The Scallop at Aldeburgh Beach

You'll spot it from a mile away - a gleaming stainless steel scallop shell standing nine metres tall on Aldeburgh's shingle beach. It's Ben Britten's memorial, completed in 2003, and it's properly striking against the grey Suffolk coast. The shell catches the light differently depending on the time of day, which sounds cheesy until you're actually standing there watching it shift from silver to bronze as the sun moves.

Britten was Aldeburgh's most famous resident, a composer who founded the music festival here in the 1940s. The scallop itself is a nod to William Wilkie's poem about gathering shells on this very beach. You can walk right up to it - no fences, no admission charge - and spend as long as you like. Some people sit on the shingle for twenty minutes sketching it. Others snap a photo and move on. Both are entirely valid.

Truth is, it's more of a focal point than a destination. The real appeal comes from combining it with a proper walk along the beach, maybe grabbing fish and chips from one of the seafront cafes in town. If you're staying at Beach View Holiday Park just three miles down the coast, you could easily make this part of a morning stroll. Cakes & Ale is a bit further out and frankly less convenient for this stretch.

Aldeburgh itself has a genteel, slightly faded charm - the kind of place where you understand why a major composer chose to settle. The scallop just gives you a reason to pause and take it in.