30 September 2016 - Onehouse Lakeview Camp, Stowmarket, Suffolk

The days have flipped over on the calendar and further arrangements have been made as regards our return home. Storage for the caravan is now sorted although we will not take it up near the Norfolk County border until next Wednesday. Chris’s brother John will take guardianship of the car, but then it is legally his, even if it was us who paid for it and have put the seven and a half thousand miles on the clock since purchase. But some matters will be left in the air; any repair of the car that arises from the computer diagnosis to be done on Monday, and the battle with Vodafone over the cancellation of our data contract are still to be resolved. We may well find ourselves working with the UK Telecommunications Ombudsman on that one! Fortunately we have had experience with such matters although the last such battle was with the Insurance Ombudsman in Australia during the years of our travel there. Beware those who cross us – we can be like terriers with a bone!

Felixstowe beach

Today we took time out from all these tiresome matters to explore a little more of Suffolk, this time the port settlement of Felixstowe. This has been on our to-do list for months, and looked like being left until our return next year. However our busy social and business calendar had space, so we set off with lunch packed in the eski and little touring preparation. Unfortunately the Rough Guide has nothing to say of this seaside gem, and we could only rely on the modest entry in our Suffolk Village book, this about Old Felixstowe.

Felixstowe, with a population of about 24,000 and its surrounding parish sits between the River Orwell to the south and the River Deben to the north. The Port, the largest container port in the United Kingdom, sits on the northern bank of the River Orwell, directly across from Harwich which we visited some months ago.

Willow people enjoying the gardens

We travelled down the A14 which takes traffic straight down to the port, a route we have now travelled from one end to the other. Parking on the sea front was easy and free, facts that endeared us to the place immediately. We wandered along the foreshore, delighting in the regular swish of the waves lapping against the shore. There were people about, but not too many, and while there was amusement park machinery lying idle nearby, only the sea and gulls could be heard. The beach stretches for two miles, broken up with groynes of huge rocks, large enough to hold the sea back from claiming the land, as it has further north on this coastline. 

The town was brought to fame when the German Empress and her children arrived in 1891 to take the waters, those that seep out of the cliffs above the beach. The town grew and more spectacularly, the promenade and granite sea wall were developed, completed in 1904, and with it, the gardens above the promenade. Over time these came to include all sorts of exotic plants, like toitoi, hebe, cabbage trees and flax, all natives to New Zealand pulling the heart strings of nostalgia for me today.

The Felix Hotel

The Edwardian buildings along the shore line are quite lovely; we were particular impressed with the 1903 building once the Felix Hotel, nowadays retirement apartments. High above the sea, we wandered into the commercial shopping area and were duly impressed with the diversity of the retail outlets. It seems that one is better served here in Felixstowe than in Stowmarket, our current local. Chris bought a platter of hot chips and another book to add to our caravan library, and I considered what I might have bought if I were not already considering luggage space and weight.

Short sharp rain showers had been forecasted through the middle of the day and at one point, rain seemed imminent, so we returned to the car, and headed south to the port area where we knew there to be a fort and a lookout point.

The port was founded in 1875 after the great railway developments and the dock has been operating since 1886, now handling 40% of all Britain’s containerised trade. It is also, of particular navigational relevance, the only deep water port between Hull and London.

The lookout turned out to be a space beside the river from where one can see the ships coming and going, and there is no parking fee payable. The headland is a natural reserve, managed by rabbits and other critters, and in the middle of this rather wild area is the fort. I had thought this might be a heap of rocks, a ruin, and Chris thought it to be another Martello tower, such as those that populate this coast.

We were both wrong. Landguard Fort is the site of the last opposed seaborne invasion of England in 1667 and the first land battle of the Royal Marines. The current fort was built in the 18^th century, and modified in the 19^th century with substantial additional 19^th – 20^th century outside batteries. It is managed by the Landguard Fort Trust and comes under the umbrella of English Heritage.

The inner keep of Landguard Fort

The original defences were first built here in 1626 under the reign of Henry VIII. In 1667 five hundred men lead by Captain Nathaniel Darell defeated a much larger Dutch invasion force. Under military control until 1971, the fort is now a scheduled ancient monument and listed building. Remaining today are parts of the fort of 1744 and rebuild of 1875 under Queen Victoria, with additions up to 1950. Extensive renovations were completed in 1998.

We took advantage of the audio guides, and followed the route around the extensive fort, in and out of rooms and tunnels, up and down steps to levels that looked out over the surrounding land and water, and were duly impressed. There is a lot of signage giving long winded explanations of various military installations and history, all a bit much for us who have interest in the overall history, but not the intricacies of the military machinery.

View across the river at Felixstowe Ferry

The afternoon had slipped away within the walls of the fortress, but we were still keen to explore more of the area. We headed north up to Felixstowe Ferry, the tiny settlement on the southern bank of the River Deben, passing through the middle of the golf course nearby, which could well have been hazardous had the many golfers out and about been only as talented as I at the game.

We walked along the raised river bank, up to one of the Martello towers which has been converted to a residential structure, no doubt in Grand Design style. These towers remind me of the Moorish towers that stand sentinel along the southern coast of Spain; I remember them from my months living in Andalusia in the mid-1980s.

Modified Martello tower

Wikipedia defines “Martello Towers” as small defensive forts built across the British Empire during the 19^th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards, most being coastal forts. They stand up to twelve metres high, with two floors and typically garrisoned one officer and between fifteen and twenty five men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a heavy artillery piece, able to be revolved. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Here at Felixstowe Ferry, one can cross the river on a small on-call craft for the sum of £2 one way, or £3 return. All you have to do is pick up the white bat hanging on the pier and wave it vigorously. Is the boatman watching out for this every minute of every day? 

By the time we tore ourselves away from this charming spot, the afternoon was closing in and we feared the traffic load on our return. Instead of calling into the Country Park at the base of the Orwell Bridge as I had wanted, we joined the late Friday afternoon traffic and headed home.

We have social engagements lined up, more dinners and lunches out at pubs with family, and afternoon teas to be had, but first of all, I am keen to see Chris shed a cold or man-flu that he fears he has. This we do not need!