for the best in nordic walking, guided walks and weekends away

Friday 5 - Monday 7 June

(3 nights) (B grade: 7-9 miles daily)

Walking in the footsteps of Benjamin Britten,

England’s best-known 20th-century composer,

under wide East Anglian skies

Wonderful walking through a rich and varied landscape full of history, an amazing mosaic of shingle beaches, crumbling cliffs, marshes, estuaries, heathland, forests and farmland, and a source of inspiration to countless artists, writers and musicians. Enjoy Suffolk’s remote, unspoilt, tranquil and subtle beauty, still largely spared from modern development.

There are no hills at all on any of these walks!

The Brudenell Hotel, Aldeburgh

A privately-owned hotel, a step away from the beach with panoramic sea views. One of the Independent’s and The Daily Mail’s top ten seaside hotels, the Brudenell has also achieved an AA quality rating of 85%, the highest score of any 3-star hotel on the Suffolk coast, and runner up in the Small Hotel category in the 2004 Tourist Board awards. Johansen’s prestigious hotel guide describes it as ‘the epitome of a charming contemporary seaside hideaway with a light, airy and relaxed ambience, whose inspector “loved watching the sun glistening on the waves from so many windows.” Also a great favourite with Country Walkers!

Price per person: £352 for 3 nights (doubles, twins and singles in single rooms); £10 per person per night supplement for single occupancy of double or twin rooms; seaview or marshview rooms may be booked at a supplement of £10 per room per night, subject to availability

Price includes:

q    En-suite accommodation

q    Three 3-course dinners

q    Three full English breakfasts

q    One packed lunch

q    Friday evening walk

q    Talk by RSPB Guide

q    Two full-day guided walks

q    Coach travel to and from Sunday’s walk

q    Two guide-hosts providing commentaries

       on features of historical and general

       interest along the way

q    All gratuities

Price excludes:

q    One pub lunches

q    Optional teas

q    Drinks and items of a personal nature

Accommodation: 7 single, 5 single occupancies of double rooms (at a supplement), 4 double, 2 twin rooms; some seaview rooms (at a supplement: doubles or twins only)

Itinerary

Friday
After a welcome meeting, our evening walk explores the delights of Aldeburgh, from the shore to its picturesque back streets, before we dine together in the hotel's award-winning restaurant.

Saturday
A short drive to the unique setting of Snape Maltings, home of Benjamin Britten’s Aldeburgh Festival and the world famous concert hall. We join a riverside path, threading our way through reedbeds, to visit the remote and beautiful church at Iken. Then our route takes us inland through landscapes dominated by the sky and shaped by the power of wind and sea, finally arriving at the charming old port of Orford, seemingly unchanged since Turner painted it in the 19th century. Here we admire the impressive castle, a near-perfect example of a Norman Keep with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. We visit Orford’s quaint quay with its views over the River Alde to Orford Ness before returning by bus to Snape Maltings to explore its craft shops and art galleries, take tea, or perhaps both. (Picnic lunch supplied). (9 miles, 'A/B' grade)

Sunday
By coach to Southwold and a walk which hugs a beautiful, unspoilt stretch of coast past the pier, picturesque lighthouse and colourful beach huts. From the harbour, alive with fishing boats and fishermen’s huts, we cross the River Blyth to Walberswick. We thread our way through a sea of reedbeds to meet our RSPB guide for a short introductory talk on the reserve and its birds. Our last group were lucky enough to spot the rare bittern and it is quite likely you will see marsh harriers flying overhead. Lunch (not included) at delightful tearooms before we reach the lost city of Dunwich, once the capital of East Anglia, now reduced by the advancing sea to a tiny fishing village. Finally, following the coastal path, we cross Dunwich Heath to the National Trust coastguard cottages for tea while we await our return coach. (9 miles, ‘A/B’ grade

Monday
A morning visit to the RSPB’s flagship reserve, Minsmere, for a two-hour guided walk with an expert RSPB guide: cost £6. Lunch at Minsmere before departure.

Travel & Transport

By rail direct two-hourly trains from London Liverpool Street to Saxmundham (2.20 hours) with onward travel by taxi or bus (6 miles). We can arrange taxi-sharing if required. By road: Total mileage from central London: 110 miles; (2.40 hours). We may be able to arrange car sharing if required. Limited car parking at the hotel; adjacent public carpark or seafront parking

Shared cars will be required for the 15-minute journey to the start of the walk on Saturday. On Sunday coach transport is supplied.

Reed Beds at Snape Maltings

(John Tritton)

After lunch!

(John Tritton)