Aldeburgh
Steep Suffolk shingle with deep water off the beach — quiet, clean wind, no shallow margin.
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● Spot · shaded: the wind directions that work here. It is not a riding area or a permitted kite zone. Two fingers to move the map.
Location & launch
Know before you go.
- Launch
- Steep shingle beside the lifeboat station, with deep water immediately offshore.
- Wind
- NNE · NE · ENE · E · ESE · SE · SSE · S · SSW winds work here.
The shaded area shows the wind directions recorded as working here. It is not a permitted kite zone or a safe launch boundary. Check local signs.
Local rules, hazards & spot guide
Need to know
The things that catch people out here.
- Steep shingle and deep water straight off the beach. There is no shallow margin here.
- Very quiet compared with Norfolk or Essex, which is the appeal.
- Small tidal range for the east coast, so the tide matters less than the swell.
Conditions
- Best
- Works
- Offshore
- Works in
- NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW
- Best in
- NNE, NE, S, SSW
- Offshore (careful)
- SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, NNW
- Wind quality
- clean
- Water
- Choppy
- Depth
- deep
- Best tide
- Any state
- Spring range
- 2.6 m
- Beginner
- Not suitable
- Intermediate
- Good
- Advanced
- Good
Hazards
Most serious first. The level is in words as well as colour.
- high
shore break Steep shingle with deep water immediately offshore and a heavy dump.
- medium
current Strong longshore drift; this coast is actively eroding and shifting.
Access & rules
- Launch
- Steep shingle beside the lifeboat station, with deep water immediately offshore.
- Permit
- Not required
- Insurance
- Third-party liability expected
- Tuition
- Permitted
- Facilities
- toilets, cafe, pub, shop
Parking
- Aldeburgh seafront parking
paid
Safety
Who is around if it goes wrong. None of it makes the water safe.
- Lifeguards
- None
- RNLI
- Aldeburgh RNLI
- Nearest A&E
- Ipswich Hospital, Ipswich (~40 min)
- Water quality
- Designated bathing water — excellent
The spot
Aldeburgh is a steep shingle beach beside the lifeboat station, with deep water immediately offshore. It is quiet even in summer and the wind arrives clean off the North Sea.
The steepness is the defining feature. There is no shallow area to recover in, the shore break dumps, and longshore drift along this actively eroding coast is strong. Tidal range is small for the east coast, so swell matters more than tide.
Sources
Where this record came from, and how confident we are in it.
- Windfinder — Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station
Checked 2026-09-07 · coordinates, wind
- airbornekitesurf.wixsite.com — Aldeburgh
Checked 2026-09-23 · wind
- UK Windsurfing beach guide — Aldeburgh
Checked 2026-09-23 · wind
- Boards magazine — Aldeburgh
Checked 2026-09-23 · wind
Verify locally. Coordinates 52.1533, 1.6042. Conditions, access arrangements and beach rules change; check them on the day before you rely on anything on this page.