Foreword by Catherine Smith,

Funding Officer, Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB

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The Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an outstanding landscape, located on the most eastern coast of England and a short train ride away from London. The area has long attracted visitors – both the human and migratory kind! There are large numbers of migratory wildfowl to be seen, most notably at the RSPB reserves including Minsmere, and other visitors include Stone-curlews and Wheatear. These join nature’s residents such as Red Deer, bitterns, avocets and little egrets.

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Human visitors also make their way here, and the Heritage Coast towns of Aldeburgh, Orford and Southwold began enticing visitors from before Victorian times to “take in” the waters and fresh air. With them and after came a very wide range of development throughout the area, such as accommodation, piers, walks, restaurants and an appreciation of the special-ness of the landscape and the need to care for it. Despite the millions of visitors the area receives it always feels tranquil; a place where you can get away from the bustle. Now people come for great bird watching not just at RSPB Minsmere but also along the five esturies, and to relax in or be energetic around the easy-going towns and villages on the coast.

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Many artists come to the area to capture its unique beauty, from JMW Turner, Charles Dickens and Benjamin Britten, to George Ewart Evans and Maggi Hambling and Blake Morrison. Many stayed on, and the cultural landscape of the area is now dotted with numerous festivals of music, literature, food and art.