The Sunrise Coast

Benacre is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The village is located about 5+3⁄4 miles (9 km) south of Lowestoft and 1+1⁄2 miles (2 km) north-east of Wrentham, between the main A12 road and the North Sea coast. Neighbouring villages include Kessingland and Covehithe with the town of Southwold 5 miles (8 km) to the south. The village is dispersed around Benacre Hall, the estate of the Gooch family. It had a population of around 70 in mid-2008. The population declined dramatically during the 20th century from 216 at the 1901 census. The area of the parish extends from the Hundred River in the north to Benacre Broad in the south. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village's name is given as Benagra within the Hundred of Blythling. It formed part of the holdings of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, as it had before the Norman Conquest, with one freeman recorded as living in the manor. The village has few basic services. The former parish church of St Michael is now privately owned by the Gooch family. It is medieval in origin and a Grade II* listed building, although extensively rebuilt following a fire in the 18th century. The church of St Andrew in Covehithe now acts as the parish church for Benacre. Benacre Broad forms part of the Benacre National Nature Reserve, an important reserve for over 100 bird species including the marsh harrier, little tern and bittern. The shingle beach also forms an important habitat and the coastal area of the parish is part of the Pakefield to Easton Barents Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Benacre Broad is an isolated coastal lagoon on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. It is located in the parish of Benacre around 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) north of the village of Covehithe. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Wrentham, 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) north of Southwold and 6+1⁄4 miles (10 km) south of Lowestoft. The broad is part of Benacre National Nature Reserve, a reserve managed by Natural England. It forms part of the area of the Pakefield to Easton Bavents Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Benacre and Easton Barents Lagoons Special Area of Conservation. The main broad area has traditionally been made up of a number of smaller bodies of water and in 1996 a number of small pools were created to combat the impact of coastal erosion and increasing water salinity on habitats. At a 1997 survey, had an area of 5 hectares (12 acres). At the end of November 2011 a high tidal surge broke through the narrow beach separating the Broad from the sea, inundating the area and increasing the salinity markedly. A survey in February 2012 found that the area of the broad had increased to 43 hectares (110 acres) and that the salinity of the water had increased to 22 parts per thousand. The water depth had also increased, although some separate pools within the lagoon area had remained as fresh water. In 2020, the beach was again breached and currently (December 2020) a channel allows salt water to enter the broad at high tide, and the dresh water to drain from the broad as the tide drops.

Africa Alive! Zoological Reserve, formerly known as Africa Alive! and Suffolk Wildlife Park, is a zoo located in Kessingland, Suffolk, UK. It is situated off the A12 at Kessingland 2 miles (3 km) south of Lowestoft. Africa Alive! Zoological Reserve is part of the Zoological Society of East Anglia, a registered charity, and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).

Kessingland is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around 4 miles (6 km) south of Lowestoft on the east coast of the United Kingdom. It is of interest to archaeologists as Palaeolithic and Neolithic implements have been found here; the remains of an ancient forest lie buried on the seabed. The parish, which had a population of 4,327 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, borders the parishes of Gisleham, Henstead with Hulver Street and Benacre. It extends from the edge of the Pontins holiday park south of Pakefield in the north to the Hundred River which marks the southern border of the parish. The main A12 road cuts through the parish, bypassing the main built up area of the village.

Rushmere is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The village is around 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Lowestoft and 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) south-east of Beccles. Neighbouring parishes include Gisleham, Henstead with Hulver Street and Mutford. The Hundred River forms the southern boundary of the parish. Settlement within the parish is dispersed without a village centre. The population was estimated at 60 in 2016. The majority of the land in the parish is agricultural with the name meaning a rushy enclosure or lake.

Henstead is a village in the civil parish of Henstead with Hulver Street, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It has a church called Church of St Mary which is a Grade I listed building. It has very few housing areas, and is a rural area. It is situated near Rushmere and Kessingland and the A12. The parish has a population of 408, , which contains many very similar sized civil parishes. The Private preparatory school, The Old School Henstead, is also located in the village. . The church has a Norman doorway, and an embattled tower. The village stands three miles from the coast, and five miles south-east of Beccles railway station.

Gisleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is on the edge of Lowestoft, around 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of the town centre. The parish is in the East Suffolk district, situated between Carlton Colville and Kessingland. The parish had a population of 778 at the 2011 United Kingdom census. The main A12 road cuts through the eastern portion of the parish close to the North Sea coast. The coastal section of the parish to the east of the main road has developed as a series of holiday parks, including a large Pontins park. The parish extends south as far as the Hundred River where it borders Henstead with Hulver Street and Rushmere parishes.

Lothingland was a rural district in East Suffolk, England, named after the ancient half-hundred of Lothingland which was merged with Mutford half-hundred in 1763 to form Mutford and Lothingland. The rural district was formed in 1934 by the merger of most of Mutford and Lothingland Rural District along with part of Blything Rural District, both of which were being abolished. It covered a coastal area between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The district was administered from offices in Rectory Road, Lowestoft. The site is now occupied by Kingswear Court. The district was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and split between the new districts of the borough of Great Yarmouth (in Norfolk) and Waveney (in Suffolk).

Henstead with Hulver Street is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is around 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Lowestoft, 5 miles (8.0 km) south-east of Beccles and 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the coastal town of Southwold. The parish has an area of 8 square kilometres (3.1 sq mi) and consists of the villages of Henstead, where the parish church is located, and Hulver Street. It borders the parishes of Benacre, Ellough, Gisleham, Kessingland, Mutford, Rushmere, Sotterley and Wrentham. At the 2011 United Kingdom census the parish had a population of 408, having increased from a mid 2005 estimate of 320. A 2016 estimate suggested that the population had risen slightly to 416. The main A12 road cuts across the eastern border of the parish, with the B1127 Beccles to Benacre road running through Hulver Street and past Henstead church. The Hundred River defines much of the northern border of the parish, with the western boundary bordered by the Sotterley estate.

Pakefield Lighthouse is a decommissioned 19th century lighthouse which was built near Pakefield a suburb of Lowestoft in Suffolk. The lighthouse tower has been used for a variety of maritime, civilian and military roles, and is currently used as a Coastwatch lookout post.

Pakefield High School is a co-educational secondary school located in Pakefield, a suburb of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The school opened in September 2011, initially with Years 7 and 8 only, using buildings which were previously Pakefield Middle School. The school became the first new state high school to be built in Suffolk for over 20 years as part of the reorganisation of schools in Lowestoft, a process which saw the closure of eight middle schools and a change from transfer to high school at age 13 to transfer at age 11. The school caters for around 900 students aged from 11 to 16 and cost £26.5 million to build. It was expected to open in September 2010, although this was delayed due to the discovery of Great Crested Newts on the school site. Perry Linsley, formerly head of Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College, was the school's first Headteacher. In January 2016 Linsley announced that he would be leaving the school at Easter 2016 to take up the position of Principal in a new school in Dubai. From September 2016 through to December 2020, Mr Anthony Walker took on the role of Headteacher, overseeing the school's transition to Academy status, before relocating to The Falkland Islands to work within the Senior Leadership Team of his new school. The current Acting Head of School is Mr Dan Bagshaw, who had previously undertaken the role of Senior Deputy Headteacher within the school.

Mutford is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk District of the English county of Suffolk. The village is 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Lowestoft and 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Beccles in a rural area. The parish borders Barnby, Carlton Colville, Gisleham, Rushmere, Henstead with Hulver Street, Ellough and North Cove. The village gave its name to the Half Hundred of Mutford which is named in the Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 471 at the 2011 United Kingdom census. The A146 Beccles to Lowestoft road runs to north of the parish, cutting through the north-western corner. The Hundred River marks the southern boundary with Henstead with Hulver Street.