NORTH-EAST SUFFOLK

from 4x4 Magazine - February 2023

by Assignment Media Ltd

HOW THE OTHER HALF OVERLAND

Sandy and leafy rights of way bordering the coastline of East Anglia

Using Our Roadbooks

Our roadbooks guide you through the countryside on a mixture of surfaced and unsurfaced roads. The tracks we use are public rights of way, either Byways Open to All Traﬃc or Unclassiﬁed County Roads, all commonly referred to as green lanes.

Navigation

We’ve deliberately made it as easy as possible to follow the route, using a mixture of instructions, tulip diagrams and grid references. We normally only include junctions at which you have to make a turning or don’t have right of way, so stay on the main road or continue straight ahead unless we tell you otherwise.

You’ll ﬁnd a guide to using grid references on the legend of any OS map. Our aim is for you to be able to do the route without maps, whether paper or online, but you should certainly take a set with you.

Safety

The notes on thee pages advise you of how suitable the route is for your vehicle. These are just guidelines, however. We’ll warn you of any hazards or diﬃcult sections, but the nature of any green lane can change quickly. Wet weather can make a huge difference to the conditions underfoot, and what’s wide open in winter can be tightly enclosed and scratchy in summer. The responsibility is yours!

Our roadbooks are designed to be safe to drive in a solo vehicle. We do recommend travelling in tandem wherever possible, however. The risk of getting stuck can be greater than it appears – and even the most capable of vehicles can break down miles from anywhere.

Responsibility

Irresponsible driving is a big issue on green lanes. In particular, you must always stay on the right of way. Never drive off it to ‘play’ on the verges or surrounding land, even if you can see that someone else has; doing so is illegal and can be tremendously damaging.

This kind of illegal off-roading is a key reason why green lanes get closed. If you see others doing this, they are NOT your friends. They’re criminals, and you are their victim. If it’s safe to do so, ﬁlm them in the act and pass it to the police.

Elsewhere, let common sense and courtesy prevail. Keep your speed down, be ready to pull over for others and show the world that we are decent people just like them.

Antis

Anti-4x4 bigotry does exist, but it’s less common than you’d think. By and large, it’s limited to organisations who just want to get the countryside all to themselves. These organisations are beyond being reasoned with, but it’s rare to encounter real hostility even from their rank-and-ﬁle members. If you’re friendly towards the people with whom you share the countryside, the vast majority will respond in kind. There are always bad apples, but no more so than anywhere else. Likewise, most local residents will accept your presence if you’re driving sensibly. What suspicion you do encounter is likely to be from farmers worried that you’re there to steal from them, so be ready to offer a word of reassurance. Once satisﬁed that you’re not after their quad bikes, their mood will lighten.

DO…

• Keep your speed right down

• Pull over to let walkers, bikers and horse riders pass

• Leave gates as you found them

• Scrupulously obey all closure and voluntary restraint notices

• Ensure you have a right to be there. We research the routes on our roadbooks very carefully, but the status of any route can change without notice

• Be prepared to turn back if the route is blocked, even illegally

• If you ﬁnd an illegal obstruction, notify the local authority

• Stick absolutely scrupulously to the right of way

• Always remember that you are an ambassador for all 4x4 drivers

DON’T…

• Go in large convoys: instead, split into smaller groups

• Drop litter. Why not carry a bin bag pick up other people’s instead?

• Go back to drive the fun bits, such as mud or fords, again

• Cause a noise nuisance, particularly after dark

• Get riled up if someone challenges you. Be ﬁrm but polite, stay calm and don’t let them turn it into a ﬁght

All too often, Britain’s seaside towns have turned into the Costa del Skag. Somehow, though, the coastline of East Anglia in North-East Suffolk has survived; here, elegant towns and villages sit comfortably amid a landscape that’s at times agricultural, at times leafy and wooded. The rights of way here are welcoming, too. Even if some are overgrown by summer, the local authority has done an excellent job of creating new byways – and signposting them , too. With sandy ground prevailing, it makes for a laning experience unlike anything else

ROUTE GUIDE

START Holton (TM 402 774)

FINISH Barnby (TM 477 899)

HOW LONG? 42.9 miles / 5-6 hours

TERRAIN Gently rolling farmland and parkland

HAZARDS

Occasional scratching, at times severe; Very dangerous road junctions; Other users, especially walkers with dogs or kids; Odd bits of rough or rutted ground

OS MAPS Landranger 156 (Saxmundham) is it suitable?

TYRES

Low proﬁle slicks may struggle, but broadly suitable for all SUV tyres

WEATHER Full of walkers when sunny

LOW BOX

SOFT-ROADERS

SCRATCHING

DRIVING

DAMAGE

Will help in very slow sections

Should be suitable, with caution

Inevitable in places

Some sections need to be taken at an absolute crawl

Step 1

0.0

Step

0.05

Step 3 0.1

Step 4 0.75

Start outside the Lord Nelson Inn in Holton. It’s no longer a pub, but it is a B&B so it would be the perfect place to stay the night before. Zero your trip with the building to your right and set off heading north, then almost immediately turn right at the T-junction with the B1124

Step 5 1.05

Step 6 0.7

This is just a few car lengths after Step 2. Take it at a crawl – it’s narrow, and you’re passing between people’s homes. Look out for dogs and their pet humans all the way along here, too

Step 7 2.3

Caution as you emerge – visibility to the right is terrible

Step 8 2.4

Step 21

3.5

Step 22

3.8

Step 23

4.2

There have been problems with illegal off-roading next to this lane. As always, if you see anyone at it you should react the same way you would if you were watching a burglary in progress

Step 24 4.6

Step 25

5.4

Step 26 5.9

Step 27: It’s a tight turning on to the lane, and you won’t see as you approach. The road opposite is there to be a landmark

Step 31: The fact that there’s a green lane through Walberswick Nature Reserve is something to be celebrated. Keep it that way by watching out for walkers, dogs and kids and keeping right on top of your speed

Step

Step 44: Another tight turning, and again you won’t see it as you approach. It’s a lovely drive after this – tricky to follow and likely to be overgrown, but you’re almost on virgin ground. We copped some earache here from a couple of old trouts who accused us of endangering livestock then ﬂounced away tutting when we pointed the ﬁelds were all full of arable crops, so if you’re lucky you’ll get some cabaret too

Watch out for a huge hole in the track just before the junction. it should have been ﬁlled in by now, butwhen did ‘should’ ever count for anything on a green lane…

TRIP

Caution as you join the main

Step 39

3.6

Step 40 3.8

Step 41 4.4

Step 42 5.3

Step 43 5.5

Step 44 5.7

Step 45 6.0

Step 46 6.2 4x4

Caution along the lane, which is also an access track to a landﬁll site

Step 47 6.4

Step 48 6.5

Step 49

Southwold 3 Reydon 2 B1126

6.8

Step 50

Frostenden 2

6.9

Reydon Grove

The turning is very tight indeed, sharply back over your shoulder and basically invisible until you’re right on it. Look out for the sign –it’s your best hope of spotting the junction as you approach

Leading to Public Paths

The track runs along the field edge then into the trees lining it. There’s a wooden byway sign, or at least there was – we had an encounter with some imbecilic bilefilled haters here, who hilariously accused us of endangering livestock in a field of arable crops, so it wouldn’t surprise us if the signs were (illegally) pulled up

When the main track turns right along another ﬁeld edge, continue ahead on a lesser track keeping the tree line to your right

Step 51 7.2

Step 52 7.7

At ﬁrst, the track looks as if it’s going to peter out, but in fact it swings sharply round to the left

Through the gate and into the trees ahead

A better used track goes right, but you need to continue ahead between the trees

This

Step

Step 59: This turning is horrible – it’s narrow, almost completely invisible and on the inside of a fast corner. A recipe for a stack if even one person isn’t driving defensively. You may well be best to overshoot, clock where it is and turn round for a proper try

Step 59

1.5

Step 60

1.7

Step 61

2.3

Caution – this is on the inside of a fast corner and the turning is pretty much impossible to spot until you’re on it. Keep slow and look for a gap in the hedge, where you’ll see the byway sign. If necessary, go past and ﬁnd a place to turn back –there’s a zero point at the next road junction, so don’t worry about the reading on your trip