Coastal Levels

Reedbeds and dykes at Dingle Marshes Suffolk (© Suffolk County Council)

On the river Ore in East Suffolk (© Suffolk County Council)

Summary

Overall description:

An open, low-lying former marshland landscape, with a strong horizontal emphasis and characterised by wide skies and large fields bounded by a grid like pattern of drains and ditches.

Location:

Occur along east and north coast.

Physical environment

Landform:

Low-lying, drained former coastal marshes adjacent to the coast.

Natural / water features:

Drained by series of ditches and dykes.

Vegetation and land use

Ecological character:

A relatively uniform landscape characterised by extensive patches of coastal grazing marsh. The ecological importance of this landscape for breeding waders is reflected in the relatively high level of protection.

Primary land use :

Land used for cattle grazing and some arable cultivation.

Tree cover:

An open landscape with little or no tree cover.

Cultural pattern

Historic features:

Sea banks and drainage dykes.

Enclosure pattern:

Complex, sinuous historic dyke networks with sea walls. Recent enclosures are generally more rectilinear, while early enclosures are particularly obvious in the Broads and around the Blackwater estuary.

Settlement pattern:

A largely unsettled landscape with domestic buildings only on the fringes.

To be completed at a later date.

Historic development :

This is a landscape created by the drainage of coastal marshlands from the medieval period onwards.

Perceptions

Tranquility:

Strong sense of remoteness and tranquillity - often the landscape has a sense of being windswept and desolate.

Views:

Open character with few field boundaries.