[Closed] 2-3 days in Suffolk - ideas please

We did this between Christmas and New Year- lovely! Stayed in Dunwich, Aldeburgh and Orford. Did coastal walking, road cycling, visit to Sutton Hoo. There was a dinner boat trip in Orford that looked amazing- was fully booked by the time we found out about it. Orford Ness (NT) boat trip over- old radar and mod testing station. Check out house in the clouds in Thorpeness

Beccles. Big dog ferry up to the pub. Couple of pints, walk back along the river.

Sutton Hoo.

Southwold.

Air museum, Bungay. It’s one of the small ones with loads of good stuff, and open cockpits if you catch the right day.

Hire a day boat from Oulton Broad for a half day, mooch around a broad or three.

Nicest bits are by the coast - southwold down to aldeburgh (apart from Leiston). Plenty to see and do there, but you could also do a day inland at lavenham / long melford and the Dedham vale.

Southwold, Aldeburgh, Lavenham, Bury St Edmunds, Woodborough and Sutton Hoo.
Unless it's much improved, give Ipswich a miss.
If you like big ships - Felixstowe.
Drink Adnams.

Beccles. Big dog ferry up to the pub. Couple of pints, walk back along the river.

Definitely this ^^

Air museum, Bungay. It’s one of the small ones with loads of good stuff, and open cockpits if you catch the right day.

Is this the one at Flixton?? Excellent little place. All run by volunteers. Excellent cakes. And if you get really lucky, you might see a load of Apache helicopters landing, taking off, low hover manoeuvring in the field next door. Very noisy but bloody good fun to watch.

Brewery visit to St Peters brewery as that is nearby too, and obviously purchases from the shop

Thanks for the suggestions, Southwold, Aldeburgh and Lavenham are the only things we know.

Is there much to see at Sutton Hoo? The helmet has been a fascination of mine since childhood.

Dunwich is interesting, very good bakery in Orford and nice for a walk. Framlingham is also nearby.

Framlingham is also nearby.

For that all important ‘Detectorists’ tour 😉

Sutton Hoo has a new museum, viewing tower, and a good walk down to the estuary. And a cafe, NT shop and second hand book shop.

Ah, now a time to shine! Suffolk is my hoe county and, as much as Ipswich is a hole, the rest of the county has a lot to offer!

Sutton Hoo is worth a visit. It's a well done museum and the walk they have around the larger site gives you a good view across the river to Woodbridge, itself not a bad place to visit. The high street is a bit same-y now, but the Tide Mill and the boatyards are nice to walk through and you can carry on up towards Kyson Point and Waldringfield (more small boats) and Newbourne (The Fox is a decent pub) if you have time or are taking bikes. The other side of the Deben from there is Ramsholt which has another decent pub.

Aldeburgh is nice, but super-heavy for second houses and a bit arty, the same with Southwold to some extent, but Southwold does have the Adnams brewery and about the only sandy beach in the county. You can also take a small row ferry to Walberswick, which is fun. You can also stop off at Snape Maltings on the way through and see what they have on. Butley has its own oyster farm, so might be worth a visit.

Orford, a has been said, is quite nice. There's a castle, several smoke houses for snacks and The Pump House does its own chocolate these days. Plus, you have have the ferry across to Orford Ness for the National Trust site there. I think I have a book on that whole area somewhere...

Further inland, Lavenham is quite nice and Kersey is both picturesque and has a pub that does decent food. Bury St. Edmunds has a nice park and The Angel does good food too. Beccles is nice, but by that time you are heading up towards Norfolk and things will start getting both flat and weird. The Broads are worth a visit though (Oulton Broad used to be a big holiday destination back in the day) and Lowestoft is worth it just for the most easterly point in mainland Great Britain.

Anything on the coast from Southwold to Woodbridge. Minsmere if you like birdwatching. Favourite walk is from Southwold over the Blyth to Walberswick and across the reedbeds to Dunwich. Adnams in The Ship and/or Fish & Chips on the beach, then walk back along the beach. Quite a lot of tracks for a CX ride (road bike at a pinch). Recommend Walberswick for a stay, if you can find accommodation.

Sutton Hoo is definitely worth a visit, Framilngham Castle too. If you like gardens and/or steam trains, Bressingham is worth a visit.

Think the pretty towns and places have mostly been covered above, although if you're bringing mountain bikes, the Viking trail at Tunstall Forest is worth a visit.

Ipswich definitely isn't as bad as has been made out above, although it's not somewhere I'd especially suggest for a holiday.

My list;
- Constable Country (Dedham, East Bergholt)
- The whole of the east cost is picturesque; Southwold, Dunwich, Minsmere, Aldeburgh, Orford, Shingle Street, Bawdsey.
- Felixstowe's much improved of late if you fancy "kiss me quick" hats an a go in the arcades 🙂
- Sutton Hoo has had recent updates
- Framlingham and Lavenham are pretty, although the former has the added risk of bumping into Ed Sheeran

Pubs;
- The Unruly Pig outside Woodbridge is winning national gastro-pub awards
- The Ship at Levington
- The Kings Head and The Cherry Tree in Woodbridge (Actually most pubs in Woodbridge!)
- Butt & Oyster at Pin Mill (Wallace Simpson and King whatsisface used to canoodle there before he abdicated)
- The Ferry Boat Inn at Old Felixstowe

I've in-laws who live at Rendlesham and used to be in Tunstall.

I would stay around the Orford/Snape/Aldeburgh area - it is really short distances to a lot of the places being listed above.

I have to say, I enjoy the woods and commons as much as the coast, and I certainly like the nature more than the posh shopping in Aldeburgh. Depending on what you want to do, I also find the cycling great - ideal bike for a do it all bike - we have had some lovely days just riding the lanes and tracks.

I enjoyed Sutton Hoo, but it was really really busy and typical NT place - well done, but by heck it attracts some entitled numpties....

Orford Ness is worth the short boat ride, and you can walk a fair bit there.

Minsmere reserve has some nice walks - you can go in from the nuclear power station(!) and walk down into it.

Our kids love Walberswick - beach and crabbing on the river.

The wider Rendlesham forest, between Ben****ers and Woodbridge, is lovely and best explored on a bike with a picnic on a hot summers day.

Oh, and there’s Bawdsey Manor Radar Museum, plus you can have lunch at the Ramsholt Arms after. I really like that bit between the Deben and the Alde. Snape Maltings? There’s riding to be had just up the road in Tunstall Forest and a lovely walk from the back of the Maltings down to Iken Church.
Edit: Ben****ers Cold War Museum too.

As someone Felixstowe born and bred I'd agree that it's improved as lot recently but there are other places I'd go instead. It's fun if you want to go and spend an hour watching the world (and ships) go by at the Viewpoint cafe or if you have kids who want to play on the 2p machines but it doesn't really offer anything that other places in Suffolk don't do better (with the exception of the ships which can be interesting if you're not used to it).

There's lots of talk locally about trying to turn it into the next Southwold since Southwold is at capacity. They've also managed to get some sand on the beach in recent years.

Apart from that I agree with all of the above. Walberswick is nice for a beer and staying, easy access to Southwold by foot, gravel bike or row ferry

My Dad, who sadly passed away three weeks ago, volunteered at Sutton Ho with my mum and said it was a really good place to visit now. He desperately wanted to take my girls there but Covid meant we never got to it. He really loved it there so I'd say it's worth a visit.

Warning if you're looking at Orford for a single night it's either the Jolly Sailor or Crown and Castle and weekend rooms on the coast in July are like rocking horse poo in some parts. There's a reasonably comfy B&B in Shotley for ferry trips to Harwich (an acquired taste) and the aforementioned Felixstowe. (Little known fact Kaiser Bill used to holiday there every summer before the unpleasantness and Wallis Simpson stayed there while waiting for her divorce and had weekend visits from the King who used to fly into Ipswich airport).

If going to Lavenham don't stay in The Angel, potential fun with armed Essex villains to contend with.

Lord Nelson in Southwold, good for beer and people watching, but don't take any sharp objects as you might be overcome by temptation. Nice smokeries in the area and some easy coastal cycling.

There's the foot ferry between Orford and Butley during the summer, so you can do walks on the other side of the estuary. Also a lovely loop walking round on Orford side along the riverbank.
Pump St Bakery in Orford is amazing for pastries and bread.
New Street Market in Woodbridge is good for lunch.
Sizewell Tea is a great cafe on the shore by Sizewell power station, a non-greasy, 'greasy spoon', very friendly.
Two Magpies (Aldeburgh, Southwold, Darsham) good for baked goods and cafe / breakfast / lunch. Walk up to Thorpeness from Aldeburgh and see the House in the Clouds. St Ives ice cream parlour in Alde is very good.

Woodbridge could be a good base, as you can get the train for outings, plus reasonably close to bike to elsewhere. Agree loads of good pubs and restaurants.

Orford Ness trip is really interesting.
Loads of little villages to investigate and mooch about, which link up pretty well for walks. Westleton has a good secondhand bookshop, the owner looks like he could be Julian Cope's brother.

Twisted Oaks is where I'm heading when I get the chance to head back that way but maybe Flatford mill would be more appropriate in this circumstance.