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Bed and Breakfast accommodation in Saxtead |
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Some background information ...
If a quiet unspoilt seaside town has appeal for you then Aldeburgh on the Heritage coast in Suffolk will be high on your itinerary. You'll find the town by travelling south from Thorpeness along the coast road, which follows a wide shingled expanse of beach on its approach to the town, or turn off the A12 south of Saxmundham along the A1094.
Historically the town has evolved from a fishing and ship building past stretching back to medieval times, when the village of Slaughden was still in existence just to the south of the town. Although now eroded by the sea, the site is marked by an information plaque and following the coast further south one comes across the Martello Tower . Built to repel the expected Napoleonic invasion it is the largest and most northerly of these defence structures.
The town centre of Aldeburgh has a wide imposing main street surrounded by numerous narrow alleyways and back streets full of period dwellings, underpinning much of its charm. Two buildings of note are the 16 th century flint stone church with its 14 th century tower and the 16 th century Moot Hall. This Tudor building once in the centre of the town is now at the water's edge, as a result of the ravages of the North Sea . It houses the museum and is still used as a town hall.
The long shingle beach is steeply shelved down to the sea. Fishermen's huts are sited along the sea wall at the top of the beach, from where they can mechanically winch their boats to the higher ground and land their catch. Fresh fish, crabs and shellfish can be bought from a number of the huts. Midway along the beach is the lifeboat station, comprising two buildings for the accommodation of their equipment. The older building houses the inshore inflatable lifeboat, whilst the more modern purpose built station is home to a Mersey Class lifeboat, tractor and crew changing rooms.
Aldeburgh's association with authors artists and musicians over the years has become well established. Writers such as M R James, Kathleen Hale and Wilkie Collins all had connections with the town as well as many artists including J M Turner and John Piper. The 18 th century poet and writer George Crabbe was born at Slaughden and lived in the town. His poem ‘The Borough' was adapted by the eminent composer Benjamin Britten - the town's most famous son – to become his opera Peter Grimes.
In 1948 Benjamin Britten, the singer Peter Pears and the librettist Eric Crozier, founded the internationally renowned Aldeburgh Festival. This is held every June, with many of the events taking place in the concert hall at Snape Maltings a few miles inland. Also already mentioned, just out of the town to the north and well worth a visit, is Thorpeness with its boating mere as the centre piece.