PIRATES once ruled the waves off this coast ... well, the airwaves at least. The wireless buccaneers of Radio Caroline, North Sea, City, Veronica and 'Wonderful Radio London' beamed their psychedelic sounds ashore during family holidays in the Sixties.

Although the swashbuckling DJs have sailed away, little else has changed.

Deb and I were staying at Friston, a small village complete with pub, village green and a postmill.

Our base for the week was Flora Cottage, a cosy holiday home. So cosy in fact, that it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the roaring log fire burning in the inglenook fireplace.

The pretty terraced house, built in the 19th century, came with all mod cons - and was only 200 metres from The Old Chequers pub!

This part of the country is known as The Sandlings, and is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Our cottage was but four miles from the Suffolk Heritage Coast where fishermen sold their catch of the day from huts clustered along the seafront at Aldeburgh, once a medieval fishing and shipbuilding centre.

This unspoilt resort, with its 16th century Moot Hall, is world-famous for its annual festival of the arts. The festival was founded in 1948 by composer Benjamin Britten, singer Peter Pears, and producer/librettist Eric Crozier.

The town also has had links with many famous writers including Wilkie Collins, Sir Laurens Van Der Post, Ruth Rendell and E M Forster.

North Warren and The Haven link Aldeburgh and its Edwardian holiday resort neighbour, Thorpeness. This area of grazing marshes is now a nature reserve and includes woodland, marsh and heathland, and can be explored on marked trails.

Further south along the coast, on the River Ore, lies Orford with its 12th-century castle.

It is definitely worth taking a climb to the top of the Norman keep, built by Henry II, for a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape out to Orford Ness, an 11-mile long shingle spit. The Ness was used as a military research establishment, which included the development of radar in the 1930s, and later atomic weapons work which could account for the mysterious concrete pagodas lurking on the horizon.

Back inland, we walked the footpath along the banks of the River Alde at Iken, where, in 869AD, a Viking sailing fleet destroyed the 7th century monastery.

Dead trees and old gate posts peep out of the waters of this ancient waterway, which was once an important corn trading route between Snape Maltings and London.

Today the haunting cry of a solitary lapwing was all that could be heard across the mudflats, which were created when the river burst its banks in 1953.

The Victorian buildings of the Maltings today house a caf, galleries, shops, tea shop, and concert hall, where more than 80 concerts are held throughout the year.

There is also an excellent pub, The Plough & Sail, one of three brilliant boozers in this small community.

A pub, a few houses, a fish restaurant, and the ruins of a Greyfriars monastery are pretty much all that remains of Dunwich, which was once a major port.

Erosion has meant that the community, which had a bishop as recently as 1832, has dissolved into the North Sea. Legend has it that on dark, stormy nights, the bells of its six submerged churches can be heard ringing from beneath the waves.

Minsmere is one of RSPB's best reserves. We spent a day there playing 'hide and seek' along marked trails to various bird hides. Once inside, with binoculars at the ready, you can sit and seek out the birds going about their business in a landscape of reeds, woodland, and coastal lagoons.

The reserve, as you would expect, was teeming with birdlife. We spotted teal, shoveller, shelduck, Bewick swans, redshank, snipe and a marsh harrier flying low across the reedbeds - a wonderful sight.

A group dedicated to conserving the landscape and wildlife of The Sandlings is the Suffolk Coasts & Heaths Unit.

Liz Ardill, communications officer, said: "Many people come to the region because they are interested in wildlife. They appreciate the peace and quiet and unique character of the area, its lonely beaches and charming towns and villages."

The pirates may have gone, but there is plenty of treasure still to be discovered in Suffolk.

Fact file

Staying there: Richard and Deb's stay at Flora Cottage was courtesy of Suffolk Secrets, 7 Frenze Road, Diss IP22 4PA. Tel: 01379 651297. Fax: 01379 641555.

Website:

www.suffolk-secrets.co.uk

Email: holidays@suffolk-secrets.co.uk

Useful contacts:

Suffolk Coasts & Heaths Unit, Dock Lane, Melton, Woodbridge IP12 1PE, Suffolk. Tel/fax: 01394 384948. Website: www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org

Aldeburgh Tourist Information Centre, 152 High Street, Aldeburgh IP15 5AU, Suffolk.Tel 01728 453637.

Updated: 11:49 Saturday, April 06, 2002