Dunwich Forest and Lost Village, Suffolk.
It feels ridiculous to say that I had had my fill of golden beaches and textured dunes. On a warm Saturday in May I decide to break away from the beaches of Suffolk - while it was nothing like I was used to living in Brighton - I felt the need for some quiet time with Monty exploring in the trees.
Having found a park up near Dunwich Forest I planned to stay in for the evening I pulled into the car park on Westleton Road - it was busy with dog walkers and a couple of vans and I suddenly felt compelled to just stop for a minute in this beautiful spot. Concocting myself some lunch Monty dozed while I caught up on some emails and then we headed into the forest. I followed my nose and of course - it being woodland - found myself miles away from where I thought I was but it was so enjoyable to have the time to just get lost for an afternoon.
The air was dense with forest energy and birds flitted around as I walked along the sandy paths - I wished I had my little bird book to identify some of them but I spotted a couple of warblers for certain.
There are many walks around the Forest and while I went freestyle if I was going back I would definitely check out some of the walks on AllTrails. Before 10.30am and after 4pm you may well catch the husky training that takes place daily.
I stuck around in the car park for a little while before moving onto my park up and it was just immense to see the sunset here. As afternoon made way for evening the car park cleared and there were just some vans dotted around with people enjoying a spot of dinner while watching the sun go down. I had some test prints done of some of the images I took here and the colours came out beautifully - the pink sky behind the trees looked particularly rich.
In the morning after a short walk on the heath Monty and I went to check out the lost village of Dunwich. Dating back to Anglo Saxon times Dunwich was once a proud capital of East Anglia, at one point matching London for it’s size. It’s really hard to imagine the now as you make your way through this small, sleepy place and that’s because most of the lost city can be found beneath the waves. In 1283 a storm surge, like a tsunami, hit Dunwich and it began a series of events, including floods, that would see it submerge to become the lost village it is today.
The beach takes on a very different feeling here with local fishermen arriving at the crack of dawn. Walking on the shingle beach it’s a reflective place and one well worth some moments of your days.