Reinterred: Y is for York Road Walk

Today I did my longest walk since August - a circular walk from the Old Hall Cafe near Reydon to Southwold and back.

This was the invite from Joyce.

"Thurs Nov 27th Y is for York Road, Southwold. A change to the Y walk.I have devised a circular walk just over 9 miles that should exhilarate us with some sea views and some walking along the Blyth estuary. Let’s meet at 10am for coffee/toilets at Old Hall Southwold, Halesworth Road, Reydon, Southwold, IP18 6SG. This is a café with free parking. If you wish to skip coffee then meet us at 10.30am for a prompt start. We will head up to Reydon and catch The Suffolk Coastal Path to Southwold Pier and a brief glance at York Road. There will be half an hour in Southwold over lunchtime before we make our way back to Old Hall. I am aiming to finish by 2.45pm for maximum daylight for onward journeys."

This was our route

Here are a few of my photos.

We met at the Old Hall cafe as planned.

There were lots of us today so we need 3 tables,

Are we ready to go?

As we walked away from the cafe we passed these pumpkins which had sadly missed being part of family Halloween celebrations. Speaking of which, you may be interested in my crrssword Trick or Treat? compiled for the 2025 Sloggers & Betters event in York last month.

This was about as close we got to mud through the walk. Well planned Joyce!

We stopped to visit St. Margaret, Reydon church.

As Simon Knott explains, "The most striking memorial [in the graveyad] is probably the 1920s bronze angel to the south of the chancel. The work of Paul Mountford, the memorial remembers Fanny Watts, and was commissioned by her husband Leonard. The angel prepares to soar heavenwards, while on his pedestal Leonard Watts and the allegorical figure of Grief lean in heavy despair.

The church is well known for its bellringing.

Walking for a while with Gill, we admired this barn with its amazing roof.

This house has its own model railway. I loved the way it has a section of track that could be put across the path in front of the front door to provide access to the back garden.

We passed these houses know as The Rest.

We approached the outskirts of Southwold from the north-west.

We had a lovely view of the beach huts north of the pier.

The see wasn't as still as a millpond today. We loved the crashing of the waves here.

Along the sea front for a bit.

The view back to the pier as we climbed up...

...towards the iconic lighthouse.

Here we had a group photo or two.

The ladies in the group are sweeties.

Here we were by Adnams Brewery.

We headed towards St Edmund, Southwold church....

...passing Hope Cottages, now a holiday let on AirBnB.

We came to York Road, the objective of our walk.

See the photo at the top of the post. Having achieved our objective we were free to explore for half and hour and have our lunch. I liked how this sign nearby had been enhanced.

Retracing our steps, Dawn and I passed the Adnams shop....

...the stocks on St. Bartholemew's Green in front of the church....

..and had a little explore of the church before our lunch. This is a statue of St Edmund above the door into the church.

As Simon Knott explains, "A clock jack stands, axe and bell in hand, at the west end, a twin to the one upriver at Blythburgh. This one has a name, he's called Southwold Jack, and he is one of the symbols of the Adnams brewery."

The wonderful vaulted ceiling.

There was much else to explore (do read Simon's wonderful description) but our time was lmited and we were hungry for our packed lunch, which we had outside next to the srocks.

We had time for a quick visit to the Adnams shop, where I bought a bottle of the Blackshore Stout to have some other time.