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STAGE 1

Lowestoft to Covehithe

Start	Lowestoft, East Point Pavilion (TM 547 925)
Finish	Covehithe, St Andrew’s Church (TM 523 818)
Distance	9 miles (14.5km) by inland route; 7 miles (11km) by beach route
Time	3–4hrs by inland route; 2½–3hrs by beach route
Maps	OS Landranger 134, 156; OS Explorer OL40, 231
Refreshments	Lowestoft (pubs, cafés); Kessingland (pub); Wrentham (pub)
Transport	Lowestoft has a frequent train service to Norwich andIpswich, both of which have good connections to London. First Bus X2 and X22 service connects Lowestoft with Beccles andNorwich, while Anglia Bus 61 service links the town with Southwold, passing through Wrentham, the closestavailable transport to the finish point at Covehithe.
Accommodation	Lowestoft (hotels, B&Bs); Kessingland (B&Bs)
Note	Tide tables should be consulted before setting out (www.tidetimes.org.uk or TIC Lowestoft). For walkers following the beach route the most critical point on this stretch is at Pakefield, where a high tide might reach right up to the cliffs and impede further progress. There is an escape route here onto private land at a holiday park.

This first stage of the Suffolk Coast Path might be considered the least engaging part of the entire route, although it is not without its points of interest.

There is a choice of beach or inland route, and this will be largely determined by the tide – at low or mid-tide it is preferable to stick to the beach between Lowestoft and Kessingland, while at high tide it is advisable to use the inland route that follows a busy main road for part of the way. Energetic walkers might wish to combine this walk with Stage 2 in order to complete the stretch between Lowestoft and Southwold in a single day. If choosing to do this, be conscious of the state of the tide, especially for the last 2–3 miles into Southwold past Easton Bavents cliffs, as there are no inland escape routes south of Easton Broad.

Before setting out from Lowestoft promenade it might be worth making a short diversion northwards to Lowestoft Ness, the most easterly point in the British Isles. Hidden away behind an industrial estate in the shadow of the country’s largest wind turbine, Lowestoft Ness is marked with a piece of informational art known as the Euroscope. This large compass-like structure shows the bearings and mileage to various points in the British Isles and Europe. The British mainland’s most northerly point, Dunnet Head, is 465 miles from here, and The Lizard, the most southerly, is 352 miles distant.

Starting from the tourist information centre at East Point Pavilion next to Lowestoft harbour turn right and walk south along the seaside promenade past a procession of tearooms, hotels and parks. Follow the promenade past Claremont Pier, where there is a clean, award-winning sandy beach and a concrete beachside walkway lined by a continuous terrace of brick beach huts. Continue along the promenade to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) office block, where there are steps down to the beach. Head along the path next to the fence, then walk across a grassy area towards a car park and around a corner to reach All Saints’ and St Margaret’s Church with its square tower, thatched roof and sundial above the porch. This is the parish church of Pakefield, effectively a southern suburb of Lowestoft. At the corner of the graveyard, by the track, find a Suffolk Coast Path waymark sign.

Lowestoft Ness, Britain’s most easterly point

At low or mid-tide you can walk south from here along the beach either to Covehithe, as described in this stage, or as far as Southwold at the end of Stage 2. However, at high tide it will be necessary to follow the route that leads away from the sea. This is described below.

Following the inland route, go past the Oddfellows public house and a line of benches facing out to sea. There are boats beached on the shingle here and views back to Lowestoft harbour and the huge wind turbine beyond at Lowestoft Ness. Walk past a field that has a collection of beach huts and along a tarmac path with holiday chalets on the right. At the junction with the neighbouring holiday village, where there is a footpath sign pointing along Pakefield Cliffs and a Suffolk Coast Path sign pointing inland, take the latter, heading up a lane past Cliftonville residential cul-de-sac. Go straight on at the junction along Arbour Lane, and continue past the holiday park and a McDonald’s to reach a roundabout.

The next section of a mile or so (1.6km) is not particularly pleasant walking, following a section of the busyA12. Go left along London Road towards the next roundabout and, just before reaching this, bear left along Catherine Terrace and Barnard Terrace, where a sign telegraph pole reassures that you are still on the Suffolk Coast Path. Cross the roundabout, past an ‘Ipswich A12’ sign and the entrance driveway to Pakefield Hall. At the next roundabout, bear left along the B1437 towards Kessingland.

Passing woods on the left and a row of terraces on the right, soon come to a road (Cliff Farm Lane) on the left with a caravan park sign. Turn left along this road and, near the reception centre, bear right then shortly right again along a path (no sign) between a field and a wooded area. Turning a corner, the tall square tower of Kessingland’s St Edmund’s Church comes into view. The path continues between open fields parallel to the beach. Go past a footbridge over a ditch to the right and continue to the end of the field, at which point turn left following the Suffolk Coast Path sign. At the end of the path, where there is a house on the left, take the rough track to the right, which just after a footpath leading to the beach turns into a tarmac road with bungalows. Continue parallel to the beach, passing an information board on Kessingland parish, and then turn left along a narrow footpath next to a hedge and down steps to the beach where you turn right.

Kessingland, once the summer residence of the novelist H Rider Haggard, consisted of two separate communities – Kessingland Beach and Kessingland Street – until the 1960s. The village is now a popular holiday centre with several holiday parks and an Africa-themed wildlife park, Africa Alive!

The beach at Kessingland is a wide, windy expanse, where in high summer a number of specialist plant species such as sea kale, sea pea, sea holly and yellow-horned poppy are to be found growing among the shingle. Parts of the beach are barred to dogs between 1 May and 30 September, so dog walkers should use the promenade as an alternative. Walk along the shingle for a little less than 1½ miles (2.4km), past a holiday village at Kessingland’s southern edge, until reaching a fenced-off pumping station outfall at Benacre Ness. Between the outfall and the large brick pumping building pass through a gate that leads into Benacre National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England.

St Andrew’s Church, Covehithe, a 17th-century church within a much larger, older church