Ep 12 - The Colours of Autumn
As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, a colourful episode of autumnal changes begin to appear across the landscape.
The Suffolk Coast is a beautiful place to explore at this time of year, not just because it feels like home to me. There are lots of picturesque locations, which really come to life in the autumn. The coastal towns with their pebbled beaches often embody the rough nature of the weather at this time of year - squally winds and frothing surf.
The sea was very calm on this particular day in Aldeburgh - it was by no means less windy though. A storm was on its way and the clouds were forming quickly just off the shore. We explored the shoreline for a couple of hours. It was difficult walking across the loose stones, which formed a large ridge at the high tide line.
With rain quickly on the way, we had just enough time to visit the Scallop sculpture at the north end of the beach. It was unveiled in 2002, as a tribute to local composer Benjamin Britten.
Moving to a different area of the coast, the town of Felixstowe is home to one of the largest container ports in Europe. It is strategically located on a piece of headland at the mouth of two rivers, the Orwell and Stour. The tidal areas of the lower rivers are wonderful nesting sites for wading birds and there are many protected nature reserves.
We took a pleasant walk around the Trimley nature reserve and marshlands, around 10 km in total, but at this time of year, the colours on display were fantastic. The leaves were raining down from the trees all around us.
It’s by far my favourite time of year for photographing nature in a range of colours. We were astonished at the patterned details on some of the leaves we found..
A couple of days later, we returned with better weather to explore another section of the shoreline. After exploring the areas of woodland inland, the trail heads down hill and out near a sandy and stony beach when the river is at low tide. We followed the path upstream towards Levington.
I think the beauty of this area is highlighted when the weather is pleasant. A calm wind and still warm sunshine in October made this a very enjoyable walk.
As we were completing our walk, near the village and marina at Levington, we found an inland lagoon framed by a line of trees. The sun was beginning to set, and the golden light here made this landscape really stand out.
Finally, we visited a different river in the area; the River Deben flows through the Suffolk town of Woodbridge, with its famous tide mill. The tidal portion of this river flows past Waldringfield, with its warm and welcoming pub, The Maybush.
We visited here twice, on subsequent days. It is a popular mooring spot for boats on the river. Here, we saw a lot of wading birds in the silt at low tide including Curlews and Dunlin. There is a well trodden towpath running in both directions from the pub, with scenic views over towards Sutton Hoo on the far bank of the river.
In the early evening, we were mainly focussed on activity in the foreground, with the river forming a picturesque backdrop. When we returned the following night, the boats and their reflections were really striking against the starry sky behind.
The autumn is a beautiful time to be out in nature. Whilst the weather isn’t as warm as spring or summer, there are lots of wonderful sights for those who are happy to brave the colder temperatures. As a lover of stargazing and night sky photography, the darker months bring longer nights and more opportunities to see the wonders of our solar system at a reasonable time of the day - that is if the sky is clear…
Coming Up…
If you are reading this, then we have arrived safely in Australia. Our plan over the next three months is to throw ourselves into exploring as much of the east coast as possible. Our posts may not be quite as regular, but I will be using some of the long distance journeys to edit and post some of our favourite pictures of the trip.
So stay tuned, subscribe if you haven’t already done so and we’ll see you soon.
Harry and Zoe x
Love the River Deben picture at night. I noticed when I came to this country that you say "river avon", "river wey" while at home we say "Orange river". I wonder how the Aussies say it? Would be interesting to find out.