‘We leave Snape Maltings in a concert interval and stroll away from the crowd out through the marsh paths. The echo of the music recedes and a different sound takes over, that of the whispering reed beds of the Alde.
The view from the Maltings to the sea is consoling. It is of reeds penetrated by creeks, seeping up and down in the tide. The shingle bar of Aldeburgh lies directly ahead along the coast.
The Alde wetlands are closely protected. The reed beds and freshwater marshes of the serpentine river form part of the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve, a place of walkers and bird watchers. Otters are now repopulating the banks.
* Subscribe to Country Life; Get Country Life on IPad
The concert hall authorities have populated the marshes with modern sculptures. Art here intrudes uncomfortably on nature. '
Extracted from ‘England's 100 Best Views' by Simon Jenkins, to be published by Profile books in October 2013 (£25 hardback)
* Follow Country Life on Twitter
-
Robert Redford's Oscar and this week's unique royal funeral: Country Life Quiz of the Day, September 17, 2025One of Hollywood's greats is remembered in Wednesday's quiz.
-
The Gallivant review: The Camber Sands retreat with show-stopping seafood and a penchant for happinessThe coastal hotel in Rye, East Sussex, is utterly unique and almost faultless, but is seamlessly eclipsed by the real showstopper, its Anglo-French restaurant, Harry’s.
