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The wife wants a few days away in Suffolk sometime this year.
I'm not sure it's worth the 4 1/2 hour drive! 🙂
Is it worth visiting or is it similar to North Norfolk but with less to do and less places to visit.
Sell it to me! 🙂
(I should add I like North Norfolk).
We loved it - stayed at Kessingland, but Southwold and Aldeburgh were great to visit.
Adnams and St Peters breweries worth a visit, lots of twee countryside and villages.
Maybe best described as a slightly pretentious North Norfolk. Worth visiting, we'd go again, but yes it's a long drive.
Southwold and Walberswick seems to be where my Cambridgeshire friends go for their 'quaint' seaside retreat, sandy beach, Adnam's brewery and pubs, and tiny passenger ferry across the harbour. Aldeburgh as nice alternative.
There is the Sutton Hoo stuff to visit, as well as RSPB reserves, lots of rolling farmland, farm shops, some heritage railways and WWII heritage. Inland there are pretty towns like Framlingham (Detectorists fame), Lavenham further afield. And at this time of year, Horsey Gap for the seal pups, not too far over the border into Norfolk. And The Broads.
Southwold and Walberswick are great, nice pubs (beer is quite pricey, and all Adnams pubs are card only these days) and walks with very relaxed vibe. mmmm Whitebait and chips in the Harbour Inn.
(I should add I like North Norfolk).
Southwold would be a proxy to Wells and Walberswick kind of Cley-ish
Southwold is great. Been a couple of times and would go again. Loads to do.
I have family in Tunstall, used to be in Rendlesham.
Some lovely gravel and lanes riding.
Some lovely beach and forest walks.
Aldeburgh for posh shops and posh people, Orford for a lovely wander and boats to the Ness, Rendlesham and Tunstall forests for MTB/gravel rides, Snape maltings for more posh shops and nice beer.
Good pubs, nice ice cream, lovely scenery (and sooooo different from what we have in Scotland!) rather too busy at times.
I love it there, but if pressed I'd say north Norfolk has more about it. Both can be bloody cold this time of year if wind is from north or east.
The Essex/Suffolk border and Constable country is well worth a visit too.
Beach at Covehithe is nice thanks to the lack of crowds.
Lots of nice pubs dotted about the countryside.
It's OK, but not sure I would want to drive 4 hours to get there.
The missus was dragged up near Woodbridge, so I'm down there a fair bit. Not unpleasant. Big skies, beaches, little lanes and picturesque villages.
In addition to the obvious Southwold/Aldeburgh stuff as mentioned above. Snape Maltings, Orford and Orford Ness (if you time it right and can get a ferry over to the Ness) - the installations and history on the Ness is fascinating. Woodbridge ain't bad either.
Not much mountain biking (Twisted Oaks, oddments of singletrack in Rendlesham & Tunstall forests), but loads of road biking and sandy/muddy tracks
Thanks all - seems like I may have to look for some accommodation!
@MoreCashThanDash where did you stay?
Where are you coming from?
Mid Derbyshire, near Matlock. I know travel time out that way usual depends on how many tractors you get stuck behind. 🙂
I don't bike so that's not an issue. And don't mind flatness - spend many a time on the Skegvegas coast!
We spent a lot of holidays sailing out of the Backwater and Deben growing up, so it's great if you're familiar with the Arthur Ransom books.
I’m not sure it’s worth the 4 1/2 hour drive! 🙂
Like most UK based holidays it'd probably be more fun if you got the train and then toured it by bike (or at least hired an MX-5 or something). Otherwise it turns into a 4.5h drive, followed by lots of 60-90min drives to other places. If you artificially limit that then you spend more time actually "holidaying" eating ice cream or having a beer in a different pub to last night which may or may not be better/worse than driving to the other beach brewery you heard about 40minutes away.
We loved it – stayed at Kessingland, but Southwold and Aldeburgh were great to visit.
We had a week staying in Kessingland too, in July. We had a lovely week; walks on the beach, trips to Aldeborough and Southwold, Sutton Hoo, a ride around the broads, there was a castle somewhere that was good (forget the name now), poking around little towns and villages, it wasn't an Ibiza-esque riot but it was nice just the same.
If you're coming from Matlock, its not 4.5 hrs. Its generally 3.5 from Sheff, so there's at least an hour each way saved!
On one occasion it took over 5hrs to get to Hunstanton! 🤣
rather too busy at times.
Definitely avoid school holiday season!
We stayed in a Ready Tent (Eurocamp thing) at the C&C club site at Kessingland. Interesting noises from the wildlife park next door (worth a visit). Less interesting noises from the wind turbines in the fields either side!
I am a bit biased as i live near Wells/ Holkham on North Norfolk coast..
But some great riding if you're into road or gravel bikes around Suffolk coast as mentioned above, i have some good routes if you wanted any? (there is also the Wolf Way route)
Southwold and Dunwich are nice to walk about, lots of quaint villages to be found. Nice to walk around the harbour at Southwold then onto Snape Maltings in the afternoon for a beer. (most expensive sandwich i've ever brought at £7.30!)
Beccles is nice to walk around too.
if you like a castle there is Framlingham and Bigod castles.
Also mentioned above, if you come in next few months, creep over border to Horsey to see the huge seal colony.
Well worth a trip, plenty to go at for a couple of weeks. As well as the above:
Day hire a boat on Oulton and bob about.
https://bigdogferry.co.uk/ with a nice pub and river walk.
https://www.aviationmuseum.net/ at Flixton
It's practically all beach from Dunwich up to Gt Yarmouth
Flixton Aviation Museum is great. It’s an absolute tip, but full of brilliant stuff!
Came here to say this! ^^
One of the best bits of cake I've ever had was in the cafe here. And it's about 5 mins to St. Peter's brewery too. Double win.
and Dunwich<br /><br />
Heard that place is a real horror…
#coat.
Suffolk is a lovely place. Low population, unspoilt countryside and some of the coast is lovely, it has a lot going for it. Well worth a visit in my opinion.
I have a particular soft spot for Long Melford. It's a world apart from where i grew up!
Thanks again all - seems there more to the area than I thought. We may need to stay a week! 😀
I'm sorry. As above I know it well but I can't get my head round someone driving 4.5 hours to get to East Anglia when they aren't obliged to (family) or coming from the even grimmer London/SE area.
4.5 hours would get you to some lovely bits of Northumberland or Galloway etc. And far fewer London second homers 😃
^ is a fair point.
But.
It's different. I really enjoy the occasional visit when we go to see family - and a different type of riding...
We like to try different places - I see hills and dales everyday. Sometimes flat makes a nice change. And we’ve done most areas of the UK.
though one of the issues with that part of the world is it takes ages to get anyware !
My missus is from Sudbury and we got married there. Wedding reception on the way out to long melford. (That's not coastal though)
beer is quite pricey, and all Adnams pubs are card only these days
There's a reason for that. Adnams were one of the brewers that did not ask for rent during the pandemic, they're getting the payments back now. Maybush at Waldringfield has the most expensive Adnams in the area, followed by the Ship at Levington. The Ship keeps a very good pint mind.
Don't forget the Suffolk Punch place at Hollesley and also Bawdsey Manor for radar development. There's the remains of the WWII airbase at Martlesham (Orford Ness was an offshoot of it, commanded by the same officer and during the war my previous neighbours husband (Norman) who had a bar on his DFC). There's also museums at Parham outside Framlingham, Rougham near Bury St Edmunds (part time opening) and 100th bomb group at Thorpe Abbots (near Diss) subject of Masters of The Air due to premiere later this month.
Woodbridge is quite nice too, I'd always given it a miss thinking it wouldn't be very nice but it had a lot more than I expected.
Spent 5 years working in Suffolk and lived in Woodbridge. Lively little town with a good selection of pubs ( quite a while ago though) and nice river walks. Nice up the coast towards Norfolk too. Keep meaning to go back
Woodbridge is still nice to visit. 🙂
Family there and it's a lovely bit of the world.
Better for gravel/road than enduro/downhill riding.
Adnams make fine beers and lots of nice places to visit, walk and cycle. Travelling around can be a bit slow but it's not as bad as some have made out.
I live about a twenty minute drive from Southwold and it’s absolutely lovely at this time of year. In fact we’re off to the (NHS - it was easy to get a place because very few people actually live here) dentist today and will have a spot of lunch in the Sole Bay afterwards.
Come and have a wander around Dunwich Heath and Minsmere before work on Sizewell C starts and ****s the whole area up.
At least Sizewell B has a great cafe nearby... Sizewell Tea..!
If you go in the Lord Nelson, say hi to Jasper, Rupert, Sophie and Izzie. You'll hear them from the other end of the pub.
I’m sorry. As above I know it well but I can’t get my head round someone driving 4.5 hours to get to East Anglia when they aren’t obliged to (family) or coming from the even grimmer London/SE area.
As others have said, it's because it's quite different from other parts of the country. I've never holidayed there but have worked in E Anglia a fair bit. Some of it is as boring as anywhere, some of it is genuinely lovely. I spent a memorable afternoon at Sutton Hoo and that area once, and have enjoyed places like Norwich. It's a long way from here, but I wouldn't be averse to exploring the area a bit more, with actual leisure time instead of being squeezed between work.
Lord Nelson, say hi to Jasper, Rupert, Sophie and Izzie. You’ll hear them from the other end of the pub.
Sounds awful. I'd avoid it just based on the names, never mind them being loud! Unless they are dogs? 😀
lovely bits of Northumberland
There aren't any.
It's like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Honest.
I’m sorry. As above I know it well but I can’t get my head round someone driving 4.5 hours to get to East Anglia when they aren’t obliged to (family) or coming from the even grimmer London/SE area.
Have you actually been to East Anglia, or are you simply going on Alan Partridge and think that everywhere is flat?
I moved to North Norfolk 10 years ago, whilst the mountain biking is dull, it is a beautiful part of the world, some of the best beaches going, you can ride on roads and bridleways for 50 miles and see 5 cars, which can't be said for many parts of UK these days, some great water sports, seal colonies , great pubs and restaurants etc...
Never been but sounds like a decent UK destination. Bookmarked.
Don't go to Ipswich, it really is a ****hole these days unfortunately.
We once hired the cottage next to The Lord Nelson for a week.
Getting the car in and out when there were 20,000,000 people drinking in the street was a challenge.
Great place though.
We also rented Lantern Cottage just round the corner for a couple of weeks. Much better!
Don’t go to Ipswich, it really is a ****hole these days unfortunately.
I'd not recommend it as a holiday destination, but it's not as bad as that. Like any town of a similar size it has good and bad bits.
Bury St Edmunds is a nice place, as said above avoid Ipswich and Stowmarket.
Have you actually been to East Anglia, or are you simply going on Alan Partridge and think that everywhere is flat?
Yes, holidayed there for years as family lived all over, worked there a lot...
The Broads are nice, the rest is dull as dishwater, like a big retirement place.