Features and Habitats
One of the most noticeable features of Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscapes is its diversity of land cover. Few places can match the sheer variety of habitats found: heathland; reedbed; ancient woodland and modern commercial forestry; saltmarsh; estuaries; shingle beaches and crumbling coastal cliffs.
It is this mixture of habitats and their proximity to one another that gives rise to the outstanding wildlife value of the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape.
Almost 29% of the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape is internationally and nationally designated for its nature conservation importance, with a number of different Designated Sites.
Heathland
Estuaries
Wetlands
Saltmarsh
Reedbeds
Shingle
Woodland
Farmland
Coastline and Seascapes
Geology
Villages, Hamlets and Coastal Market Towns
The towns and villages within the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape have a quiet, unspoilt quality and have retained many fine old buildings, which give them considerable charm.
Even the largest towns, Southwold, Aldeburgh (pictured), and Woodbridge, are quite small, and there are many villages and hamlets within the area.
11 'Conservation Areas' (a district built heritage designation), are located wholly or partially within the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape.
Historic Environment
The Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape is an area with a rich history and its historic environment records detail a fascinating account of land use.
Hints to past landscape include ancient trackways and other earthworks, medieval peat cutting banks, post-medieval bridges, field drains, sand pits and sea banks.
Clues to the people who lived here are given through Bronze Age round barrows, impressive ancient Roman and medieval pottery finds and shipwrecks of unknown date.
There are clearly visible and easily understandable relics from more recent history such as World War II pill boxes as well as those which may pass by the general visitor and require more interpretation, such as anti-tank cubes and silt trenches.
There are 39 Scheduled Monuments within the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape covering a total of 77 hectares. The largest is the rectilinear enclosures near Boyton Hall Farm. 14 of the Scheduled Monuments are bowl barrows.
There is also a string of Martello towers which indicate the past importance of the coast for defensive purposes. Orford Castle Scheduled Monument includes the 12th century tower keep as well as the buried remains of associated structures.
There are two Grade II Registered Parks and Gardens within the AONB:
- Henham Registered Park and Garden (324.5 ha) near Blytheburgh that includes the remains of a pleasure ground. A large hall was built on the site in 1528 and was re-built after being lost to a fire in 1773.
- Bawdsey Manor Registered Park and Garden (59.4 ha) at the mouth of the River Deben and characterised by a series of gardens dating from 1885, including an artificial Pulhamite cliff.
There are 677 Listed Buildings in theSuffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape; 17 are Grade I listed, 43 are Grade II* listed and 617 are Grade II listed. There are clusters of Listed Buildings in and around the Southwold Conservation Area, Aldeburgh Conservation Area, Orford Conservation Area and the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook.
There is a total of 5,148 Historic Environment Records within the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape and 316.2 hectares (1%) of the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape is managed for archaeological/historic features through agri-environment schemes.