(S/E) From the car park follow the track and signs for Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve. Where the track turns right there is a short detour (1/4 mile each way) to Fagbury Viewpoint with views over the Port of Felixstowe.
(1) Head back and follow signs to the reserve. Just through the gate, before the left bend, is another viewpoint. Climb the stile and steps to your left for views over the reserve with Levington Marina in the distance.
(2) The footpath continues around the top of the raised bank, around the edge of the mudflat, and beyond Loompit Lake. As you approach the lake you gain elevation and some lovely views over the River Orwell.
(3) At Loompit Lake turn right before the causeway and follow the track gently uphill to a bench with fine views over the River Orwell.
(4) With Goslings Farm ahead of you, turn right to follow the footpath along a track lined by pine trees. At the lane, turn right and at Alston Hall, turn left and follow the footpath through an avenue of trees.
(5) As you exit the avenue, turn right with the farm buildings to your left. With the docks ahead of you, simply follow the footpath waymarkers through coppice and past a pond to enter another avenue of trees. Towards the top of this rise is a bench with more lovely views over the countryside – a perfect place to rest and enjoy the scenery.
Continue following the waymarkers which lead you back to Cordy’s Lane where you turn right for the car park. (S/E)
Waypoints
S/E : km 0 - alt. 19 m - Car park
1 : km 1.42 - alt. 6 m - Fagbury Cliff
2 : km 5.03 - alt. 0 m - Bank
3 : km 6.58 - alt. 5 m - Loompit Lake
4 : km 7.24 - alt. 20 m - Goslings Farm
5 : km 8.49 - alt. 20 m - Avenue
S/E : km 10.24 - alt. 19 m - Car park
Useful Information
Terrain : firm tracks and natural surface paths, level by the coast and gently undulating inland. Parking : park at the small car park for Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve
The Trimley Circular
Walk guides you around the 3,400 acre estate owned by Trinity College, Cambridge, past Felixstowe Port with over 125 years of history, Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve with its mosaic of habitats, and Loompit Lake with its impressive colony of cormorants. Please note, there are no toilet facilities on this walk. The walk links by foot and by public transport with the Landguard and Felixstowe Walk. That is another fascinating walk which leads you from one of Europe’s best shingle beaches, past the location of England’s last foreign invasion, to historic Landguard Fort.
All walks offer a wonderfully diverse day out. You can discover much more about Landguard, with a series of guided walk leaflets to download, from www.discoverlandguard.co.uk
Trimley lies off the A14 near Felixstowe. Exit the A14 at J59, signposted Trimley Villages. Follow signs into Trimley St Mary where you pick up white on brown signs for Nature Reserve. These direct you off High Road into Cordy’s Lane, past Trimley Station to Trimley Marshes Reserve car park (IP11 0UD).
Walking to Landguard Peninsula and Felixstowe Circular Walk
This walk connects with the Landguard Peninsula and Felixstowe Circular Walk making a very diverse day out. You can walk to Felixstowe and get public transport back to Trimley Station. The 77 bus provides an hourly service between Landguard and Trimley High Road and a regular train service operates between Felixstowe and Trimley rail stations.
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe has been a working dock for over 125 years. A dock was first constructed here in 1882 opening for trade 4 years later when its first commercial ship arrived in 1886.
Requisitioned by the Royal Navy in both world wars, it was later acquired by an agricultural merchant with warehousing for copra (dried coconut), wheat, maize and sugar, and storage for linseed, ground-nut and palm oil.
Today it is the UK’s busiest container port, employing over 3,000 people, handling over 3 million containers per year (40% of the UK’s container cargo) and capable of accommodating some of the world’s largest container ships.
Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve
Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve is a mosaic of habitats covering 77 hectares (200 acres). This is a wetland of international importance and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), making it one of the best wildlife sites in the county.
The reserve was created from arable land in 1990 and is traditionally managed with grazing cattle and sheep. The marshes are a haven for wildlife and in spring and autumn, the muddy margins make excellent feeding grounds for
migrating waders such as sandpiper, curlew and greenshank. In winter you will see wigeon and brent geese grazing on the marshes, and redshank, avocet, oystercatcher and black-tailed godwit wading on the mudflats.
From the bird, hides keep a watchful eye for otters and water vole. In the lagoon and on its islands look out for coot, tufted duck, teal and pochard mingling with a cormorant, little egrets, gadwall and shoveler. The islands are ideal nesting sites for avocet, ringed plover and tufted duck.
The network of dykes are fringed with reeds. Look out for little grebe, moorhen and both reed and sedge warblers, as well as Britain’s largest hawker dragonfly, the emperor.
Look above for Marsh Harriers and Buzzards, and over the estuary for gulls and terns. At dusk you will often see barn owls hunting for their next meal.
The reserve and hides are open at all times, although the visitor centre is open seasonally : www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org
Loompit Lake
Loompit Lake was formed by the devastating floods of 1953, a combination of high spring tides and a storm surge which caused sea levels to rise over 5m above normal levels. The surge travelled down the Suffolk coast causing flooding and damaging properties. At Loompit the flood breached the sea wall to create a lake.
It is worth detouring along the causeway for a good view of the lake, home to great crested grebes, little grebes, little egrets and a very large colony of over 80 cormorants. You’ll inevitably see the cormorants flying to and from their roosts, an unmistakable collection of whitened, now dead, trees on the lakes’ northern shore.
River Orwell
The River Orwell flows from Ipswich to Felixstowe where it mixes with the waters of the Stour to meet the North Sea. Once known simply as Ipswich Water, the river has inspired many. Arthur Ransome based his famous Swallows and Amazons books on this stretch of river and Eric Blair was so inspired by family holidays here that in later life he adopted its name to become George Orwell.
Trimley Estate
You are looking across the Trimley Estate, a 3,400 acre estate acquired by Trinity College, Cambridge in 1933, when the port was little more than a small dock basin. Today, the estate covers the Port of Felixstowe, Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve and farmland.
This area is a rich wildlife haven and includes a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area (SPA) and a wetland of international importance, all within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Reviews and comments
4.7 / 5
Based on 1 review
Clarity of route description 5 / 5
Clarity of route map 5 / 5
Walk interest 4 / 5
moxeyns
Overall rating :
4.7 / 5
Date of walk : 26/07/22 Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Pleasant walk, although a lot of noise from the docks, as you might expect. Directions and path very clear; I don't think I pulled out a map once. I had the marshes to myself, and it only got a little busier when I reached Trimley beach.
