The next day, we walked from Aldeburgh to the northern end of Orford Ness by Slaughden. Here, the distance between the North Sea shingle shore and the marsh of the River Alde is a matter of metres. We saw a bank of concrete and artificial structures that had been used to shore up the northern end of the Ness and maintain its only, and somewhat precarious, link to the mainland.
The sculptural forms of the geometric structure were striking, becoming contorted by the force and persistence of the waves. Again, I was stuck by relationship between the land, sea and the human presence on the Ness. The coastline engineering, the over-the-horizon radar masts and structure of Cobra Mist and the Lighthouse all strive to make contact, or maintain presence in relation to the sea. However, all were fallible, or now redundant.
