Orford

Orford is a village on the Suffolk coast. It has a fine mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore, and a Grade I listed parish church, St Bartholomew's.

Understand
Orford is a small coastal town within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The town is separated from the sea by a 10-mile-long shingle spit known as Orford Ness, the town being mid-way along the spit. The spit is connected to the mainland ay Aldeburgh and the River Alde flows along the coastline between the mainland and the shingle spit. The town is the only means of access to the Orford Ness nature reserve.

By road
The town is 9 miles E of the main A12 road running Ipswich to Lowestoft, connected via quiet B roads.

By train
The town is not on the rail network. The nearest station is

By ferry
Butley ferry is an ancient foot ferry to the south of Orford. It runs on weekends and bank holidays from end of April to end of September 11AM-4PM. Call ahead to check it is running, or book for parties travelling on week days: 07913 672499


 * Adults £2.00
 * Children £1.50
 * Bicycle £1.50

By bicycle
The town in on Regional Cycle Route 41 which connects to National Cycle Route 51 (Colchester to Oxford) at Felixstowe (and then the National Cycle Network) and to National Cycle Route 1 (Shetland Islands to Dover) at Bruisyard 15 miles NW of the town.

Get around
The town is small enough to see on foot.

Do

 * Walk along the sea walls
 * Take the ferry to the bird reserve (depending on weather)
 * Visit the church
 * Try and spot where the ancient harbour used to be

Buy

 * Smoked fish

Eat
Orford is famous for its smoked fish, and there is a small smoke house selling it.

Drink
It has a few pubs.

Connect
As of Sept 2022, Orford and its main approach road have 4G from EE but no signal from other carriers. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Woodbridge and Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon archaeological site
 * Aldeburgh
 * Felixstowe
 * Ipswich