Aldeburgh Beach
NEED TO KNOW
Type of beach
Dogs
Dogs are not allowed on the beach from the 1st May to the 30th September on the main town beach
Lifeguard
There is no lifeguard cover at this beach.
Beach cleaning
Parking
Nearest town
Postcode
OS grid reference
What3words
ABOUT
One of Suffolk’s most popular beaches, Aldeburgh consists of mostly pebbles although some sand is exposed at low tide. Although you won’t be able to build sandcastles, it’s still a great beach for a family day out with lots of facilities near the beach and in the town itself.
The beach was a favourite of the composer Benjamin Britten who used to live in the town and would spend afternoons walking along the beach to Thorpeness. A sculpture called Scallop designed by Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling, and dedicated to Britten can be found on the beach rising up from the shingle.
Created in 2003, the 4.6 m steel sculpture is formed of two halves of a broken shell and includes the inscription ‘I hear those voices that will not be drowned’ from Britten’s opera Peter Grimes. The sculpture takes on different forms depending on where it is viewed from, and it is designed to be tactile as well as visual, with people encouraged to sit on it and watch the sea.
Another landmark on the beach is the Aldeburgh Beach Lookout, a Grade II listed building built in 1830 to help ships navigate the dangerous waters of the North Sea. It then became a coastguard post before falling into disuse in the middle of the 20th century. From the 1950s, the South African writer Sir Laurens Jan van der Post lived in the building for about 30 years, and in 2010 it was reopened as a gallery for modern art exhibitions.
STAR SPECIES
Other historic buildings on the seafront include the Moot Hall, built in the 1500s, and now home to The Aldeburgh Museum, Fort Green, an old windmill that is now residential accommodation, and a Martello tower, which is essentially four towers in one and which was erected by the Board of Ordnance to keep out Napoleon. The tower is now owned by the Landmark Trust who rent it out as a holiday home.
For anglers, Aldeburgh is renowned for its opportunities for line fishing, with bass, flounders, sole, cod, whiting, and eels all to be found in the waters. Local fishermen can also be seen pulling their colourful boats up the shingle to the numerous fishing huts and sheds dotted along the beach, from where you can buy fresh and smoked fish.
Aldeburgh town has plenty of tea rooms, cafes, and restaurants for when you’re feeling peckish. It also claims to have the best fish and chips on the Suffolk coast with two fish and chip shops run by the same family who have been serving tourists and locals since 1967.
Aldeburgh Fish and Chips on the High Street is the original shop using fresh fish and locally sourced potatoes fried in beef dripping. Its sister restaurant The Golden Galleon, also on the High Street, has a small space above called The Upper Deck, and as well as fish also sells burgers and pies.
If you want to cool down then head to Ives, the town’s oldest ice cream parlour which sells a mouth-watering range of locally made flavours in cones and tubs, as well as milkshakes, coffees, and teas.
There are numerous pay and display car parks and street parking in the town centre within walking distance of the beach. Public toilets are available near the windmill.
AMENITIES
