In this stormy economic climate many aspiring sailors are being forced to remain landlocked, but Kessingland Sea Sailing Club is one of a growing number of sailing clubs to offer a low-cost alternative to owning or renting a boat.

The Kessingland Sea Sailing Club owns two sea-going sailing yachts – a Contessa 32 moored in Lowestoft, and a Bavaria 40, which is currently based in Turkey. Members of the club can use these boats by arrangement, and make a contribution to Club funds.

This offers a cost-effective way to get out on the sea, and allows the club to offer a comprehensive training programme for those who haven’t quite mastered all their knots.

The club was originally a dinghy racing society which was based on Kessingland beach. In a bold move which is paying dividends for members, the clubhouse was sold off and the proceeds used to purchase the club’s two ocean-going racing yachts.

So if you’re a keen sailor and economic considerations are keeping you on shore, the Kessingland Sea Sailing Club might be able to help you get your anchors aweigh.

A rare species of crane, which has only been sighted four times in the British Isles, was sighted in Kessingland.

The adult Sandhill Crane that has been migrating south along the east coast from Aberdeenshire in the last few days was seen flying south from Kessingland around 10.40 on Sunday, a spokesman for Lowestoft bird club told the Eastern Daily Press.

The Sandhill Crane, with its distinctive red forehead, is usually a native of North America, but this bird has been left stranded on the wrong side of the Atlantic by the the recent Hurrican Katia. Instead of migrating to Florida with the rest of the flock, it has flown south, leading to the first sighting of this species in Britain since 1981.

RSPB experts told the EDP that the bird could stay in the UK or spend its life migrating along the eastern side of the Atlantic, but that it was unlikely to return to America.

Kessingland’s birdwatchers are celebrating the sighting of this “magnificent” bird, and hoping that it can be spotted again when it flies north next year.

Kessingland, as Britain’s largest village, has always had a healthy property market, but local agencies are facing increasing competition from national firms with huge marketing budgets and hi-tech online services, but what can be done to close the gap and rejuvenate local businesses?

New Lettings Software from CFP is proving to be a vital tool for struggling agencies to compete with the big boys.

By allowing simple, out-of-the-box access to cutting edge tools like social media marketing, web-based portfolios, virtual tours and even smartphone apps, smaller local agencies can level the playing field.

Since local firms can provide a more personal touch than a faceless national corporation, estate agency software might give local agents the crucial edge that they need in order to survive.

The Suffolk Coastal District Council have approved plans that will tackle erosion and flooding until 2105 in areas of Kessingland and other parts of the Suffolk Coast

Yet the proposals that have been put forward will not save every part of the Suffolk coast as plans for the entire land line would be much too expensive. The approved plans will see the maintenance of Sea defences at Lowestoft, Southwold and Felixstowe with the main area of Kessingland, along with the A12, also be defended.

About 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of land between Kessingland and Southwold would be left to the mercy of the sea.

Yet Andy Smith, Conservative deputy leader of Suffolk Coastal District Council told the BBC: “The key aspects are that virtually the entire populated part of the coast will be protected.”

Coast line erosion in Suffolk is a subject that is constantly in question and will not go away, so it is good to see the council putting plans in place to defend Kessingland and surrounding areas of the ever popular Suffolk coast.

Our thumbnail image was taken by Barry Hughes, a great photo we are sure you will all agree.

Love Kessingland is the place to go for everything going on in Kessingland

We aim to give you everything you need when visiting Kessingland, Suffolk and to go that bit further, we’ve included some useful links below to help you out even more!

Hightide – A great little link to some brilliant art and festival information

From Kessingland, to London Catwalks, Italian Fashion Houses and Supermodels, Designer Josh Bullen is rising through the ranks of fashion.

Kessingland resident Josh Bullen has studied at the Central Saint Martins Art School, with his degree culminating in a catwalk show for his relaxed sportswear designs. Yet it wasn’t his mates chipping in to don the clothes, but world renowned supermodel Daisy Lowe.

Josh, who attended Kirkley High School in Kessingland, met the model through a friend, as he tells the EADT,

“We met outside a bar in Old Compton Street,” he said “She showed an interest in what I was doing, and obviously I was interested in having her do it. She looked through a couple of photos and said she would like to do it. It was really cool to see her at the show.

“It was weird because, talking to her backstage, she was a really normal, nice person, so to see her on stage modelling my clothes was really odd.”

Supermodel Daisy Lowe has modelled across the globe from New York, Milan and London, featuring for some of the most famous names in fashion, including Karl Lagerfeld who selected Daisy to model for Chanel.

It’s a world that is a stark contrast to the coastal town of Kessingland in Suffolk. Josh’s next journey will take him to fashion house Stone Island in Italy.

Kessingland is a great place to view the Lowestoft Air Show Festival 2010

The next Lowestoft Air show is being held on Thursday 11th and Friday 12th of August 2011 and Kessingland is a great place to watch this super air festival without the large crowds.

Watch the 2011 lowestoft airshowfrom Kessingland

Many people have said that they enjoy watching the fantastic Lowestoft Airshow from the village of Kessingland, which is just 3 miles up the coast from Lowestoft. People viewing the Lowestoft air display from Kessingland still get to see all the action of this famous air festival, but you dont have the odd 100,000 people trying to get a glimpse of the air displays as well. You can always find a nice spot on Kessingland’s beautiful beaches or up on Kessingland’s cliff-tops to see all the action from this years Lowestoft air festival.

However, if you like to be where the action is then there is no better place to view the Lowestoft Airshow than on Lowestoft’s seafront.

The UK has seen a boom in historical objects being reported to museums, and Suffolk, including Kessingland has been a hive for these discoveries.

Over 90,000 finds were reported to the British Museum in 2010, a 36% on the previous year. With figures like these the British Museum have been encouraging people to get out their and get finding.

Whether in a field or on the beach residents of Kessingland could come across local treasure left behind by everyone from the mighty Romans to Vikings.

840 Iron Age coins were recently discovered in Suffolk . The coins dated from 15 to 20 AD and have been the largest hoard of coins found in Britain since 1849.

A Roman Knife Handle was also discovered depicting a “romantic” Roman scene. It is only one of a few of this type of design to ever be discovered in Britain.

If your in Kessingland or anywhere else in Suffolk this summer, it might be worth taking that metal detector and spade. You never know what you might find. Metal detecting has become more and more popular in recent years, with people scouring Suffolk’s beaches in hope of valuable finds.

The Portable Antiques Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary organisation that has been put together to inform people that are interested in or have found archaeological pieces. Check out the official site and get finding those Dabloons!

It’s Bank Holiday time again, as a three day weekend approaches.

Suffolk Bank Holidays are always a great opportunity to get out and have a proper visit to places you may not have the time for, in a normal week.

One of these places should definitely be Kessingland in Suffolk. If your’e looking for a good old day out or a long weekend in the countryside Kessingland is the place for it.

When coming up with bank holiday related words, pub is always one of them. Kessingland has a great choice of places to quench your thirst as well as a whole bunch of restaurants to tide over your hunger on those long bank holiday afternoons.

Kessingland is close to many fabulous beaches on the Suffolk coast. Bank Holidays always bring people out onto the sand, even if it’s cloudy!

Grab your picnic basket and take a visit to the beach this bank holiday monday.

Another idea is traipsing around rammed shopping centres as people scramble for Suffolk bank holiday sale items on the floor, or a trip out on the open water, cruising in the fresh air of the Suffolk broads near Kessingland. It’s a tough decision, but if you do choose the latter Kessingland is a great place to access the Broads from.

Over the coming summer there is loads going on in and around Kessingland. This Bank Holiday check out what’s happening on Love Kessingland for ideas on what to do and where to go.

Kessingland residents can be proud of their coastal getaway as the village has been awarded the prestigious ‘Keep Britain Tidy Quality Coast Award’.

The village has been a long standing attraction for people coming to the Suffolk Coast. The beautiful beach and delightful town have made Kessingland a favourite of the County. It is no surprise then, that it has been given the award that recognises such high standards of beach management.

The Quality Coast Award had this to say about its prize:

“At a time when more and more people are choosing to holiday at home, the rapid growth of visitors enjoying our delightful and dramatic coastline has highlighted not only the demand but the importance in presenting and retaining clean, attractive and well managed beaches.”

Having such a presentable place to visit is only good news for Kessingland’s tourism trade and it’s this that the award intends to advertise as well.

“A beach that achieves Quality Coast Award status will receive a nationally recognised mark of approval, helping to generate interest from both the public and the media. This in turn will help secure future funding for further developments of the coastal area and enhance local tourism.”

“Although Quality Coast Award beaches can often be very different, the flag is a symbol of quality which guarantees to visitors that the beach is one of the best in the country.”

So come and take a visit to the award winning Kessingland this summer!

Kessingland has joined the world of social networking, so come and get involved.

We’ve recently entered the world of Facebook to let more and more people know about what’s going on in Kessingland. We will update the account with news, information and events, as well as all the latest pictures and videos that we create.

We want our Facebook page to be fully interactive, so we will be asking you your opinions through Facebook questions. Where is your favourite place to visit in Kessingland? What are the 3 best things to do in Kessingland?

You will be able to see the publics response to these and many more. And if you have any photos or videos of Kessingland that you want to share, don’t feel shy and give them an upload!

Our aim is to put Kessingland on the social networking map and joining up to the page is a great way to do this.

We are currently working on integrating Facebook and Twitter with the site and this is the first step.

Check out the link below and Love Kessingland:

Kessingland Facebook Page

No, William and Kate are not set to visit Kessingland in the near future. The Suffolk tow has its own royalty, with its two pubs The Kings Head and The Queens Head.

The names sound simple yet there’s a lot more to these pub names than you’ll d think.

Historian Elaine Saunders studied the history of Pub names and mentions Royal Body parts in her essay and how they came to be,

“Traditionally, travellers sought overnight accommodation in the many monasteries along the way but the numbers became so great that the monks could no long cope with the influx. Enterprising locals therefore set up private inns and took religious names to imply a monastic connection.
These religious influences on British pub names would have continued indefinitely had Henry VIII not been desperate for a male heir.

When the Pope refused Henry VIII a divorce, Henry broke from the Catholic faith and established his new Church of England in the 16th Century. He systematically destroyed the monasteries and confiscated their wealth, whilst pubs rushed to change their names to eradicate any Catholic links.

Arks became Ships and St Peter, the guardian of the gates of Heaven, became the Crossed Keys. Many more landlords played safe by adopting loyal names like the Kings Arms or Kings Head.”

So the local King and Queen could have easily been Adam and Eve or Noah and the Ark, if it wasn’t for Henry VIII.

Yet Kessingland has quite a reserved list of pub names, unlike many across the country. Some weird pub names include:
Devil’s Punchbowl, The Elusive Camel, The Hung Drawn And Quartered, The Fawcett Inn, Dirty Nelly’s, The Hairy Lemon.

So next time your’e having a pint at the King or Queens Head, have one for Henry VIII and not a hairy lemon.

Kessingland rests on the coast of Suffolk, a pretty town, with a wealth of history.

The Suffolk village is a very popular tourist destination during the summer months, its population almost doubling during this busy time of year.

Yet its not just tourists of today that have found Kessingland a pleasant place to stay. Archaelogists flock to Kessingland as it has been the site for many Palaeolithic and Neolithic finds. Small tools and ancient stone objects have been found as evidence of early settlements.

At the time of the Vikings the village is noted to have paid 22,000 herrings to its Lords, as Kessingland’s position on the coast allowed it to live off an industry of fishing.

It’s church was built around 1436, with its tower used as a beacon for ships who strayed close to the coastline.

Before 1960 the village of Kessingland was divided into two communities, that lay on the beach and the street. After this the two communities combined to create a population that stands at well over 4,000 today.

Famous residents of the village include novelist Sir H. Rider Haggard who was often visited by Rudyard Kipling during the summer months.

Kessingland has had a lot of history, and continues to live on today as a brilliant Suffolk seaside town.

Critically endangered species given hope in Kessingland’s Africa Alive.

Kessingland’s safari park Africa Alive! has recently had a new arrival. Pickles, born from parents Calula and Stan is an endagered Somali Wild Ass.

The species has fewer than 300 animals left in North East Africa, with none left in their original home of Somalia.

Yet the birth of Pickles gives a tremendous boost to the survival of the species, which is listed as critically endangered. Born at 25kg, Pickles will eventually weigh around 250kg when fully grown, hopefully going on to continue boosting the population.

Africa Alive! in Kessingland is part of the European endangered species programme, designed to save animal populations across the world.

A spokesman from the Africa Alive! Park was delighted with the new arrival,
“We are very proud for Stan and Calula, as it is extremely important that they continue to play a crucial role in assisting with the European breeding programme, for this endangered species.”

Yet new arrivals will continue to arrive at Africa Alive! as plans for wind turbines are to go ahead in the near future.

Two turbines will be built, one in the grounds of Africa Alive! as part of expanding wind farm plans in Suffolk.

The turbines are siblings of the UK’s largest wind turbine, in nearby Lowestoft, the mighty ‘Gulliver’.

Although turbines come with a controversial reputation, Martin Goymour, Director of Africa Alive in Kessingland is optimistic for the plans.

“We think that visitors, many of whom are from out of the county, will find them fascinating, especially the opportunity to get up close to a wind turbine. In addition we hope that the planned new eco energy display centre in the park will, when constructed, provide an exciting venue from which to learn about wind power, and ‘green’ energy in general.”