Welcome to the Beccles Marsh Trail.

The Beccles Marsh Trail was developed for locals and visitors to be able to walk or ride by cycle alongside fields or river, or sit, perhaps with closed eyes, and soak up the atmosphere, smells and sounds associated with the countryside. Then, at your leisure, you can return home in perfect condition to deal with the stress of modern life. The trail was established by volunteers of The Suffolk Wildlife Trust and handed to Beccles Council to be officially
opened in 1987.

At that time most of the fields were under arable farming, but with the advent of set-aside it has gradually become more grazing. There are a number of various ways to walk around the trail with maps displayed, for example under the bypass bridge, and suggested walks following the coloured arrows. A leaflet can be obtained from the Tourist Information Centre on the Quay.

Walking along the river bank, after one and a half miles, you will come to the pump house, the pump regulates the level of water between the river and the field dykes. A little further along can be seen the remains of the railway bridge, closed in 1957. Another three-quarters of a mile will bring you to the Worlingham Wall, a raised track between Beccles and Worlingham marshes. Originally this part of the trail was built to take water from Beccles to the River Waveney without flooding the fields. What you are likely to see along the trail will depend on two things
– the season and luck. In winter, ducks, geese and others will inhabit the fields where water lays. Birdsof prey such as kestrel will quarter the fields and hover, looking for small mammals, as sometimes will harriers, buzzards and owls, until snowfall. If you are lucky now you may see ermine.In spring many coots and moorhens nest in the
dykes and usually three or four pairs of swans. Lapwings are noisy at this time in display flights overhead. The first flowers appear, usually yellow, the most attractive colour for insects. Also the first butterfly, the brimstone, again yellow.

In the summer the cygnets are seen along the dykes with their parents and the young of moorhen and coot. More plants are in flower such as marigold, mallow, purple loosestrife and codlings and cream. Occasionally also the blue flash of a kingfisher. On the fields, young lambs frolic. Late summer brings many butterflies, peacocks, painted ladies, red admirals, commas, and dragon - and damselflies.
Autumn still has colour, with the yellow, green and brown of oak leaves, and maroon reedgrass swaying
in the wind.

Over the last few months there has been extensive flood alleviation works to the Marsh Trail which has opened up the views for both the walker and the sailor. Also during this time there has been an addition to the Marsh Trail of a new circular walk and seating area, primarily for those who use a wheelchair or cannot cope with the longer walks.
This is located at the entrance to the old Marsh Trail walk starting under the bridge at the Quay.

So if you are feeling overworked, depressed or just fed up, then why not take yourself along to the
Beccles Marsh Trail for a mental and physical pick me-up?

If you have some photographs of the Trail, you are more than welcome to send them in, we will use them on this site. Many thanks.