Martello Park

This leisure and recreation space between the Martello Park housing development and the sea runs from Sea Road to Manor Terrace.

A great place to spend an hour or two, this grassy park offers play, picnic and wildlife areas, walking and cycling routes. There is also the ‘Splash Pad’ water play area (operational daily between April and October). Toilets with ‘Changing Places’ facility. Two kiosks provide a range of refreshments.

The park is set around the recently restored Martello Tower ‘P’. Built as a defence against a possible invasion by Napoleon’s forces, it is one of four Martello Towers (built 1805-1812) which can still be seen along Felixstowe’s coastline today. It incorporates about 750,000 bricks and cost approximately £2,000 to build. With the end of the Napoleonic wars, the tower was transformed into a station for the forerunners of today’s Coastguards and Revenue and Customs services. During World War I, the building became a signal station intercepting secret German radio messages.

Today the tower’s lookout is one of the stations of the National Coastwatch Institution. A set of interpretation boards within Martello Park cover various historical aspects of the tower including its original design and purpose.

Download the Interpretation Boards document. Please note: this document is in pdf format, and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print.