Ideas from Elsewhere

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by Julia Jones

In my ‘day job’ as a yachting writer I’m often lucky enough to listen to people talking about their ideas and experiences. I thought I’d just collect a few together in case they resonate with anyone else on the Deben. If you have comments you’d like to make, please send to [email protected] or we could get a Facebook discussion going on the RDA page.

Disability access

Woolverstone Project

I write a regular page for Yachting Monthly magazine and hear from many charities across the UK about ways in which they try to enable people with disabilities (not only physical) to find freedom on the water. One of the charities I visited this year was the Woolverstone Project which many Deben people support. I posted an extended article on the RDA Journal page. There is also East Anglian Sail Trust at Levington. If you know of others, please say.

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Willow Walk

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By Janet Harber

A wander across the Deben flood meadows near Wickham Market – OS Explorer Map 212 Woodbridge and Saxmundham

In October Judy and I investigated a three-and-a-half-mile circular walk from Wickham Market, around the Deben valley. It is one of three interesting local routes to be found on the visitwickhammarket.co.uk website. The two others we had walked previously but most of The Mill Route was new to us. We left our cars in the Wickham Market Crafters Car Park, entrance between two shops on the south side of the Market Place; there are toilets and you can pay by RinGo or cash.

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Swimming the Deben

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Report by Sally Themans

13 Kilometres, Zero Regrets, and a crazy idea becoming a reality


What started as bold ‘pubchat’ at the Maybush over the last couple of years became a reality one Saturday in August when the tides were right to make this long held ambition to ‘Swim The Deben’ became a reality.

Harriet, Sally and Sarah

Three swimmers – all Waldringfield Sailing Club members – Harriet Themans, her mum Sally (myself) and Sarah Collingridge got into the water at 8AM at high tide in Woodbridge Yacht Club, having been chugged upriver for forty minutes on Sarah’s husband Neil’s launch.  We had no idea how long it would take – or even if this was possible. This wasn’t an organised event – just friends ‘having a go’ supported by a kayak, a dinghy and a yacht.

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Shingle Street Walk

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The Peninsula is imbued with a sense of otherworldliness, bounded as it would be by water—the Ore/Alde to the north, the Deben at its southern boundary, and to the east the shingled, windy shores of the North Sea. On leaving the larger towns and villages, you enter a landscape peppered with villages and rural hamlets. Vast fields of sand-friendly crops give way to thick forests, heathlands and marshes. Ever smaller, sharply cornered roads meander through the landscape, lanes disappear into dead-ends, farmsteads, rivers. Its sparsely populated communities holding tight to their identity. In years gone, by each would have been fiercely independent, self-sufficient. A philosophy that I am sure remains today, despite the in-comers and inevitable supermarket vans.

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RDA Deben Estuary Forum 2026

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Report by Julia Jones

The RDA Deben Estuary Forum meeting took place at Waldringfield Sailing Club on July 20th and was attended by about 30 people representing approximately 25 river businesses, clubs and action groups. It included a presentation by representatives of the Crown Estate. Their representatives also took part in the more general discussions.

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The Woolverstone Project

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by Julia Jones

I sometimes feel that we don’t do enough for people with disabilities on the Deben. I’m correspondingly glad that we are near neighbours of The Woolverstone Project. I know that many Deben people are already involved with the Project either as volunteers or as fund raisers or financial supporters. Perhaps you, or someone you love, benefits from its activities? This article is for those who may not already know about the project. Perhaps they, like me will feel that they could do more to support its work for people with physical or mental disabilities. Time spent on the water does us good.

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River Deben Fishing Regulations Summer 2026

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by Richard Verrill

The River Deben Association was recently contacted because of concerns about fishing at Wilford Bridge. I was asked to write about the current regulations for recreational fishing in the Deben.

The regulations are quite complex and are different for freshwater fishing, which is regulated by the Environment Agency and saltwater fishing, which is regulated by Eastern Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (IFCA). The demarcation between salt water and fresh water on the Deben is defined as Wilford bridge and so the question that has been raised is interesting as there are different rules depending on whether fishing is done upstream from the bridge or downstream.

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The Waldringfield History Walk

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In 2025 Gareth Thomas, supported by other members of the Waldringfield History Group, devised a History Walk as part of the two-day community event Waldringfield Beach – memories of the timeline, held over the weekend August 30th-31st.

We are grateful to the WHG and Gareth Thomas for permission to reprint this (first published on their website) for others to enjoy.

Presented by Gareth Thomas
Illustrated by Jackie Brinsley

Walk map by Jackie Brinsley

JB 2026

To download a pdf copy of the walk either scan the QR code below or click here.

➢ The walk starts at Waldringfield Village Hall where parking is free.
➢ The walk is just under 5 kilometres and is likely to take about 2½ hours.
➢ There are sections where the ‘going’ may be muddy.
➢ The walk is circular and returns the walker to the village hall car park.
➢ The ‘Maybush’ is situated about half-way round.
➢ There are twenty recommended stopping points as shown on the map

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Tent of Dreams

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by Matt Lis

By kind permission of Watercraft Magazine.

There are still good old affordable boats waiting for the right restorers,
writes Matt Lis of Woodbridge & Waldringfield Boatyards.

Waiting in the Tent for new owners, the 1963 Blackwater Sloop Catspaw reminds Jack how much he loves sailing.

We all know of a boat that is at risk of being lost even though: “She is too good; somebody should save her”. In reality, many appealing craft are not saved but sometimes all these boats need is just a little more time for the right somebody to come along.

Woodbridge and Waldringfield Boatyards in Suffolk hold a small stock of such boats, which otherwise might have been broken up or burned. Most are locally-built or designed pocket cruisers, housed in an open-sided Tent of Dreams. Three boats from the Tent made it to re-launch in 2025 and are hoping to sail in the biennial 2026 OGA Deben Rally.

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A New Chapter for Deben Boatyard

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by Sam Whitworth

The Larkman family hand over to Sam and Kayleigh Whitworth.

Since arriving in Suffolk, we’ve been overwhelmed by the warm welcome we’ve received. The support, encouragement and kindness shown by customers, neighbours and the wider River Deben community have made us feel at home from the very beginning. We’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to introduce themselves, share their knowledge of the river, and place their trust in us. It has reaffirmed that we made the right decision, and we’re excited to become part of this community.

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