Thanks to Access funding provided by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), work has been carried out by Suffolk County Council’s Public Rights of Way team to install boardwalks in Woolverstone, facilitated by the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape.

Woolverstone is a popular village on the shores of the River Orwell, on the Shotley Peninsula. The purpose of the project was to confirm the alignment of the Right of Way and England Coast Path – which was unclear because of several deviant tracks being created to avoid boggy ground.

The work saw the installation of boardwalks in areas where the ground gets the most severe waterlogging. Early in 2026, further work will take place to define the non-boardwalked sections of the Right of Way and England Coast Path with dead hedging.

It is hoped the dead hedging will provide many benefits, such as preventing trespassing, water run-off into the Right of Way, reducing disturbance to estuary birds, as well as providing an additional ‘green corridor’ for insects and small mammals. 

Works have been carried out in liaison with the relevant landowners, the Yacht Club, Ipswich School and a farmer, as well as in liaison with Woolverstone Parish Council who initially drew attention to the flooding issues to the footpath at Woolverstone.

The project is a great example of collaborative working between organisations, as well as improving accessibility in the National Landscape, whilst supporting wildlife.