Day 134: Dunwich to Butley

A glorious morning for breakfast coffee on the deserted beach below the campsite. After yesterday’s shoreline walk, it’s time to mix it up a little, combining the beach with the Suffolk Coast Path and the Sandlings Walk, both of which run inland.

A pretty walk across Dunwich Heath leads to another shingle trudge toward the Sizewell nuclear power station golf ball. That’s three of the eight operating stations ticked off, though it will be a while before I collect the full set.

I take the Suffolk Coast Path inland, grateful for the shady woodland.

Crossing the River Alde at picturesque Snape Maltings, I stop off at the Plough and Sail for a cold beer. The barman kindly offers to fill up my water bottle with ice.

The trail leads me through the cool Tunstall Forest to Chillesford. I’m adding piglets to the defining characteristics of Suffolk, as I pass hundreds of them in open fields, small mounds of tumbling, squealing pink.

The B1084 leads directly to another section of the Sandlings Walk into Wantisden Park campsite. It’s the road from hell, with tight bends and fast cars. A driver stops and recommends a route through the forest on my right. It’s not marked on the OS map, but I pick my way through the trees, eventually coming across a track. A deer runs across in front of me. Unfortunately, there is no way back to the road unless I ignore three consecutive “Keep Out – No Trespassing!” signs. The final one leads to a path next to a house, so I tread quietly, climbing over a locked gate to rejoin the road.

The campsite is lovely. I pitch next to a man with two young sons and fall asleep to the sound of Top Trumps being played — that takes me back.

Walk distance: 20 miles.

Total distance: 2,106 miles.