Walk: Woodbridge Tide Mill to Sutton Common. Sandlings walk no 3. A Suffolk Secrets Resource.

Walk 3

SANDLINGS WALK SANDLINGS WALK (ON ROAD)

WOODBRIDGE TIDE MILL TO SUTTON COMMON Melton

• Kyson point Circular Walk

Melton Station

Occasionally muddy path, especially around ‘Kyson Point’, otherwise mainly compacted flat dirt/grass path along river wall. Floods at high tide around ‘Kyson Point’.

Generally very uneven & narrow.

• Sandlings Walk Circular Walk

B 10

A 1152

C

• Sutton Heath Nature Trail

84

SANDLINGS WALK (PERMISSIVE)

ROAD

RAILWAY LINE

RAILWAY STATION

PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY

PERMISSIVE PATH (IN FOREST)

HEATHLAND

WOODLAND /TREES

FOREST PLANTATION

MARSHLAND /REEDS

COAST/RIVER /PONDS

GOLF COURSE

HOUSES

FARMLAND

BARRIER/GATE: GAP WIDTH<1.2M

BENCH

BRIDGE

STILE

STEPS

CHURCH

TUMULI

MAST

• Woodbridge Riverside Walk

E D F

Melton Riverside

438

3

Eyke (11/4 mile)

Melton Church

B1

A–B

Bromeswell

A1 15 2

The Route – path terrain and conditions

Woodbridge Golf Course SEWAGE WORKS

Woodbridge

G St. John’s

/VILLAGES

Sutton Hoo St. Mary’s

r D Broom Heath NUMEROUS BENCHES A – C ALONG RIVER WALL

B Kyson Point

A

B–C

C–D

D–E E–F F–G

Martlesham Creek

G–H

H–I

0

SCALE 1:25 000

1KM

RAF Woodbridge Airbase (disused)

083

Woodbridge Tide Mill

en eb

B1

Ship Burial

Woodbridge Station

R i ve

rare and special to heathland

Bromeswell Green Nature Reserve

Mainly flat, surfaced/tarmac path along river wall.

Pavements along A1152.

Dirt path & boardwalk through reedbed. Grass/dirt incline at D, to road.

Minor road. Flat. Verge on one side of A1152.

Compacted sand/stone track. Incline.

Varying dirt/grass path/track, partially across Woodbridge Golf Course.

Initially sloping, otherwise flat. Uneven in places.

Roughly surfaced track – stones & rubble. Flat but very uneven.

Varying loose sand/grass tracks/paths. Mainly flat but undulating leading to & alongside Sewage Works.

Sometimes uneven & muddy.

Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright MC 100029931

H

Sutton Heath Estate

Sutton Heath Picnic Sites

AMENITY SITE CAFÉ

Old Rabbit Warren

PARKING PUBLIC HOUSE

Sutton Common

ADNAMS PUB POST OFFICE

SEWAGE WORKS

SHOPS TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE

Sutton (1 mile)

VISITOR CENTRE TOILETS TELEPHONE

I

BUS STOP

rare and special to heathland Look out for them on Dunwich

he Sandlings heaths are home to some very rare and special birds. For most of the year there is

Heath and Aldringham Walks,

something interesting to ‘spot’. Look out for Hen

especially in early spring when

HOBBY Illustration by A. Hobday

the males sing their scratchy

harriers roosting on Dunwich heath in winter, woodlarks

song from a low, but obvious

singing in spring and nightjars ‘churring’ on a

RSPB

perch.

summer’s night. Most of these birds would be even

DARTFORD WARBLER

rarer without their heathland home.

Hobby Woodlark

Hobbies come all the way from southern Africa to the Sandlings in May, before returning in September.Their

The woodlark is a

breeding season is late, with young in the nest from July onwards.This coincides with the appearance of their prey,

relative of the skylark.

swallows, swifts, house martins and dragonflies. Hobbies resemble large swifts and are similar to kestrels, but with a

To spot the difference,

smaller tail, dark face hood and white neck. If you are lucky you might see a hobby in flight with outstretched talons,

look out for its flight,

catch its prey and then pluck and eat it in mid-air.

tail and song. A good

Stonechat

time to see woodlarks

A stonechat perched on top of a gorse bush and outlined against the sky must be one of the most enduring heathland

open heathland areas

images. From this perch they defend their territory, keep watch for predators and look out for a meal. In spring they

or in forest clearings.

will catch and eat beetles and spiders scurrying on the ground and in summer, flying insects. Stonechats are very good

C. Gomersall

is in March, usually on

The male woodlark circles at a constant WOODLARK

watchouts.Their ‘chack, chack’ alarm call is a good warning sign and other small birds will often stay close to stonechats as an insurance against surprise attack.

height over heathland. It can look like a bat with its jerky flight and short tail. It is easier to spot when singing, perched on the top of a tree or bush. Listen out for its mellow, fluty song, often on an interrupted descending scale.

Spotting birds Dartford Warbler HEN HARRIER RSPB

These are just some of the birds you might see on the Sandlings.

Take a pair of binoculars and a good field guide with you to

Dartford warblers are true heathland birds, relying on areas

identify even more.

of gorse and heather to survive.They are one of only a few warblers that can be seen in England all year round.They had not nested on the Sandlings for about 70 years until a pair reared some young on Dunwich Heath in 1995.

Numbers have now increased to over 30 pairs on the Sandlings.This is probably due to milder winters.

MALE AND FEMALE STONECHAT