New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-08-27
A SUFFOLK HOLIDAY
Neglected PortS-Wild HeathS
Three GeniuSeS.
Aldeburgh. August 9.


cars few among them have explored
East Anglia. with its wild heaths and
Dutcn seaboard. If they go beyond
Cambridge and Ely at all. they re sat
isfed with transient glimpses Of Nor
witch and Bury St Edmund's and with
night at Mr. Pickwicks inn. in Ipswich.
There is neither bold coast scenery nor
landscape of exquisite refinement TO al
lure them from the beaten tracks, and
yet there is a tranquil charm in the
easternmost shires which is not without
characteristic quality for those in search
Of a restful holiday. The rainfall is the
lightest in England; the air from the
North Sea is more bracing and invigo-
rating than the enervating climate OF the
south coast; the skies have broader
horizons and there is more atmosphere
under them than elsewhere in the KING
dom. as CrOme Constable and GalnsDor-
ough well knew. and there are the
quaintest ports, loveliest lanes and most
picturesque rivulets in the "Old Home.
The Norfolk Breads have a fascination
Of their own for sportsmen and boat
men. who like 10 spend their olidays in
sylvan shade and placid waters. Cromer
anC Sherringham have the breeziest
golfng 10 be found on the coast; and II
Yarmouth has become since Dickens
time the favorite goal of cheap trippers,
Lowestoft is a watering place of better
quality. with a big fishing feet and
yachting squadron TO give color 10 It's
harbor. and with parades. heath lands.
esplanade and sea front Of exceptional
interest and variety. Below these popu-
lar seaside resorts are old-fashioned.
neglected ports, with barren stretches
marsh land and wild commons covered
with heather and gorse behind them.
Some Of them have been ruined by the
persistent attack of their deadliest en-
envy, the sea. one of these is the old
Saxon port of Dunwich. where marine
fortresses, cliffs. stone cottages and
beaches have been washed away, and
the ivy covered ruins of a Franciscan
prory and two churches have been left
or the edge of the sea. Others have
fallen into picturesque decay, Ike SOM
nolent old oxford. with its ruined keep
and remains of Norman piers and arches
in the churchyard. or are awakening, IKE
Southwold. TO new life under the patron
age of artists and building societies.
If one wants a bit of Holland on the
English coast. let him take the seward
reach from Southvold 70 Walberswick,
with windmills in the distance as land
marks and with the towers Of the light
house and the fifteenth century parish
church behind among red-roofed cot
tages. From the bank of a creek where
fishing boats are jammed together there
is a primitive ferry TO a rambling road
among cottages with tiny gardens
tricked out with gay flowers. The quaint
village is already the haunt Of artists.
and il may become in time another
Newlyn. for there are subjects with fine
color at every turn. an old bridge, inns
among trees. fishing boats with patched
sails. yellow sand and water dribbling
among sedges and willows shapely
cient church. and the wild heath gleam-
ing with the glory Of heather and gorse.
These tracts Of marsh and heath are
llumined with splendor Of purple and
gold during August and they have
sombre beauty earlier like the fiat
reaches Of Holland around Dordrecht or
Vollendam. Southwold. with its pict-
uresque suburb, happily has escaped
the fate OF desolare Dunwich, over
whelmed by the irresistible power of the
sea and degenerated from prosperous
shipping borough into a squalid fishing
village. When its harbor was choked
up and its industries declined. 1t was
saved by the beauty Of its breezy heath
and gray cliffs and converted into a
watering place as charming as it is
quaint
Aldeburgh. with similar background
Of salt marsh scenery. has adapted itself
TO new conditions with even greater en-
terprise. The encroachments Of the sen
were resisted too ineffectively for the
salvation Of its commerce, for it was
once an important port with a large
fishing fleet: but the waterfront has bee
protected and improved for the sake OF
developing the resources Of a seaside re-
sort There IS now a marine promenade
two miles long. and on the high moor
land behind the town and the Aide there
is golf course with a circuit Of several
miles. The river, after making a close
approach 10 the sea, turns southwark TO
ct the swirling tides in the oxford
reaches, and there is only narrow
margin for two parallel roads, lined with
scrambling. unpretentious cottages, so
much Of the past prosperity Of the port
lies under water. There is a church with
a square tower on the crest of the west
hill. and below il. on the edge Of the
water. is a quaint moothall Of brick and
flint: and the crag path leads up the
coast TO Thorpe an Insignificant hamlet.
and southwark 10 a circular fort and 10
the trcacherous shingle Of Orfordness
The sights OF Aldeburgh can be exhaust
ed by triprers in a couple of hours. and
vet between the yellow sands and the
windswept heaths. coored with heather.
gorse. peoples and tares, there is at
tractive power to hold holiday visitors
for many weeks.
These low coasts and marsh lands have
been loved by the wandering minstrels
and literary gypsies, who have made
East Anglia famous in letters. Aide
burgh was Crabbe's birthplace and the
scene of his realistic tales Of village and
borough He knew the Wild flowers and