Thorpeness

Can you imagine inheriting an old fishing hamlet, and then transforming it into a picturesque seaside village, complete with golf club and boating lake?

Well that's what happened in the early 1900's when the Scottish playwright and barrister Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie decided to build a seaside village at Thorpe on the Suffolk coast.

The hamlet was inherited, along with the family estate of Sizewell, when Ogilvie's mother passed away in 1908.

Ogilvie, being a visionary and a romanticist, wanted to create a seaside retreat in the Jacobean and Tudor styles. He was inspired by the works of J. M. Barrie, the Scottish novelist better known for creating Peter Pan.

Work began in 1910, when open fields were flooded to create a 65 acre artificial lake called 'The Meare'.


Rowing boats on The Meare

Rowing boats, canoes, and dinghies can be hired to explore the many islands on the lake, which are based around the Wendy and Peter Pan themes.


Boats are named after childrens fictional characters

Buildings were then constructed around the lake, many of which are of a mock Tudor style.


Ogilvie Hall


House on the beach-front


The Dunes

Having said that, these colourful buildings overlooking the shingle beach don't really fit into any category.


Brightly coloured beach-front houses

The Dolphin Inn can be found in the centre of the village. It's an ideal location to visit at the start of your trip, as it offers good food and refreshments, and provides a bicycle hire service.


The Dolphin Inn

The House in the Clouds is one of the more unusual and extraordinary sights. It was originally constructed in 1923 as a water tower, but was later imaginatively disguised as a house.


The House in the Clouds

From a distance, it appears as though there's a cottage lodged high in the trees.


The House in the Clouds as seen from The Meare

The village is also home to a working post mill that was originally built in 1824, and was last used to pump water into the tank within the House in the Clouds.



The mill was designed so that the upper structure could rotate around a central post, enabling it to face into the wind at all times.


Post Mill interior

The beach itself is well worth a visit too. Overlooking the North Sea, the shingle beach offers spectacular views.


Looking North up the beach

It's also a popular location for watersports enthusiasts such as the Kitesurfer below.


Kitesurfing

Thorpeness is an excellent place to visit for young and old alike. If you visit in August, there's a regatta held on the Meare, followed by a huge firework display.

There are plenty of things to see and do, and lots of opportunities to explore, but as the village wasn't really built with cars in mind, I would recommend hiring or bringing along a bicycle.

Thorpeness is about 4km North of Aldeburgh, map reference TM470590