page_title: Southwold
section_title: Harbour
hierarchical_section_title: Southwold / Harbour
caption_attribution_description: English: Southwold Lifeboat Station, Suffolk. This station houses an ATLANTIC 75 Class inshore rescue craft. The hoist on the right is used to launch the boat because of the tidal range of River Blyth.
context_page_description: Southwold is a small town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is about 11 miles south of Lowestoft, 29 miles north-east of Ipswich and 97 miles north-east of London, within the parliamentary constituency of Suffolk Coastal. The "All Usual Residents" 2011 Census figure gives a total of 1,098 persons for the town. The 2012 Housing Report by the Southwold and Reydon Society concluded that 49 per cent of the dwellings in the town are used as second homes and let to holiday-makers.
context_section_description: Southwold Harbour lies south of the town on the River Blyth. Vehicular access is via York Road and Carnsey Road to the west, and Ferry Road to the east. The harbour extends nearly a mile upstream from the river mouth, and is mainly used by fishing boats, yachts and small pleasure boats. The clubhouse of Southwold Sailing Club is on the north side of the harbour. The quay and area in front of the Harbour Inn is called "Blackshore"; although in recent years this name has often, incorrectly, been used for the whole harbour.
  At the seaward end of the harbour is Southwold Lifeboat Station, operated by the RNLI. The former Cromer lifeboat shed houses the Alfred Corry Museum. This features the former Southwold lifeboat "Alfred Corry", which was in service from 1893 to 1918. In a project carried out by volunteers over several years, the boat has undergone an extensive, and now-complete, restoration to her original state.
  The river can be crossed on foot or bicycle by a public footbridge upstream from The Harbour Inn, which gives access to the village of Walberswick. This bridge, known as the Bailey Bridge, is based on the footings of the original iron Southwold Railway swing bridge. It replaced that bridge, which contained a central swinging section to allow the passage of wherries and other shipping, and which was largely demolished at the start of World War II as a part of precautions against German invasion.
  Towards the mouth of the River Blyth, a rowing boat ferry service runs between the Walberswick and Southwold banks. The ferry has been operated by the same family since the 1920s, when it was a chain ferry that could take cars. The chain ferry ceased working in 1941, but some vestiges remain at the Walberswick slipway.
caption: Southwold Lifeboat Station
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