I’m just back from a walking weekend in Aldeburgh with my old friend Heather 
(pictured – and old as in going back to before I was married, and not in years!) We decided to follow the advice given in one of the local walking guides which recommended a stroll around the Sizewell nuclear power station; the writer said it was one of his favourites.
When I announced my plans on Twitter, the response was, “what a strange place for a walk”, and “three legged-birds and mutant insects perhaps?” These were people’s perceptions of Sizewell.
In fact, cattle grazed contentedly nearby and seagulls soared overhead without being sizzled. The RSPB Minsmere reserve is but a stone’s throw away too, and presumably they would have spotted any unusual deformities. We saw lots of other walkers, some with dogs, enjoying the same Suffolk coastal scenery – and the dogs had four legs! As you can see in the picture of the meadowland, the countryside around Sizewell is stunning. Heather and I walked for about four hours in the most gorgeous rural setting.
We also walked past another site close to the 
power station where the world’s biggest offshore wind farm is being developed. I’m not convinced about wind farms. How much renewable energy can they produce when there is no wind? And how easy are they to maintain? It must be very costly to maintain offstore structures which we are relying on to play a vital role in producing energy.
It could still be several years before construction starts on Sizewell C, at a time when we cannot deny that it is needed to replace existing power stations which are due for decommissioning over the next 20 years.
Pity Sizewell’s Visitors’ Centre was closed, I hear it is really interesting. I doubt it would have warned us about being forced to buy oil from Russia if we could no longer produce sufficient supplies of our own energy, and that is my fear.
And with two Google searches producing the same C02 as boiling a kettle, we could find we have a lot to worry about one day if it this is taken into consideration as a factor for using too much energy. Maybe one day we will find that even Google searches are restricted in our battle to reduce the carbon emissions we emit …..
I regularly visited the area around Sizewell in my childhood and visited Minsmere many times with my Grandparents.
The area is truly a gem with open heathland, meadows, woods and almost deserted (but very stony) beaches. On Dunwich heath, amongst a purple sea of Heather, there is a lovely Tea and Cakes shop in the Coastguard Cottages which is owned and run by the National Trust.
Dunwich is a short walk along the beach from Sizewell and has the best Fish and Chip shop for miles around right next to the beach. I love the area and recommend anyone reading to visit it at least once. Dunwich has an old ruined Abbey as well as a museum charting the history of the ‘City under the Sea’. In past years you used to be able to walk south along the cliff above the beach and still see some gravestones, from the last of nine (I think) churches, teetering precariously on the edge!
Southwold too, where my Great Grandmother used to live, is a couple of miles north of Dunwich and is also a great place to visit and I recommend checking out the Cannons on Gun Hill at the very least.
Hope you enjoyed the day Ellee, have you been there much? The area has loads to offer!
Mike, I agree with everthing you say. I visit once a year with Heather and stay with the same friends in Aldeburgh and we visit Southwold too. We have walked around Dunwich too and I visited Thorpeness last weekend too, which I really loved. I do so love the countryside.
Did you see the ‘House in the Clouds’ at Thorpeness… When my sister and I were very young Grandad used to deliberately avoid driving too close to it so the mystery would always be maintained for us!
That looks like a fascinating place to walk, I am glad you had a nice time
Wonderful outing Ellee and excellent weather.
Wow! What a great day out! I remember seeing my first Wryneck at Sizewwll!
Not many have been on a nature walk around Sizewell!
It would never have occurred to me that you can go for a walk round there!
Very interesting, Ellee! You can only imagine my thoughts on using Solar Power here in the Arizona desert to deliver power!
i like it (: Wow! What a great day out! I remember seeing my first Wryneck at Sizewwll!
Simony Lingerie
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