A family trail around Old Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh Museum has compiled a short walking trail suitable for families and for young and old around Old Aldeburgh. The walk features Aldeburgh’s all-time favourite dog, Snooks, who takes you on an engaging and child-friendly walk around various landmarks in the town. Discover what is buried under the North Lookout, look for ships from the Town Steps and investigate the secret Smuggler’s Passage.
A Walk with Snooks takes about 1 hour and is FREE and available from the museum shop during museum opening times. Normal admission applies.
FREE prizes from Wag & Bone in Aldeburgh High Street over our launch week 15th – 23rd August whilst stocks last.
Snooks was a dog owned by Nora and Robin Acheson who were both doctors in Aldeburgh,with Robin caring for the community between 1931 and 1959. He would often attend house visits around Aldeburgh and was a common site trotting down Aldeburgh High Street. The origin of his name, Snooks, is from the tinned snook (fish) which the family ate during the war.
The Snooks statue was unveiled in 1961 to commemorate Dr Robin Acheson’s life and work in Aldeburgh. His wife, Nora, was added to the plinth in 1981.
Having spent many years sitting quietly by the Aldeburgh boat pond, tragedy struck in February 2003 when Snooks was stolen from his site and completely disappeared. The town were so outraged, that a fundraising effort began and Snooks was replaced by an exact replica.
Almost ten years after the theft of Snooks, the original was returned home by antiques dealer, John O’Connor who found the lost statue at a fair in Lincoln. He found the name of the dog on the collar of the statue and investigating further, realised that he had been stolen and returned him back to Aldeburgh.
As the replica Snooks takes pride of place at the boating pond, the original snooks statue was given to Aldeburgh Hospital in July 2013 where he now sits in the garden – and is enjoyed by both visitors and residents of the hospital and the local community.
