This picture shows the area to the south of Southwold town centre at the junction of the shingle spit and the main line of cliffs at the Denes which divide the Haven Beach marshes from the sea. These marshes can be seen in the top of this photograph. Notice the line of brightly coloured beach huts facing the beach and the six black dots on the grassed area. These are cannons pointing out into Sole Bay, where in 1672, the British and Dutch fleets met in battle.

The movement of sands and gravels by longshore drift is mainly from north to south along the Suffolk coastline. This action has led to the development of shingle spits which have grown southwards to close off any inlet or river estuary. To the south of here at the harbour, this action has closed the river Blyth down to a channel no more than 30 meters wide. The large volume of water trapped in the estuary each tide scours the gravels at the mouth of the river forming a bar but the force of the rushing ebb tide keeps it from being closed completely. The strong currents make entry into the port by yacht difficult.