Date(s) of visit: 05/10/2023 – 14/04/2024 (winter mooring + 2 weeks)
Boat length: 28ft
Boat type: Sailing yacht
Boat name: Sudana
Crew: Two persons and one cat
Ipswich Beacon Marina (previously Ipswich Haven) is a liveaboard-friendly marina just a stone’s throw away from the town centre. Image credit: Instagram @pscopywriting
Price
We stayed in Ipswich over winter, enjoying the benefits of affordable winter rates on a 90-day stay. For our vessel, it cost £250 for 90 days. In April, we moved onto standard visitor rates, which are charged at £3.44 per metre per night (including electric), £17.98 per metre per week, or £58.68 per metre per month for 2024.
You can also benefit from a short-stay for just £10. This covers you for up to 4 hours, plenty of time to refuel, reprovision, and stretch your legs.
You can find a full list of Ipswich Beacon Marina prices on the website or contact the marina directly by telephone – 01473 236644 or email – ipswichbeacon@abports.co.uk.
The price list for Ipswich Beacon Marina can be found on their website or by contacting the marina office. Image credit: https://www.beaconmarinas.co.uk/media/z3se1ltu/abp-ipswich-price-lists.pdf
Access
Ipswich Marina is located up the Orwell River and is secured behind a lock. The lock operates 24/7, 365 days a year, and there is usually at least one lock in/out every hour. If you miss your opportunity to enter the lock, there is a waiting pontoon nearby. However, be aware that a large shipping vessel often uses this, so you may wish to contact the lock keeper and/or marina if you intend to wait there.
Because the marina is located up the river, the passage into Ipswich is relatively straightforward. Normal sailing rules apply: stick to the starboard and be aware of other water users. There are several mooring fields as you make your way up, which offer a welcome break for sailors coming in after a long passage. However, they’re not particularly sheltered, and large vessels travel up the Orwell regularly, so you might be in for a bumpy night.
One thing to note when visiting Ipswich by boat is that, even during free-flow, vessels must radio “Ipswich Lock” on VHF channel 68 15 minutes before or when passing under the Orwell Bridge. Ipswich Marina can then be called on channel 80 to arrange a birth.
The lockkeepers are very helpful and will guide you the rest of the way up the river. It will always be a starboard-to mooring when coming into Ipswich (unless it’s incredibly busy), as there’s only one pontoon, and the other side is a wall. When we arrived, they had the gates open and ready for us, but a traffic light system must be observed when entering the lock.
Contact info
Ipswich Beacon Marina (formally Ipswich Haven) is available on VHF Channel 80. “Ipswich Lock” is contactable on Channel 68 and should be radioed when passing under the Orwell Bridge to arrange entry into the marina.
Telephone: 01473 236 644
Email: IpswichBeacon@abports.co.uk
Address:
Ipswich Beacon Marina
New Cut East Ipswich
Suffolk
IP3 0EA
Comfort
Located behind a lock and surrounded by large buildings, Ipswich Beacon is incredibly sheltered from the wind in all directions, and visitors should expect minimum swell or discomfort while moored there. Many marina births are ‘garage births’, meaning you’ve got a choice of pontoons on each side and don’t need to worry about navigating next to wide vessels when mooring, meaning you can enjoy a pleasant, peaceful, and stress-free stay.
Most of the pontoons are wide and solid, making stepping on/off your boat comfortable, and they’re a respectable length for most vessels.
According to the website, Ipswich Beacon Marina can accommodate vessels up to 40 metres LOA, and offers 316 berths, so even last-minute visitors are likely to be offered a space in the marina.
The pontoons are wide and stable, making them comfortable to walk on – even in the snow! Image credit: Instagram @pscopywriting
Facilities
Showers
The showers at Ipswich Haven Marina (now Ipswich Beacon) are among the nicest I’ve experienced in my 5+ years as a full-time liveaboard and digital nomad. Always incredibly clean and tidy, there are plenty of toilets and three showers, so you’ll never need to wait!
The showers offered a good amount of space, both to change and shower, and the barrier for the shower was sufficient to keep belongings dry while washing (if you’ve been to many marinas, you’ll know this isn’t always a given!).
The shower pressure and temperature were both excellent, with the ability to control the temperature to suit. The shower head could be angled as required, although it couldn’t be moved up/down.
The men’s showers were much the same, getting good feedback for pressure and temperature. I was made aware that the men’s weren’t always as clean as the women’s, although they were cleaned regularly – meaning this was more a problem of messy customers than the marina staff.
Laundry
The laundry room at Ipswich Haven (now Beacon) was tiny! With only one washing machine and one dryer for a considerable number of liveaboards and visitors meaning that it wasn’t uncommon to have a small queue of laundry bags waiting their turn (bags only, though, as only one person could fit in the laundry room at a time).
That said, the laundry was very affordable. They changed the pricing structure of the laundry during our stay, making all the tokens for washing and drying the same. At £3 per token, it’s one of the most reasonable marina laundrettes we’ve visited. We also discovered that you can fit two wash loads into the tumble dryer, which saved us some money and also made us feel good about reducing our environmental impact by using less energy!
If there is a queue, there is also a second laundry room and shower block at the other end of the marina. However, I didn’t use these, so I can’t comment on their quality or cleanliness (although I would expect them to be the same).
Fuel
Ipswich Beacon Marina has an easily accessible fuel birth with reasonable prices. For 2024, the diesel price for visiting customers is £1.22 for less than 2,300L (at a 60/40 split) or £1.35 for more than 2,330L (60/40). If you wish to fill up, you’ll need to speak with the marina first, and they’ll arrange a time for you to head over. It’s worth noting that the fuel birth is only operational during normal office hours.
You can also purchase butane and propane gas bottles from the marina.
If you want to save money and refill less, make sure to take a look at our top 10 ways to save fuel as well.
Other facilities
In addition to the facilities listed above, Ipswich Beacon Marina also offers a refuse and waste oil disposal facility, electric pontoons, generously sized bins, and recycling facilities.
The marina benefits from security fencing, 24/7 CCTV, and security patrols, so you’re nice and safe there. The pontoons are behind a gate which can be opened by a fob or keypad, and the codes are changed monthly for added security.
The only thing the marina doesn’t offer is black waste disposal, so you won’t be able to empty your holding tanks in Ipswich. There is a pump-out facility available at Suffolk Yacht Harbour, which I believe is the closest option for those with holding tanks, although the marina office can provide more guidance on this.
Not sure whether you need a pump-out facility for your boat? Learn all about marina toilets in our detailed guide to toileting on the water.
Plenty of restaurants, bars, and cafes line the street opposite Ipswich Beacon, offering delicious food and drink and a fantastic view of the marina. Image credit: @pscopywriting
Shops
Despite Ipswich Beacon Marina’s proximity to town, there are limited opportunities for reprovisioning. There is a Tesco Extra approximately 20 minutes’ walk from the office on the visitor side of the marina. If you’re lucky enough to get a mooring on the Neptune side (although it has now all been taken over by Ipswich Beacon), this walk is considerably less, although I believe this is only for permanent vessels.
There’s another Tesco in the town centre, which is slightly further (but, in my opinion, a nicer walk), and a few corner shops dotted around for emergency use. The Three Penny convenience store on Bridge Street became a particular favourite during our stay thanks to their extended opening hours and incredibly friendly staff. There is also an Aldi and a Lidl that are not too far away.
For bigger shops, you’re probably better off ordering a delivery. Most supermarkets will deliver to Ipswich Beacon, although they may require more detailed guidance to find the most convenient place to miss. Trolleys are available at the marina entrance, making shopping much easier. Although they do require a £1 deposit, so don’t forget to bring a coin with you!
Things to do
As mentioned, Ipswich Beacon Marina benefits from a fantastic location just a few minutes from the town centre. So, you have loads of options for shopping, eating out, or other activities. We particularly enjoyed Boom Battle Bar, located in the Buttermarket Centre.
Heading West out of the marina, you’ll also find Cineworld, the Gym Group, McDonalds, and plenty of other chain restaurants perfect for a date night or just getting off the boat for a few hours.
Opposite the marina is an array of local bars, cafes, and restaurants. I particularly recommend The Grazing Sheep for lunch – it has relatively restrictive opening hours, but the food is so worth it!
If football is your thing, you’ll want to head to Isaacs. This incredibly popular bar shows live sports, music, and other events and has a decent food, drinks, and cocktails menu. It’s a firm favourite for locals and visitors alike, particularly in the summer.
True boaters will also be excited to know that Spirit Yachts is located within the marina complex, and you can often walk along the pavilion to see some of the latest custom boats preparing for launch or enjoying the final touches before they head off to their owners. Powerboaters aren’t left out either, as Fairline Yachts is also located in the Ipswich Beacon complex, with plenty of luxury motor yachts on display at all times.
Need some boat parts? Ipswich also hosts one of the best boat jumbles in the UK, with all the equipment, tools, toys, and more that any boater could wish for.
Spirit Yachts ip Ipswich are famous for their elegance, style, and uniqueness. They’ve even been featured in two James Bond movies! Image credit: NO TIME TO DIE © 2021 Danjaq, LLC and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Review
After seven months in Ipswich Beacon Marina (or Ipswich Haven Marina, as it was known while we were there), I had an excellent opportunity to get a feel of the marina and surrounding areas. And overall, I had a fantastic stay. The proximity to town makes this a fantastic place for a prolonged or short stay, as there’s plenty to do within a stone’s throw from the pontoons!
The excellent showers are also a big selling point of this marina, as is the reasonably-priced laundry (just try to pick an off-peak time to get it in).
However, one of the biggest selling points for Ipswich Beacon is that it’s a liveaboard-friendly marina. As fewer and fewer marinas around the UK allow people to live on their boats, it’s refreshing to find one that is happy for you to stay aboard and has a thriving and friendly liveaboard community in its waters. A community we felt immediately welcomed into, and was a major deciding factor when we were choosing where to spend our winter.
Like the idea of living on your boat full-time? Check out our guide to living on a boat for the inside scoop.
Would you stay again?
With its friendly people, excellent location, fantastic security, and clean facilities, I would absolutely stay in Ipswich again.
Opie’s Opinion
How can any marina review be complete without hearing from our ship’s cat, Opie?
Ipswich Marina wasn’t my favourite marina as there weren’t a lot of trees to climb or much hunting to be done. There were also a lot of dogs on other boats in the marina, which meant I didn’t like going out in the day very much. I did like playing in the boatyard, though, and once I was past the car park and Last Anchor pub, there were lots of hiding places for me to explore, which was fun! I also liked that there were lots of new friends to be made and that people were excited to see me. It was weird because other liveaboard boats in Ipswich Beacon had cats aboard, so I wasn’t the only boat cat (like I usually am), and it took a bit of getting used to!
Evaluating everything from the proximity of trees to climb to how animal-friendly a marina is, Opie’s marina reviews offer a different perspective on boat life. Image credit: Instagram @writingandsailing
If you’re planning a boating trip in the UK, don’t forget to check out the rest of the articles in our marina review series! Why not start with St Katherine Docks in London? Or enjoy a seaside holiday in Brighton Marina. We’re heading around the country reviewing some of the best and most popular marinas and anchorages, so you don’t have to!
