Imagine leaving Lowestoft on foot and taking a direct route south.
The route would go past Pakefield and Kessingland. It would pass through Southwold and Walberswick, then cross the landscapes near Dunwich and Minsmere. After that, it would continue past Sizewell and Thorpeness, finally reaching Aldeburgh.
Walkers and cyclists now see this route as a real possibility.
It would be wrong to suggest Sizewell C is creating such a route. It isn't.
Millions tied to Sizewell C will improve walking and cycling links along Suffolk’s coast.
Work on the King Charles III England Coast Path adds to this momentum.
Suffolk could turn its coastal walking network into a major draw.
A coast that is gradually joining up
There has already been considerable progress.
In June 2026, Natural England opened a new seven-mile section of the King Charles III England Coast Path between Kessingland and Lowestoft.
Another section between Bawdsey and Aldeburgh has opened. Walkers can now travel continuously on the Coast Path from Shotley Gate to Southwold.
The remaining gap between Southwold and Church Road in Kessingland has also moved forward.
The Secretary of State approved that section in September 2025. Natural England says work has started to establish the route. This includes talks with landowners and setting up infrastructure like gates and signs.
Once complete, it will provide the missing connection between Southwold and the route already open from Kessingland into Lowestoft.
That alone is an exciting prospect for people living in Lowestoft and Kessingland.
Further south, another set of improvements is underway.
£2.5 million for Suffolk's rights of way
As part of the Sizewell C project, £2.5 million was agreed for a Public Rights of Way fund administered through Suffolk County Council.
The original programme identified 34 projects, with 27 physical schemes mapped across the area.
Projects range from small upgrades to major new links between existing routes.
This goes beyond new signs.
Some footpaths will become bridleways, opening them to more users. Other schemes resurface paths, improve access, or create new links.
At Aldeburgh, for example, the former railway line was identified for upgrading and formalisation as a bridleway. The Sizewell C document describes it as an opportunity to create a safe off-road route north from Aldeburgh towards Thorpeness and strategically onwards towards Leiston.
Around Aldringham and Thorpeness, further work was proposed to improve routes towards Sizewell Beach for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
The plan upgrades the cliff-top route from Sizewell Beach to Thorpeness with new surfacing, steps, and signs.
Making the difficult bits easier
The most useful projects close gaps that break up otherwise good walking or cycling routes.
At Eastbridge, £87,000 was identified for a new off-road bridleway connecting Eastbridge Road with the Eels Foot Inn.
The current road is narrow and hazardous. The new route will give a safer connection.
At Westleton, plans include improving FP25 between Middleton and Eastbridge and creating a new public footpath to connect it with another bridleway.
Another Westleton scheme would extend BR16 towards the RSPB Minsmere access road, avoiding a section of Dunwich Road described in the project documents as hazardous for cyclists and walkers.
At Dunwich, an existing footpath between National Trust Dunwich Heath and Dunwich Beach was identified for upgrading to bridleway status to create a safer off-road cycling connection.
Individually, none of those projects creates a great Suffolk coastal trail.
Together, they start to build a real network.
Turning temporary access into something permanent
Construction could leave another legacy.
A temporary path from Abbey Road towards Cakes & Ale was identified for permanent retention, upgrading to a bridleway and surfacing to provide a safe off-road route.
Sizewell C expects the route to become established, improving safety and supporting local businesses.
At Kenton Hills, a proposed connection between Bridleway 19 and the coast was also identified as sufficiently important that it should become a permanent public right of way rather than remain merely permissive.
That difference is crucial.
A permissive path can exist because a landowner chooses to allow access. A public right of way has considerably greater long-term protection.
Suffolk County Council and East Suffolk Council made the same point during the Sizewell C planning process.
They welcomed permanent bridleway connections around Lovers Lane, Aldhurst Farm and Kenton Hills as contributing towards a better-connected network for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
But they also criticised Sizewell C where they felt opportunities to secure permanent public access had been missed.
Councils did not accept every Sizewell C proposal.
More than isolated footpaths
A line buried in the councils' Local Impact Report may explain why all of this matters.
The councils argued that walkers, cyclists and horse riders don't use public rights of way as isolated pieces of infrastructure.
They use networks — combining paths to create their own circular and linear journeys.
Viewed as a network, the Suffolk coast offers much more.
- Lowestoft
- Pakefield
- Kessingland
- Southwold
- Walberswick
- Dunwich
- Minsmere
- Eastbridge
- Sizewell
- Thorpeness
- Aldeburgh
These are Suffolk’s best-known coastal destinations.
Suffolk still lacks a fully established, well-promoted coastal walking experience. People from other areas of the country do not think:
“I'm going to Suffolk for a holiday, and I'm going to walk the coast.”
This can change.
What could this mean for Lowestoft?
For Lowestoft residents, none of this means Sizewell C is suddenly building new paths on our doorstep.
The Sizewell-funded work sits further south. It is separate from parish routes and the King Charles III England Coast Path.
These networks can connect.
Natural England's long-term coastal-access route runs through Suffolk towards the Norfolk border north of Lowestoft, and the newly opened Kessingland-to-Lowestoft section already gives local residents improved coastal access.
The outstanding Southwold-to-Kessingland section is now approved and being established.
When that opens, the prospect of setting out from Lowestoft and following the coast deep into south Suffolk becomes considerably more realistic.
And once walkers reach the Sizewell area, the separate Sizewell C-funded improvements could make parts of that journey safer, more accessible and better connected.
An opportunity beyond walking
This also brings economic opportunity.
Long-distance routes benefit more than just walkers.
Walkers need somewhere to eat, sleep, and stop.
Cyclists need cafés, accommodation and repair facilities.
Pubs, campsites, shops, and guesthouses all stand to gain from a successful route.
Sizewell C's own programme acknowledges this. Funding was identified to develop and promote routes connected with businesses near the Sizewell Link Road, as well as walking guides and circular routes around Leiston, Aldringham and Thorpeness.
Natural England also explicitly said when opening Suffolk's latest Coast Path sections that improved access could support local communities and businesses.
The opportunity now goes further.
Long-distance trails now drive online content.
People film themselves walking them for YouTube. They post itineraries to TikTok and Instagram. Walking websites publish guides. Cyclists share routes on mapping platforms. Travel writers build weekends around them.
The Suffolk Coast Walk could be packaged, promoted, and repeated.
- Day one: Lowestoft to Southwold
- Day two: Southwold to Dunwich
- Day three: Dunwich through Minsmere and Sizewell
- Day four: Sizewell to Aldeburgh
No official trail yet covers this itinerary. Parts of the network are still in development.
But the pieces are falling into place.
All this comes at a cost
We should not romanticise the reasons behind these improvements.
Sizewell C construction disrupts public access.
The councils' Local Impact Report predicted increased pressure on paths, displacement of walkers from some areas and major adverse effects on sections of the Suffolk Coast Path and Sandlings Walk during construction.
Temporary closures and diversions have followed.
The councils insisted that appropriate off-road diversions should be available where the Coast Path and Sandlings Walk are affected and that closures should be kept to an absolute minimum.
These improvements mitigate a project that impacts the landscape and its users.
Mitigation can still leave a legacy.
Perhaps Suffolk should think bigger
There is a danger with public rights of way that we look at them one path at a time.
A new gate here.
A resurfaced bridleway there.
A safer crossing somewhere else.
But stand back from the map and the ambition could be considerably greater.
Suffolk already has the hard part: the landscape.
The route from Lowestoft and Kessingland to Aldeburgh offers a journey people will travel to experience.
The King Charles III England Coast Path is gradually providing the backbone.
Parish paths and existing rights of way provide local connections.
Around Sizewell, mitigation funding can strengthen weak links in the network.
The legacy should be more than better footpaths.
Suffolk should consider what this network could become.
One day, visitors may come here to walk the Suffolk coast from Lowestoft to Aldeburgh.