Dunwich Heath: Walk Through Fields of Heather & Beach

After visiting the Norfolk Coast a few times, we decided our day trips were becoming too predictable. Think bigger, think differently, get out of a rut they said. So, we decided to visit the Suffolk Coast! Dunwich Heath National Trust, to be exact. 

One of the appeals of this area, aside from being an area of outstanding natural beauty, was the activities the National Trust offered kids through some of the Dunwich walks. We love how the different National Trusts and English Heritage sites prioritize the youth experience. I mean what good is a supreme adult experience if your kid is moaning about the gorgeous view you can see on your amazing eight-mile hike, or cannot overcome the devastating truth that they did eat their sixth and final snack for the day and it is only five minutes into the car ride. Out of fairness to our kids, they are pretty much dtp (down to party) for most outdoor excursions. Still, having some fun activities to help amp up the experience takes the pressure off. 

The national trust site did offer some take-along litter pickers which the kids LOVED. No, seriously. Our kids are such budding environment protectors that whenever we’re out and they see trash on the ground, they want us to pick it up. Kevin is better at this than I am. I don’t know how many times I gag and hold down my repulsion at figuring out what to do with a band-air or nasty tissue. The kids insist leave no man’s trash behind. Just typing this out to share with you gives me the involuntary gag reflex. Those moments make you want to feel proud as a parent. For me they usually exist in tension with some type of sanitary heebie jeebie. I need to start packing trash gloves. So I am THANKFUL that we had these litter pickers for this walk!

After visiting Dunwich Heath, I hope we can find time to make another trip back. Out of the three different coastal areas we have visited, Dunwich is our current favorite. Here is a bold asterisk: this does not factor seeing seals into the equation! You do not see seals at Dunwich Heath – you go for other reasons.

What is a Heath?

Heaths are a rare habitat in the UK. The JNCC, a public body that advises the UK government regarding nature conservation, suggests that of the heathland present in 1800, only one-sixth remains today. One statistic that makes heaths special in the UK is they comprise 20% of Europe’s lowland heaths. A variety of reasons have led to habitat loss, including development. For the habitat to flourish, it requires human intervention. Strategies include livestock grazing, controlled burns, or managing plant species. From my understanding, the National Trust site does not do burns.

Dunwich Heath falls in the part of the Suffolk Coast designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. The designation results in extra effort to help conserve this area. I am trying to think if we have visited a heath habitat back in the states and cannot come up with anything. Have you been to a heath?

Aside from the unique fragility of this habitat, poor soil fertility makes it hard for abundant biodiversity. Plants that rely on more readily available nutrients cannot compete in these areas. As a result, you will see a lot of dwarf shrubs, and for trees, they will likely be birch and pine. So, what does that look like?

If you read classic versions of Winnie the Pooh, you might get a wave of nostalgia when walking through a heath. A. A. Milne frequently characterizes Pooh lumbering through heather and gorse – all of which you can find at Dunwich Heath. During Heather blooms, the fields transform from brown to waves of purple. I bet it is so beautiful to walk through those fields! June through September is the best time to see it. Of course, we went in January. I accept that we cannot have a perfect experience everywhere we go. The world is too big, le sigh, and time is what we make of it.

We did get gifted with sights of beautiful yellow gorse throughout our walks. I appreciated that pop of color in a month where brown and grey feels en vogue. During our visit, we learned that gorse flowers can smell like coconuts (curtsy to Smugglers Trail, read on)! 

To our vicarious loved ones overseas, I hope that low down helps give you a sense of heath life. As sexy, nature nerds, we can’t resist learning about the places we visit.

Dunwich Walks

Smugglers Trail

The kids’ activities encouraged us to come here. Dunwich Heath has a history of smuggling in the 18th century and likely inspired the Smugglers Trail for families. Smuggled items included brandy and tobacco. Unfortunately, we did not find any hidden bottles of brandy left behind.

This trail was one of the most rewarding interactive educational experiences for us in the UK so far. The Smugglers Trail has a series of hidden boxes. When you find one, you read a riddle. The riddle generally focuses on plants, nature, wildlife, etc. Not having lived here for very long, we could not answer everything off the cuff. It takes time to build that knowledge! I felt pretty lame when I could not even muster a guess to help the kids name a poisonous fern. This information should be common knowledge, right? 😉 We did some research to look up the answers that we could not figure out. 

Once completing it, we could bring it back to check our answers and maybe win a small prize. We did not return until close to park closing time and staff had left. The prize will remain a mystery to the most curious minds. This disappointed Lil Fox more than you can imagine. 

Dunwich Discovery Trail

While doing the Smugglers Trail, we added different trail segments to our walk, allowing us to follow the Dunwich Discovery Trail. The kids loved spotting the little markers for each trail.

Part of the Discovery Trail leads you to Dowcra’s Ditch. When you look at the walking map of Dunwich Heath, it seemed like it would be a lively, bubbling river. I’m not sure why I invested so much visual stock into a map that had a crayon-colored artistic vibe going on. The map also didn’t call it a ditch, let alone anything. My bad for filling in the gaps prematurely and excitedly being like, “yeah guys the river is just up ahead let’s keep going!” So, yeah, reaching the ditch we finally realized it is a stagnant to lazy flowing body of water. The ditch, named after the first warden at Dunwich Heath, was dug in 1970 to help encourage diverse wildlife. The ditch follows where a freshwater channel once flowed. I’m all for helping the wildlife and would rather have any water compared to none. So, it was not bad, but I just prematurely amped it up with a bit more adventure flair than it was. 

After completing this trail, we walked out onto Dunwich Beach. The skies had their quintessential overcast, moody, winter in England type of attitude going; however, it didn’t rain!  

Dunwich Beach

We wished we had more time to spend at Dunwich Beach because it has been our favorite beach/coastline we have visited so far. Our family is a beach family. As soon as we hit the beach, Hedgehog pulled off her wellies and her socks and ran around barefoot in the cold, shingle beach. We did find a patch where it was a little sandy and someone had even built a small sandcastle. While looking down the stretch of beach, you can see how far you can walk along with it with the backdrop of the cliffs, heather, and gorse. I’m sure it looks extra breathtaking when the colors are in full bloom.

If we make it back to the area, we’d love to walk along the beach from Dunwich Heath to the small town of Dunwich (north of the national trust). It looks like you can walk all the way to the beach in town, where there is a car park and toilets. So we really could start from either direction! Make it a day event!

Other Fun Facts About Dunwich History

For history buffs, Dunwich Heath has a significant military history too. Heavy training to prepare for D-Day took place here. It also had a radar station to help support air defense in World War II. After the war, it became a popular spot for unregulated camping, but the Dunwich Town Trust didn’t want this trend to continue and decided to preserve the landscape instead. So they worked toward helping it become a National Trust.

The Dartford Warbler made a comeback to the heaths after being absent for about 60 years. Dunwich Heath has a resident population.

The town of Dunwich, sometimes referred to as Britain’s Atlantis has a unique history. After storms in the 13th and 14th centuries demolished the harbor and the town, Dunwich declined. It used to be the 10th largest city in England in the 11th century. Researchers have used ultrasound to uncover churches, streets, and other artifacts showing old remains of Dunwich in the sea. So interesting!