King Charles III England Coast Path: Aldeburgh to Hopton-on-Sea
Find out about the progress of improving coastal access – including maps, process and timing – in Suffolk.
Inroduction
Natural England is working to improve public access along a 37 mile (60 km) stretch of the Suffolk and Norfolk coast between Aldeburgh and Hopton-on-Sea.
Officers from Suffolk Council are providing Natural England with expert local advice during the establishment of the route.
Some sections are open to the public, some are still under development, some are yet to be determined.
This page has information about the stage of progress for each section of the stretch.
Information about open sections of the route
You can view open sections of the route on the National Trails website
You can see the status of all sections of the route in the table.
| Report number and title | Stage 4 (Determine) |
Stage 5 (Approved) |
Open to the public |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHS 1: Aldeburgh to Sizewell | 23 June 2022 | yes | |
| AHS 2: Sizewell to Dunwich | 23 June 2022 | yes | |
| AHS 3: Dunwich to Southwold | 23 June 2022 | yes | |
| AHS 4: Southwold to Pakefield | yet to be determined | ||
| AHS 5: Pakefield to Lowestoft | 23 June 2022 | not yet | |
| AHS 6: Lowestoft to Hopton-on-Sea | 23 June 2022 | yes |
If you’re planning a walk on the King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP), check our interactive access maps for details of local access restrictions and coast path diversions which may therefore apply at certain times.
Coastal access rights normally apply to all land that is coastal margin - including any land seaward of the route - unless it falls into a category of excepted land or if an access restriction applies to the land.
On 29 January 2020, Natural England submitted a report to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs setting out the proposals for improved access to the coast between Aldeburgh in Suffolk and Hopton-on-Sea in Norfolk.
The maps in Natural England’s original proposals to the Secretary of State are still available to view. They show the route of the KCIIIECP along this stretch of coast as it was proposed at that time. They also show the adjoining land that is coastal margin.
Any variation needed after a stretch has been proposed, approved or opened is achieved through rollback or a modification or variation report that you can comment on. Modification and variation reports are published on GOV.UK and details will be added to this page.
Use the link that follows for guidance on your rights and responsibilities if the KCIIIECP passes through your land.
Stage 5: Open to the public
Aldeburgh to Southwold
This 27.2 mile (16.9 km) section of the KCIIIECP is now open to the public.
Coastal access rights came into force along this section of the Aldeburgh to Hopton-on-Sea stretch on 12 December 2024, by order of the Secretary of State.
Lowestoft to Hopton-on-Sea
This 3.3 mile (5.3 km) section of the KCIIIECP is now open to the public.
Coastal access rights came into force along this section of the Aldeburgh to Hopton-on-Sea stretch on 12 December 2024, by order of the Secretary of State.
These 2 sections are affected by a variation report.
Proposals to change the approved route at Azure Seas Holiday Village Corton and Dunwich Heath (VR21)
On 23 October 2024, Natural England submitted a variation report to the Secretary of State.
This proposes:
- changes to the approved route at Dunwich Heath to provide a more direct and step-free route which is now possible because of nearby route establishment work
- changes to the approved route at Azure Seas Holiday Village, Corton, which are necessary due to new holiday lodges that have been built on the approved alignment
The period for making representations and objections about the report closed at midnight on Wednesday 18 December 2024. The report is still available to view.
Stage 5: Open (not yet available for public use - work to establish the route is being planned or currently taking place)
Pakefield to Lowestoft
On 23 June 2022, the Secretary of State approved this section of the King Charles III England Coast Path in Suffolk.
Natural England will publish further details of the approved route in due course.
Stage 4: Determine
Southwold to Pakefield
This section has not yet been determined by Secretary of State.
On 29 January 2020, Natural England submitted a collection of reports to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs setting out the proposals for improved access to the Norfolk and Suffolk coast between Aldeburgh and Hopton-on-Sea.
The period for making representations and objections about the reports closed at midnight on Wednesday 25 March 2020. The reports are still available to view.
Objections are forwarded for consideration by an independent planning inspector appointed by the Secretary of State. The inspector will make recommendations to the Secretary of State in respect of each one.
Natural England may not make any further changes to the reports as a result of the representations and objections, but will make comments about them for consideration by the Secretary of State and, in the case of objections, the appointed person (an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate).
The Secretary of State will consider all the representations and objections before making a decision about Natural England’s reports. The reports in the collection may get approval at the same time. Some of them may need further consideration.
Find out more about the King Charles III England Coast Path
Next steps
When the Secretary of State approves a section of the report, Natural England works with Suffolk County Council on preparing the route for public use.
Work is now underway to prepare the new stretch of coast path for public use.
The first step is to contact owners and occupiers of the affected land to discuss the design and location of any new infrastructure which is required such as signs and gates.
When preparations are complete, new access rights will be brought into force along the route and adjoining spreading room.
See information about all stretches in preparation around England’s coast.
The coastal access scheme gives details of the process being followed to improve access to the coast.
Contact the authority managing sections that are open to the public
If you need to contact the authority managing open sections of this stretch of the KCIIIECP, use the contact forms on the National Trails website contact us page.
Contact the coastal access team for sections not yet open to the public
Contact Natural England with any comments, suggestions or queries you have about improving coastal access.
King Charles III England Coast Path team (East)
Natural England
Eastbrook
Shaftesbury Road
Cambridge
CB2 8DR
Email [email protected]
Telephone 0300 060 3900
See the map that follows for more information about progress on improving coastal access in other parts of the East of England.
Updates to this page
Published 2 October 2015Last updated 19 December 2024 + show all updates
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Page updated to show the opportunity to comment on the variation report VR21 (Corton and Dunwich Heath) has ended.
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Page updated to show that parts of this stretch are now open to the public.
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Page updated with information about the proposals to change the approved route at Azure Seas Holiday Village Corton and Dunwich Heath (variation report VR21).
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Added table showing the reports which make up the collection. Page updated to show that 5 of the 6 reports have received Secretary of State approval.
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Page updated to show this stretch is now at stage 4.
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Changed expected date for publication of the reports to early 2020.
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Removed the sentence giving a date for when access is expected to be ready. Publication of the report is expected in autumn 2019.
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Publication of report now expected in spring 2019. Access expected to be ready in 2020.
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Updated page to show that work on this stretch has reached stage 2 and 3.
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First published.