The Orwell Estuary, Suffolk.

When I was young I spent may happy hours with my nose in a book reading Arthur Ransome's Swallow and Amazons stories. One of my favourites was "We didn't mean to go to sea"; a happy little adventure which begins from the tiny hamlet of Pin Mill on the River Orwell. For those that aren't familiar with this Ransome tale ( and I have discovered there are many) the story begins when the Walker children set off for some sailing on the Orwell and accidentally find themselves drifting out to sea alone. Needless to say Ransome makes sure the children make it all the way to Holland without serious mishap and have a fabulous adventure along the way.

The Orwell estuary in this story is the one that I grew up with and as a result felt that I got to know it before I even visited. It is funny that it should now play such a prominent part in my life as a base for my holiday business and a rich source of material for my photography.

The Orwell is an estuary full of contrasts. Its tidal waters run 8 miles from the county town of Ipswich to the port  Felixstowe on the North Sea coast. In between these two hubs of industry lie some beautiful and tranquil shorelines edged in places with ancient oak woodlands and home to many species of flora and fauna. It is a busy waterway with lots of traffic from tiny pleasure craft to huge cargo vessels but despite this it remains relatively unspoiled and is a joy to explore.

Ipswich waterfront and marina

Ipswich lies at the head of the estuary and has always been somewhere I have been completely indifferent to. I neither loved it nor hated it and really just found it rather bland. However since getting to know the estuary a bit better I have found the waterfront to be fascinating and a delightful place to while away a few hours. The old Customs House takes centre stage and is surrounded by the original flour mills and maltings which have been converted into shops, hotels and restaurants. These all look out over a marina full of boats. mainly personal pleasure craft but these are often joined by Thames barges which run river trips from the waterfront along the Orwell.

The huge piers supporting the Orwell Bridge

One of the most notable features of this estuary is the Orwell Bridge. This imposing concrete structure was opened to traffic in 1982 and at the time was considered remarkable because it contained the longest pre stressed concrete span in use. Standing underneath the bridge and looking up to the underside of the structure 43 meters above (the beck of a boat affords the best vantage point ) it is easy to see why this structure is so impressive.

As you leave the bridge behind and head toward the sea the river gets more wild and the scenery more natural. My favourite place along this stretch of the estuary is the one immortalised by Arthur Ransome in the books I read as a child. Pin Mill was the base for two of Ransome's East Coast stories. It is a delightful hamlet nestling on the waters edge between areas of ancient oak woodland. It has a quaint, old world feel about it and you can imagine that nothing much has changed here since Ransome wrote his stories almost a century ago. Alma cottage is exactly as it appears in the books as are the Butt and Oyster, Harry Kings boatyard and the little rill filled of water that follows the edge of the hard allowing access to the river for dinghies at low tide.

The Butt and Oyster Inn looks out over the waterfront

I love Pin Mill, not just for its old world charm but because it now provides a mooring for our Dutch barge holiday business. I never once dreamed, when I was engrossed in Ransome's stories as a kid, that my life would end up so heavily entwined with the very place he wrote about in his tales of adventure.
Pin Mill is also renowned for its barges, not Dutch ones like mine, but solid back Thames barges which used to unload their cargoes here when trade on the Orwell was at its peak. The hamlets connection with these graceful old ladies of the sea is strong and Pin Mill plays host to the annual barge, smack and working boat race every summer.

Pin Mill Smack race

These two races are amongst my favourite events to capture with the camera and they always make a great spectacle.
One of the best ways to see the river is by following the long distance footpath; "the Stour / Orwell walk". 
This runs the length of the estuary following both banks and is a great way to see the landscape, the river and all the wildlife that the area is renowned for.
Beyond Pin Mill the river begins to widen before rounding a bend and approaching the busy container port of Felixstowe. Just before this is Levington Marina and Levington Creek; the only little tributary in the estuary.

Felixstowe Docks across the saltmarsh

Felixstowe Docks are a bit of an enigma. The largest container terminal in the UK sits side by side with the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Landguard Point nature reserve and Trimly Marshes a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve. For me this illustrates beautifully the fragility of the estuary. The fact that all these places can exist successfully within a stones throw of each other is a wonder in itself.
The docks are a fascinating place to sit and watch. There is a view point on Landguard Peninsular adjacent to the terminal or opposite on the Shotley Peninsular.

Orwell Facts

The Orwell has 8 miles of tidal waters from Ipswich to the sea.

There are 5 marinas and 3 sailing clubs on the estuary

The author Eric Blair loved this river so much that he took its name to become George Orwell.

The shingle spit at Landguard Point is one of the most important vegetated shingle areas in the county and supports an amazing 440 different species of flowering plant including the nationally rare Stinking Goosefoot.