Walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft: Suffolk Coast Path Day 6

The walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft marks my final day along the Suffolk Coast Path. At 5 miles, it’s very short, and one might wonder why I didn’t just add it on to the previous day. Well, the previous day I walked 17 miles, which was already long enough. It would have been nice to even the last two days out in terms of mileage, but this was the only way to make it work with accommodation.

An array of boats dotted about on the shingle and yellow grass beach, at the end of the walk in Lowestoft. The sky is blue.

A shingle beach with grass sand dunes to the left and a few black beach huts, at the end of the walk in Lowestoft.

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What to expect on the walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft

The walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft is very easygoing. You can walk on shingle beach the whole way (why would you), or on grass, with the cliffs to your left.

A strip of sand surrounded by tuffs of grass, and a grass covered cliff to the left.

A long stretch of shingle beach leading ahead, on the walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft. The blue sea is to the right and orange dirt cliff to the left.

One thing to be aware of is the tide, partway along, if the tide is in, you will be blocked by big rocks.

Lowestoft itself is very British seaside with food kiosks, amusement arcade, and lots of screaming children. Just before you reach the pier in Lowestoft you have a massive sandy beach if you wish.

A tarmac walkway with pale sandy beach to the right and abstract blue beach hits to the left, on the walk into Lowestoft.

A colourful ice cream kiosk in Lowestoft. There is a man and a woman standing in front of eat.

What I didn’t realise until I got home, is that the most easterly point in the UK is in Lowestoft, and I missed it. A bit gutted about that. My mistake was not walking through Lowestoft, and stopping near the pier.

Logistics

Start: Kessingland, Suffolk. NR33 7SB.
Finish: Lowestoft, Suffolk. NR33 0AE
Distance: 4.5 miles.
Difficulty: Easy.
Time: 1h 20min
Terrain: Grass, sand, optional shingle, concrete walkway.
Time of year: I walked from Kessingland to Lowestoft in early August.

Amenities

In Kessingland there is a Coop, chippie, and restaurant and pub by the water.

Just before reaching Lowestoft there is Dean’s Beans Coffee. It’s up the steps from the beach. I stopped here and the coffee is good. A little further along is the Jolly Sailors pub which my AirBnB host recommended.

Lowestoft is a bigger town, so there there is a bunch of stuff. Big Asda, M&S. British seaside type food kiosks, and various other food establishments. Apart from M&S, nothing posh.

Public transport

Kessingland has the 99 coastal clipper bus, which takes you to Lowestoft. Lowestoft has a train station on the Great Anglia line. You can get a train from here to London Liverpool Street in under 2h (with a change at Norwich).

Accommodation

In Kessingland I stayed in an AirBnB, in someone’s garden shed for £30. I didnt stay in Lowestoft, but you can have a look at what’s available here.

Map for the walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft

Read yesterdays walk here: Dunwich it Kessingland

Route Description: How to walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft

Out of Kessingland, there is a concrete walkway to start, with hand knitted bunting on the railings.

A concrete walkway leading ahead, with metal railing to the right and beach on the other side. There are green bushes to the left and a flag flying, and a few rooftops visible over the bushes.

When this ends, you can continue walking on the grass.

(The shingle beach is to the right, if you would prefer that).

A mass of messy grass on the beach, with bushes covered cliffs ahead to the left, on the walk from Kessingland to Lowestoft.

You will be able to see Lowestoft in the distance from here. The finish line. I was glad I left this last bit for today. I could meander over there, no rush, with enough time to have a bit of a swim before my train back home.

All the terrains

This stretch of grass goes on for quite some time. With big cliffs to the left.

Further in, the ground starts to change a little, some grass and shingle thrown in. I found myself weaving around to try and find the grassy patches. Eventually I lost and was forced onto soft sand.

A large area of sand, with tufts of grass dotted about, and cliffs to the left.

The sand then merges into shingle. The tide was out today, so I found a nice strip of hard wet sand by the water.

At some point you will reach big rocks blocking the beach, the tide was very close to blocking it off, and I dashed through as the tide pulled out.

The single beach with a mass of rocks ahead, the sea to the right, and cliffs to the left, on the walk towards Lowestoft from Kessingland. There is a Dalmatian dog on the beach.

Looking along the shingle beach with sea to the right, and a couple of row boats and people walking on the beach ahead.

A beach break

My host had told me about a coffee shop I should try, so I popped up the steps, ordered it, then walked off without paying…I was horrified as the barista called out to me, and realising what I had done. This isn’t the first time I have done this out here on this trip. Back home in London, you usually pay for the coffee first. I’m not used to being given my coffee before paying.

Coffee in hand, I followed the nice hard walkway. I knew that a sandy beach was coming up near Lowestoft pier. Those two things combined meant it was likely to be busy, so I stopped here on the shingle to get into the water and chill out for a couple of hours whilst waiting for my train.

Walk to Lowestoft train station

After some beach time, and getting a splinter in my finger from touching my backpack, I headed back onto the walkway for the rest of the walk to the centre of Lowestoft. Passing by an array of colourful beach huts. Some quite arty shaped ones too.

A wide tarmac walking path, with colourful beach huts lining the left side. and mess pale grass on the right. There are two people walking a dog ahead.

Amusement arcades along the right side of a large walking area, with people walking about.

From the pier, I followed the road to cross the bridge. Straight ahead was a high street type place with M&S (which i treated myself to for completing the journey), and ahead to the left I headed to the train station.

A bit disappointed there wasn’t some sign or plaque marking my completion…or maybe there was. I just didn’t see it.