Traditional beach huts, Southwold, Suffolk Heritage Coast, England (© stevendocwra/Getty Images)

Along England's east coast, the Suffolk Heritage Coast blends windswept heaths, marshes, shingle beaches and expansive North Sea views. One of its best-known towns is Southwold, where water and history are inseparable. Almost encircled by the sea, the River Blyth and surrounding wetlands, the town occupies a slender peninsula shaped by centuries of fishing, trade and life at the edge of the water.