Geography

The parish of Chelmondiston & Pin Mill is situated on the northen side of the Shotley Peninsula, with the River Orwell forming the northern edge. The parish land is mostly used for agriculture, with wheat being a traditional crop (as you can see from the sheaves of corn on the village sign) and with potatoes and sugar beet being quite common also these days. Also on the village sign there appears the other traditional facet of parish life, the Thames barge which has been a common sight on the Orwell and at Pin Mill for many years - previously in a working capacity, but nowadays used for leisure only.

The landscape is mostly level with small undulations, expect where the land and the river meet. From the river the land rises up, a maximum of some 30m, to form a flat, inland plateau. The proximity of the river and the sea is a big influence on life wherever you are in the parish, giving the light a wonderfully clear and bright appearance, and creating a cooling breeze on the majority of days.

Chelmondiston is in the middle of the peninsula with Shotley to the east, Woolverstone to the west and Harkstead to the the south. The main access road is the B1456 (tip - try the 'bird's eye view' on this link + zoom in 1 notch) which runs almost directly through the centre of the parish linking Ipswich and Shotley.