Wild Walberswick

Just across the harbour at Southwold sits the incredibly pretty village of Walberswick.In the heart of the village there are tiny, local shops, beautiful rambling cottages dripping with faded wisteria and proper post boxes and telephone boxes. As you head towards the waterside, the landscape opens up to a wild marshland, dotted with black shacks framed by the masts of the boats moored in the river behind. On the green are some more lovely gift shops, overpriced cafes, and a proper village hall. 

The main draw for me, as a child and as an adult, is crabbing. Many a happy time has been spent here in my childhood and adult life, dangling a length of string attached to some bacon to lure in the many crabs that hang out near the water's edge. Smoked bacon is the best bait. Have a bucket ready to deposit your catch into, and count them after an hour's hard crabbing. Then, throw them back in for the next happy bunch of crabbers. Bliss. I don't have any pictures of that, as we spent most of the time trying to stop the children from throwing non-waterproof items off the bridge and herding them away from curious dogs and crabs. 

You can also walk or bicycle along the coast to Dunwich from here- a city lost to the sea over the centuries. Wild and wonderful. 

xxx