variety of flora and fauna, not forgetting crabbing enthusiasts (this is the location for the annual summer British Open Crabbing Championship after all...)

Then there’s the diversity of the rest of the coastline: the National Trust’s Dunwich Coastal Centre and Beach offers a remote and picturesque stretch for those in pursuit of mind-cleansing peace and tranqulity; the fairy tale ambience of Thorpeness harks back to a golden age of seaside holidays, as does the famous shingle-covered beach at Aldeburgh, which is the ultimate destination for a cultured seaside outing.

You might also find yourself inquisitive to see what the small, traditional fishing hamlet of Sizewell has to offer. Again predominantly comprising shingle, its beach is lengthy and open with the added attraction of sand dunes as a backdrop. Or take yourself to the isolated village of Shingle Street - located between Bawdsey and Orford - where lovers of wild, desolate beaches will surely be in their element.

Across the River Deben from the pebbly beach at Bawdsey is Felixstowe’s quaint little outpost of Felixstowe Ferry, which has an altogether different vibe to commercial Felixstowe. Although not suitable for bathing, this unspoilt shingly hamlet is the place to watch boating activity on the river, enjoy a pub lunch and browse in the Boatyard Gallery.

And if you do feel like cooling off in salty sea water you need only walk along the beach towards the seaside resort town, where sand and shingle slopes gently to the sea. Be warned that Felixstowe’s pier area gets extremely busy in summertime but the sea is excellent for swimming in: Felixstowe’s South beach boasts a prestigious European Blue Flag award and the water at both its South and North beaches is ‘Marine Conservation Society Recommended.’

Beach recommendations – an overview

If you are planning an outing to the beach you may want to research water quality, beach safety, nearby facilities, whether dogs are allowed on the beach etc. Here’s a quick guide to the main beach award initiatives, with links to appropriate websites:

Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Beach Guide

Website: www.goodbeachguide.co.uk

The Good Beach Guide is the only comprehensive and independent guide to the quality of Britain’s coastal bathing waters. It provides information on water quality and sewage discharges at 1,200 UK beaches, allowing readers to make the best decision about where to find the UK’s cleanest bathing sites. The Good Beach Guide also provides information on lifeguard cover, facilities, activities, access, parking, transport, an OS map and a photograph for each beach. MCS will only recommend beaches in the Good Beach Guide if they meet the Guideline European water quality standard, and are not affected by inadequately treated sewage.

ENCAMS Seaside Award

Website: www.seasideawards.org.uk

The Seaside Award recognises well-managed beaches which are clean and relatively safe. There are two award categories: resort and rural. A resort beach must fulfil 29 criteria and a rural beach 13, one of which refers to water quality which must comply with the mandatory standard of the Bathing Water Directive 76/160/EEC the previous year. Look out for the yellow flag with blue flash and black Encams logo.

ENCAMS Blue Flag Award

Website: www.blueflag.org.uk

As well as Seaside Awards, ENCAMS administers the Blue Flag Campaign in England and Northern Ireland on behalf of FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education.) This aims to improve the environmental management and public awareness of coastal areas, looking at resort beaches and marinas and comparing them to similar sites world-wide. Look out for the blue flag with the white circle.

Share your holiday memories with us…

Do you have any recollections of summers spent on the Suffolk Coast that you would like to share with our readers? If so, we would love to hear from you. Email laura@visit-suffolkcoast.co.uk