Sandlands

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The Suffolk coast has long been a popular destination for visitors, who come to enjoy the tranquillity of resorts like Southwold and Aldeburgh, and the abundant wildlife, especially birds. Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the district's biological diversity derives from its unique combination of coastal wetlands, heaths, and extensive woods.

This book explains how this distinctive landscape - the Sandlings or, to use an older name, the 'Sandlands' - evolved over centuries through the interaction of people and nature. Tom Williamson examines the origins and development of both the wildlife habitats and the wider landscape of fields, farms, towns and settlements. The landscape was firmly shaped by the hand of man. Yet at the same time, the character of local communities has itself been moulded by nature - and in particular, by the poor acid soils and the ever-changing form of the coast.