Laura Scamponi reports on the award-winning, groundbreaking Latitude Festival at Henham Park Estate in Southwold

If you count music/literature/film/comedy/art loving festival goers of all ages among your family members and friends then you may well already be familiar with the groundbreaking Latitude Festival, returning to the historic Henham Park Estate in Southwold this July for the third year running.

The following article first appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Green Pebble magazine (www.greenpebble.co.uk). Published with permission.

December is the one time of the year when I am likely to go into major depression. Minor signs appear towards the end of September as the supermarket shelves fill with Christmas cards and garishly painted boxes of chocolate biscuits. By the end of October my mood, like the days, gets darker as mince pies, Christmas nuts and wreaths of holly are added to those yawning Christmas shelves.

By now I am dreading the phone ringing and those inevitable words: “Have you any plans for Christmas?” or worse still “It would be nice to see you over Christmas”. Urghhhhhhhhhh!

Southwold, more than any other seaside resort, seems to epitomise the spirit of the pre-war British holiday. It has some of the country's best beach huts and today is certainly the No. 1 destination for holidaymakers heading for the Suffolk Coast.

In the Edwardian era and in the years following the First World War, the sight of people of both sexes in bathing costumes had become acceptable. However, changing in public was still frowned upon and could result in a fine.

Today the River Blyth enters the sea between Southwold and Walberswick. Go back four centuries Dunwich was at the mouth of the river. The estuary widens out into a wide shallow pool at Blythburgh before making its way inland to Halesworth.

Below is an extract from Smuggling in the British Isles: a History by Richard Platt For more detail visit his website www.smuggling.co.uk

Full of character and interest both to the holidaymaker and the historian, Southwold is one of the most popular resorts on the East coast. But be warned you won't find much in the way of candyfloss or ‘'kiss me quick'’ hats. Perhaps it is its virtual island status - Southwold is surrounded by creeks, marshes and reed beds and flanked to the south by the Blyth estuary - but to enter Southwold is to enter a seaside resort reminiscent of the 1920s.

The quiet understated elegance of its Georgian houses, its 100 foot lighthouse towering above the Sole Bay Inn, its

Southwold
The very select seaside town of Southwold is thoroughly deserving of the praise which has long been heaped on it.

With its privileged geography, working lighthouse, beautiful clean beaches, famous Adnams brewery, excellent pubs, shops and eateries and mix of Georgian, Regency and Victorian architecture, it's no surprise that so many people choose to visit each year. Here you might well spot the odd eminent artist, writer or actor mingling with the throng of day trippers and holidaymakers to be found on the beaches or in the town centre.