Shotley Gate   page loading

This is one of the most interesting and significant places on the "Shotley Peninsula", and is a significant part of the sprawling Shotley parish.

There were evidently fears that Shotley Gate would be a possible site of any invasion during WWII; an anti-tank ditch dug to cut it off from the rest of the peninsular can still be seen in places along its route from Cockle Creek via Over Hall to Shotley Marshes.

From Shotley Point, there are superb views across the Orwell and Stour Rivers, to the busy Suffolk port of Felixstowe (the largest container port in the country), and to two Essex ports of Harwich and Parkeston Quay. These are two of the country's busiest ferry and cruise liner ports.

Originally an Anglo Saxon settlement, Shotley Gate saw its first naval battle in AD885, when Alfred, King of Wessex fought off Guthrum the Dane's invading army. This area became known as "bloody point". HMS Ganges was berthed here from 1899, and used as a cadet training ship for the Royal Navy. The training facility, still named HMS Ganges, moved ashore (in 1905) and was then located onto higher ground just behind Shotley Gate. Cadet training ended in 1976 and there is now a small naval museum dedicated to HMS Ganges in Shotley Marina.