Here’s the first of a new series “travel postcards” – short travel features with lots of photographs!  Here, Mark heads to Felixstowe and enjoys a walk along the coast to Felixstowe Ferry…

Mention Felixstowe and most people (including me) immediately think of a huge container port and probably not the best travel photography destination, but I’d heard that the beach huts were worth a look so on my recent Suffolk shoot I hopped on the train at Ipswich one sunny morning and headed for the coast.  I arrived at a bustling Great Eastern Square in Felixstowe with a few busy market stalls and made my way down a typical English high street towards the sea front.  On a sunny morning it’s a delight, with the long sand and shingle beach flanked by hundreds of colourful beach huts illuminated in the morning sun.  One or two were open, with the proud owners sitting on deckchairs on the shingle, reading the paper and soaking up the late summer sunshine.

The boardwalk on the pier is approached through an amusement arcade, but the pier, sadly, is closed beyond the little cafe.  However, the boardwalk is a pleasant enough spot to enjoy the view along the beach in either direction.  To the south, the huge cranes visible in the distance offer the only evidence of the nearby port, along with the odd cargo ship on the horizon out to sea.

I decided to walk in the other direction along the seafront and beach towards Felixstowe Ferry.  It’s a lovely two mile walk, and the lines of beach huts continue almost all the way, in some places multiple rows deep, so if you’re a fan of photographing beach huts this has to be a must-visit destination.

At Felixstowe Ferry the old Martello Tower sits between the golf course and the beach, guarding the mouth of the River Deben, with fine views across to Bawdsey Quay on the opposite bank.  If you’re feeling in need of a spot of lunch here, the Ferry Cafe offers great fish and chips – or you can have a look in one of the fresh fish stalls and perhaps pick up a dressed crab for a picnic.  There’s also a foot ferry across to Bawdsey Quay should you wish to continue your coastal exploration.  However, I had a train to catch, so I strolled back along the road into town and to the railway station. There is a hop-on-hop-off tourist bus on certain days in the summer months if you want to save your legs, or maybe start the walk at Felixstowe Ferry and head back along the coast.

See more images of Felixstowe in Mark’s flickr set>

For longer travel photography and photo technique articles see Mark’s website>