Getting to Ipswich Beacon Marina

As we evolve, Ipswich Beacon Marina is becoming a welcome hub for the local community, Ipswich as a whole and the nearby towns.

Visitors are always welcome – whether by boat, by train or on foot. We also have ample parking available within the marina and Ipswich has a range of convenient bus and taxi services to get you around town.

Customers arriving by boat are welcomed by our dedicated lock operator during the summer months and the Orwell Navigation Service Operator is always on hand out of hours and in the quieter months.

Contact the marina office on VHF channel 80.

The lock

The lock operates 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. To make access in and out of the marina as convenient as possible for our customers, we will always have a lock in/out at least once an hour.

The Orwell Navigation Service Operator operates 24/7.

For more information, read our lock FAQs.

Mariners

There are occasions when ABP’s Divisional Harbour Master and the Orwell Harbour Master issue notices to mariners – these can be anything from buoy movements to Lock Gate closures.

Check out this page or the Harwich Haven Authority website for more information.

Tide times

Access live information on tidal heights and weather here.

Ipswich tides 2025.

We have ample parking available with a choice of 4 car parks within and nearby the marina.

Ipswich Railway station is only a ten-minute walk away and regular mainline services reach London, Cambridge, Norwich and Harwich.

There a number of taxi services in our area, which our Marina staff will be happy to assist in contacting.

Central Ipswich, which is only a short walk away, also has a comprehensive bus service to get around town and beyond. Find out more.