Felixstowe Ferry is situated to the north of Felixstowe at the mouth of the river Deben. The river is tidal and fast flowing and navigation by boat is not easy. Even with powerful engines boats are still regularly wrecked on the sand and shingle banks of the river bar. It is however, the shortest crossing to the other side at Bawdsey and for this reason has been the site of a ferry for many centuries. The ferry staging can be seen projecting out into the river. The gravel beach is a good place to launch and recover boats from the water. The banks provide shelter for fishing and pleasure craft which anchor just inside the river from the worst of the storms and rough weather.

The gravel on which these buildings is situated is in fact nearly 1 km out into what used to be marsh and the road that is in the picture is the end of a causeway. The buildings are almost all temporary wooden structures built on stilts to avoid being flooded by the high spring tides.

The grassland is used as a dinghy park and for camping on during the summer. It is protected from flooding by an embankment which also has a footpath on it. Attempts to stop the river currents scouring the gravel away are being made by the sailing club by covering the shingle with a concrete mesh.