Aldeburgh Beach Lookout

In the 19th century, observation towers were constructed along the United Kingdom's coastline to help ships navigate treacherous waters and sail safely on.[2] Lookouts, as they were called, were typically commercial operations in the business of rescuing or salvaging vessels. The Aldeburgh Beach Lookout is the southern of two lookouts on Aldeburgh beach; its rival,[3] the North Lookout, stands approximately 100 yards north and now forms part of the Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station.

The South Lookout, now known as the Aldeburgh Beach Lookout, became a coastguard post before falling into disuse in the mid-20th century. South African writer and Aldeburgh resident Sir Laurens van der Post wrote inside the lookout for over 30 years, from the mid-1950s onwards.[2]

In 2010, the Aldeburgh Beach Lookout was co-founded by Francis Carnwath and Caroline Wiseman to provide an artistic space for the public to view modern art.[2] Since then, the Lookout has hosted exhibitions by many international artists including Royal Academicians Antony Gormley, Alison Wilding, Nigel Hall, Chris Orr, and Eileen Cooper.[2] Poets who have written in the Lookout include Blake Morrison and Ian McMillan. The Lookout has hosted philosophers and thinkers including A. C. Grayling and Andrew Marr.

• Official website