We thought we'd do a series of blog posts about our favourite local dog walks. Given that it's taken me nearly two months to write this one up, keep your expectations low! I promise Roxy has had many a walk since then though.

About the Walk

The accuracy of distances and times are questionable so please check everything on t'internet or even a real life map (!) before you set off.

• Distance: 9.5 km (according to Strava)
• Time taken: 2 hours (this doesn't include any pub stops!)

This is a great walk for birdwatchers - James spotted a reed bunting, egrets, buzzards, a marsh harrier and lots more. I'm not so good at bird spotting but I did spot some lovely places for coffee and cake next to the village green. There are also some great pubs in the village - The Bell and The Anchor and often an ice cream van during summer months in the main car parks. There are public toilets near the village green too.

It's a very dog-friendly walk as dogs are allowed on Walberswick Beach all year round.

Part One - To The Sea

We started the walk at St Andrew's Church, crossed the road and walked South down Short Lane until we got to a footpath that took us through some fields and then into heathland where we followed footpaths to the sea. The view is spectacular as the big East Anglian skies open up. Naturally, Roxy found a muddy puddle to wallow in.

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Part Two - The Beach

Once you cross a little bridge over the river you're nearly at the beach. If you look to the right (South) you'll be able to see the dome of Sizewell glistening in the distance. But we headed Noth along the beach towards Southwold

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Part Three - Along the River Blyth

At the end of the beach huts we cut into the village for a toilet stop and then we walked past the Village green and down towards the river passing The Bell pub on the right.

Once you get to the River Blyth you'll see the little hut where the foot Ferry goes across to Southwold. The ferry is rather famous and runs from Easter until November. It's run by Dani who is the 5th Generation of her family to take people (and dogs!) across the river. You can find out more about Dani and the Ferry here.

But we're staying on dry land as we continue to walk with the river on our right, passing the shed that shows the markings of how high the flood levels were in 1953 (see photo).

Eventually you'll get to the Bailey Bridge which is an alternative option for crossing the river if you don't take the ferry. At this point if you wanted a shorter walk you could take the footpath left back into the heart of Walberswick. If you fancied a trip to another excellent pub you could turn right and cross the bridge and go to the The Harbour Inn on the Southwold side of the river.

However we continued straight ahead and followed the path all the way to Blythburgh Pond where the path continues and brings you round to somewhere called Tinker's House. This is a derelict, ram-shackled old place on the edge of Tinker's Marsh hence surrounded by very waterlogged fields when we were there, Roxy loved it. It was at this point we needed the wellies not the Merrells!

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Part Four - Across the Common to the Church

From Tinker's House our soggy feet followed the paths until we got to the Common. From there we had the Church in our sights and headed that way. We're staying in Walberswick for a family holiday this summer and I'd like to go and have a look round the Church, it's a beautiful building.

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I hope this has given you a rough idea about where to go and what you'll enjoy when you're there. Walberswick has been a long time favourite of ours. I'm a Wiltshire lass and Walberswick was the first Suffolk beach that James took me to over 20 years ago. The beach is a mixture of sand and pebbles and has dunes that our children now love playing in. There's a row of lovely beach huts, not the fancy, brightly coloured ones like it's Southwold neighbour but more understated, black beach huts, ones that you're allowed to stay in overnight if you're lucky enough to own one.

I think understated is what we love about Walberswick. It's just a pretty little village with a lovely beach, surrounded by stunning scenery, it doesn't try to be anything it's not. Of course we were lucky enough to go there in May before the tourists arrive but even when we've been there for summer holidays it has such a lovely old-fashioned holiday buzz about it, it's still our favourite place.