Southwold full up!

I think Southwold is great, both harbour and town, but if it's lost some of its charm (and I agree that it has), then 'we' only have ourselves to blame. Charming places attract more and more people, requiring more and more facilities and more and more for them to do. The knock-on affect is an increasingly homogenised caricature of the real place it used to be.

I can think of lots of examples just on the east coast; Aldeburgh, Holt, Burnham Market, Maldon (what a shambles that place is now), Woodbridge. All charming but all catering for the trippers rather than the people who live there. That's always been the case perhaps, but we are so over-populated now that we've gone past critical mass.
 
Major_Clanger said:
All charming but all catering for the trippers rather than the people who live there. That's always been the case perhaps, but we are so over-populated now that we've gone past critical mass.
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Probably relatively little to do with population, and more to do with the riff-raff getting cars, leisure time, disposable income, and, er, yachts! :D
 
Tradewinds said:
Second home owners I reckon. What's the percentage in Southwold nowadays. It's pretty high.
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"The 2012 Housing Report by the Southwold and Reydon Society concluded that 49 per cent of the dwellings are used as second homes or let to holiday-makers."

Southwold town resident population 1,098 (2011 Census). Twice as many live in neighbouring Reydon. I doubt the Southwold population was much smaller in size in Victorian times, but probably a lot more aged now.

Southwold has long been a place for visitors, and attractive for stays and residence by genteel incomers.
 
Ihave only been to Southwold harbour once. I would make the following observations.
It is detached from the town & when i spoke to a waitress in a restaurant asking the way to the harbour, she did not know where it was. That says a lot. When I drove there down a gravel road there were potholes so large , full of water & very deep that it was dodgy driving ones car into them. The old buildings were in a state of disrepair & had been botched to keep them going. Cars were parked randomly giving the place a rather untidy atmosphere - but not one of "charm"
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The area around the harbour is surrounded by unapealing marshland-( see earlier post) This may be good for twitchers but the bridge just above the harbour was closed as it was in a state of disrepair- Now sorted I am told- so dog walkers etc could not cross.
Where the LA or HA has built pontoons the rate for moorings when I went there 4 years ago was rather high for something with limited facilities


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The pontoon nearer the mouth are privately owned on a comercial basis but one assumes that the returns are very low. This results in the pontoons colapsing into the sea, the ramps being unsteady & the piles rotting, allowing staging to droop dangerously.( see earlier post) Attempts have been made at various locations to repair, but poorly done & with little respect for the end result. The whole lot needs ripping out & re building.
None of the walkways ashore reached the shore at high water.
That includes the public pontoon so visitors would have difficulty getting to & from their craft at some stages of HW
DSC_0005 (600 x 402).jpg

The sea wall on the northern side had been rebuilt but hardly showed any sign of trying to maintain the "charm" of the area. Concrete topped piles may be structurally sound but certainly no good for pleasure craft & useless for commercial craft once the tide dropped such that the concrete beam missed the gunwhale of the boats
DSC_0019 (600 x 402).jpg

On the south side the yacht club ( I believe it is a YC, I may be mistaken) shows little in its architectural construction to blend with its surroundings. The same goes for the building near the main pontoon
DSC_0028 (600 x 402).jpg

So when one talks about the charm of the place I suggest they take a really good look around & have a re think. It needs a darned good tidy up. It needs dragging into the modern age, because any pretence at olde worlde has long gone & one has to accept that it will never return, In spite of what one might hope for.
 
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It's difficult to see how the harbour could be modernised . The staging's, as far as I know, are private and go for quite high prices. Although some are unusable, owners still want to keep the potential. Also, expected visitors by sea and catchment are comparatively small to warrant major investment . Clearly, current boat owners there are happy with the way things are so why change anything. Also, the river is very narrow.

I'm happy to accept the place as it is without judgement.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
Clearly, current boat owners there are happy with the way things are so why change anything. Also, the river is very narrow.
I'm happy to accept the place as it is without judgement.
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So now we come to a problem that begins to arise around the east coast. Just look at the state of the River Medway as an example. Look at the mess at Pin Mill. I have only passed it twice in the last 3 years & that is by boat. But from what I could see it is a ramshackle dirt mess. Perhaps close up I might have a different view.
So coming back to Southwold ( who would bother!!) You have suggested what many think- Why change it?. So what happens if we do not. Will it get better? Will the owners modernise the pontoons, even if they cannot afford to. I think not. The river is narrow, so do we let it silt up & become unusable to all. That would solve the pontoon problem. What happens to the sheds when they become too rotten to repair as the occupants just die off & leave them. That will not do much for the charm , will it.
So either you are happy to "accept the place as it is without judgement", or agree with my comment, that it is a dump, & let those who have the power to do something, know what we think. perhaps one day, someone who can, will do something to develope the area. Then- just as they did at Harwich, there will be complaints aplenty. But it needs it.
By the way, I took a stroll out of Shotley marina & turned right. The development on the riverside before the public house is a nice bit of design- Just my view. :p
Not for Southwold though. Needs something different-- Ideas on a postage stamp.
 
Daydream believer said:
So when one talks about the charm of the place I suggest they take a really good look around & have a re think. It needs a darned good tidy up. It needs dragging into the modern age, because any pretence at olde worlde has long gone & one has to accept that it will never return, In spite of what one might hope for.
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Thanks for that, what fool I have been! ;)
.
 
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I think more people should dislike Southwold. In fact, the more people that don't like it the better. While they're at it, they can dislike Pin Mill, Ha'penny Pier, the Walton Backwaters and the Pyefleet

'Cos then there'll be more room for me!

Yup, I love Southwold Harbour and long may it remain unspoilt and unmodernised. It's the nearest thing to time travel round here and it has a feel of being back doing what the famous cruising sailors of old used to do and which I read about as a kid.
 
Daydream believer said:
Am I not allowed an opinion if it does not agree with yours then ???????
At least I backed it up with some proof :rolleyes:
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Am I not allowed to point out that I - and some others - disagree with your opinion?

No need to be so precious, opinions work both ways. You state yours and I can say mine, too.
- and your 'proof' is still in the eye of the beholder. It's a harbour, not a marina.

Still, you can always complain to the authorities in charge of the Harbour.
- Let us know when you find out who that might be, this week
 
LittleSister said:
So, to sum up, some think it has changed too much, and Daydream Believer thinks it hasn't changed enough. :)
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That is not quite right. If people had looked after the place then it could have held its charm. However, allowing a place to deteriorate into a broken mess does not make it "charming" any more. If it had remained a thriving community that had cared for the place then it would be a different situation.
as for my opinion-
Well it is only an opinion & I am sometimes derided for having one.
So to support my "opinion" I have taken the trouble to provide evidence. Is the approach track full of potholes? Are the prices ( at the time at the time of the photo) as high as any on the east coast? Are many of the pontoons delalict? Is it impossible to walk ashore without getting one's feet wet at HW? are there cars parked all over the place? are the buildings either in a poor state of repair or out of keeping with the surroundings? Is the harbour surrounded by marsh land?
Tell me my opinions are wholly wrong & I will stand corrected.
 
Daydream believer said:
That is not quite right. If people had looked after the place then it could have held its charm. However, allowing a place to deteriorate into a broken mess does not make it "charming" any more. If it had remained a thriving community that had cared for the place then it would be a different situation.
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That's a fair point. The problem is the 'thriving community' has long gone. Southwold has very few fishing boats and less than a handful of inshore ones. In real terms it hasn't been a port for a long time.
Without commerce, the charming and pleasantly ramshackle collection of sheds no longer serve a true purpose and so, inevitably, they decay.

There is a long-running battle to stop the harbour being redeveloped (and long may it be successful), but I agree the place could be tidied up a bit. First job would be to pedestrianise the gravel road (except for the local businesses of course). It's a fine balance though and a modern approach could ruin the place, as it's already done at many other harbours.
 
Major_Clanger said:
That's a fair point. The problem is the 'thriving community' has long gone. Southwold has very few fishing boats and less than a handful of inshore ones. In real terms it hasn't been a port for a long time.
Without commerce, the charming and pleasantly ramshackle collection of sheds no longer serve a true purpose and so, inevitably, they decay.

There is a long-running battle to stop the harbour being redeveloped (and long may it be successful), but I agree the place could be tidied up a bit. First job would be to pedestrianise the gravel road (except for the local businesses of course). It's a fine balance though and a modern approach could ruin the place, as it's already done at many other harbours.
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About the road- Just local businesses? what about the boat owners who have boats laid up on the hard. What about the dinghy sailors at the yacht club?
Why not a decent tarmac road & a carpark at the rear with no parking allowed at the front except for servicing?
You mention that harbours have been ruined by modern approach. Can you suggest a few on the east coast please.
 
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