Southwold Beach
Southwold is the most civilised and most distinctive seaside town on the Suffolk coast, a small resort of Georgian and Victorian architecture set on a low cliff above an excellent sandy beach whose combination of the colourful beach huts, the lighthouse standing in the town centre, the Adnams Brewery and the quality of the local eating and drinking make it the most refined seaside destination in East Anglia. The town's slightly elevated position above the beach, the wide gun hill overlooking the sea and the character of an unspoiled Edwardian resort preserved by the restriction of development imposed by the town common give Southwold a quality of completeness and quiet elegance unlike any comparable seaside town on the east coast. The beach huts at Southwold are among the most expensive in Britain, their painted wooden exteriors in the town's characteristic striped colours commanding prices that reflect the intense desire to own a piece of what is widely regarded as the finest stretch of beach on the Suffolk coast. The beach itself is a wide south-facing strand of good sand that provides excellent conditions for bathing in the shelter of the low cliffs and the beach huts that line the shore. The Adnams Brewery in the centre of the town has produced award-winning ales in Southwold since 1872, and the brewery and its visitor experience, along with the excellent Sole Bay Fish Company and the quality of the restaurants and cafés in the town, have given Southwold a culinary reputation well above its modest size. The wine and spirits shop of the adjacent Crown Hotel is one of the finest in East Anglia. The harbour at Walberswick across the river estuary provides a complementary fishing and heritage experience accessible by the small foot ferry.