Talk: The History of Dunwich Heath

Saturday 31st January 2026 at 11.00am

Doors open at 10.30am

Tickets: £10 (including a free tea or coffee)

Tickets are available HERE by phoning 01728 454022, or in person Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10-12pm at the AJH corner office.

Love affairs. Life and death. Fortunes made and lost.

Join us for a captivating talk with National Trust volunteer and researcher Richard Symes, who has uncovered the extraordinary story of Dunwich Heath, a place where history, drama, and nature collide.

Over the last 300 years this seemingly peaceful landscape has been dug up, cut down, shot over and burnt. From smugglers hiding contraband along the coast, to shipwrecks that changed lives; from coastguards risking it all in treacherous seas, to artists finding inspiration in the wild beauty of the heath, Dunwich has seen it all.

Its history doesn’t stop there. Submarines once prowled its waters. The heath was turned into a battlefield with tanks and big guns, echoing with the threat of invasion during wartime. And yet, out of this turbulent past, it has been transformed into the nature reserve we know today, a place of sanctuary and survival.

Come along and immerse yourself in the remarkable story of a landscape that has shaped lives and witnessed history in ways you would never expect.

The event ends at approximately 12 noon.