There's Nowhere Like Suffolk Winter/Spring 2024/2025
Top winter day trips! | Suffolk New Year Resolutions | Plan your 2025 holiday | The Suffolk Knowledge | Seven natural wonders
Music and performances
From festive performances in our outstanding concert hall to free Music Makers sessions for children, there is something for all the family.
Stay a little longer
Why not extend your visit by exploring the outstanding nature that surrounds us or stay for a while in our holiday accomodation.
Shopping and more
Enjoy our shops, cafés and galleries, all bursting with inspiration. From seasonal decorations, homewares and furniture to delicious light lunches overlooking the reed beds.
Welcome to Suffolk.
With fewer visitors than the rest of the year, Winter is the perfect time to come to Suffolk and explore without the crowds.
And whether you’re here as a family, as a couple or group, or you’ve brought your four-legged friend along, you’ll get so many ideas about things to do, places to see and where to stay in this latest issue of There’s Nowhere Like Suffolk e-magazine.
In this issue we’re going to get you outside with our top 10 Winter day trips, many of them taking in our lovely market and seaside towns, and we’re showing you our 7 Natural Wonders of Suffolk.
We’ll take you to some of the wonderful locations in Suffolk used for filming movies and TV shows. Walk in the footsteps of the stars!
We’ve also got lots of ideas for you to start planning your 2025 holiday here in Suffolk plus oodles of inspiration. Happy reading!
Cover image: Melford Hall, Long Melford, Sudbury
Framlingham Castle
dayToptrips 10 winter
The crowds have gone, the days have drawn in, the weather’s a little chillier, but there’s still something magical about days out in Suffolk… especially if you’re on the hunt for unique festive gifts with a bit of history thrown in.
1 FRAMLINGHAM
One of the loveliest market towns in Suffolk, Framlingham has a wide range of independent shops focused around the market place itself. It’s a great place to mooch around for a while, maybe have refreshments in one of the cafes, restaurants and pubs like The Crown or Castle Inn. Tuesdays and Saturdays are the days to visit for the actual market.
Of course, the highlight here is the imposing English Heritage Framlingham Castle, surrounded by parkland and a picturesque mere. Summon up your courage and take the spectacular wall walk to admire stunning views of the town and countryside before exploring the centuries of history of this superb construction in the interactive exhibition.
2 WOODBRIDGE AND SUTTON HOO
Woodbridge isn’t just a pretty riverside market town, it also has one of the most vibrant pedestrianised High Streets in the county with lots of interesting stores and independent shops… oh, and quite a few great cafes and pubs. Make sure you visit the Tide Mill Museum by the River Deben. Head off to National Trust Sutton Hoo to explore the inspiration for the Netflix film The Dig that starred Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes and Lily James, telling the true story of amateur archaeologist Basil Brown who uncovered the amazing burial ship and treasure of Anglo Saxon King Raedwald. The treasure is now in London but there’s lots to see here about Anglo Saxon life, scale the observation tower to get views of the whole burial site and walk the parkland to get a sight of the Deben and Woodbridge way below you.
3 WALBERSWICK AND DUNWICH
If you’re after ruggedness with a chilling North Sea breeze, this is for you. Park up at Walberswick and take a walk along the sandy beach and then across boardwalks through the marshes to Dunwich. Once one of the busiest and biggest ports in medieval England, two storms sank the town into the depths of Sole Bay and all that now remains is a single street, ruins of an abbey and shingle beach. Have lunch at The Ship Inn and take a look inside the tiny museum where there’s a diorama of the town in its pomp.
Back in Walberswick watch the families trying to catch crabs at Wally’s Bridge before perusing the shops around the village green.
4 ICKWORTH
Set in more than 1800 acres of parkland and gardens, with a new all-weather path to enjoy them from, Ickworth is the place for tranquil strolls and bike rides. To warm up, head into one of the cafes for a hot chocolate and then into the Rotunda to see Ickworth’s array of treasures. Being a National Trust property, the shop will give you lots of Christmas gift inspiration. And for the festive period, the house and gardens will come alive with trails and shows, and there’ll be themes of travel, traditions and storytelling with colourful Wintry scenes from across the Continent.
4X4 OFF-ROAD DRIVING AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS. ALL ACTIVITIES CAN BE STAND ALONE OR PACKAGED AS A COMBINATION. WE HAVE ACTIVITIES TO SUIT ALL BUDGETS. BASED ON THE GLORIOUS ELVEDEN ESTATE COMPLETE WITH RESTAURANT, SHOPS & COUNTRY INN.
5 SOUTHWOLD
It may look as if it was set in aspic in 1953, but the picturesque seaside town of Southwold is a vibrant place to spend a day, with fabulous independent shops, cafes and delis on the High Street. Take a tour of Adnams’ Brewery and Distillery, or the iconic Lighthouse, and head along the Victorian pier and enjoy the very silly amusements in the Under The Pier show. Head down to Blackshore Harbour where you can take a ferry row boat to picturesque Walberswick (there’s also a bridge further downriver), enjoy refreshments in the cafes or pub, and definitely buy some fabulous shellfish or seafood to take home for supper.
7 BURY ST EDMUNDS
6 WOOL TOWNS AND GAINSBOROUGH’S HOUSE
Taking in some of the most beautiful scenery of Suffolk, enjoy a tour that includes Kersey, Long Melford, Clare, Cavendish with its ‘Suffolk Pink’ cottages and the piece de resistance, Lavenham where you can stop for Christmas shopping in some exquisite independent shops and maybe pop in for lunch or a cream tea at The Swan Inn. If you’re on this route, don’t miss the revamped Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury, birthplace of the renowned British painter and home for many of his oil paintings, works on paper and artefacts, as well as housing a new exhibition space.
Bury St Edmunds is dog-friendly and listed as one of Britain’s top 20 foodie hot spots by The Telegraph – this is Suffolk’s Foodie Capital. While away a day under the Christmas lights exploring the 200 stores that line picturesque medieval streets and elegant Georgian squares, with lots of independent shops offering unique festive gifts alongside High Street brands. Take a look at the Bury St Edmunds & Beyond website for details of Christmas shows, award-winning pantomime, meet and greets with Santa, Christmas light trails, and festive markets. Oh, and if you really to get under the skin of the town, then take a tour with the Bury St Edmunds guides that will take in the Abbey Gardens and St Edmundsbury Cathedral. They’re brilliant.
8 IPSWICH
Ipswich will put on its glad rags for the festive season with Christmas lights across the town and Christmas trees on the Waterfront and in the Cornhill.
While in the town look out for the 15th century Ancient House and its decorative pargeting, look out for statues of Cardinal Wolsey and Carl Gile’s beloved Grandma, and stretch your legs in Christchurch Park and head into the Tudor mansion to see the biggest collection of Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable paintings outside of London.
You’ll need to book but look out for the brand new Illuminate festive light trail at Holywells Park just off the town centre. The trail will feature a food and drinks court located half way round, offering a diverse selection of sweet treats, hot food, and a selection of beverages including mulled wine.
Depending on tastes, visit the nearby Suffolk Food Hall overlooking the Orwell River and bridge, or go to Jimmy’s Wildlife Park and Farm, which has a superb range of exotic animals, not least a group of polar bears in 14 acres of tundra.
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Treat a loved one to a special experience this Christmas.
Set in beautiful Suffo lk countryside, milsoms Kesgrave Hall is a boutique hotel, luxurious spa, and brasserie restaurant. Experience delicious food, relaxing spa treatments and luxurious bedrooms. You can even enjoy exclusive use of The Gatehouse if you’re planning a private celebration.
Milsoms KESGRAVE HALL Hall Road, Kesgrave Ipswich, Suffolk IP5 2PU
To book call: 01473 333741 reception@kesgravehall.com www.milsomhotels.com/kesgrave-hall
9 SNAPE MALTINGS
There’ll be Christmas festivities aplenty at Snape Maltings where you can indulge in serious retail therapy in a wide range of independent shops including house and garden, homeware, clothing, ceramics, arts and crafts and Suffolk food and drink. Have snacks or a meal in the restaurants or pub to fortify you before you explore the fabulous nearby natural landscapes, including a circular loop through Snape Warren and a wonderful riverside walk to Iken Church.
10 ALDEBURGH AND THORPENESS
There’s lots of independent shopping to be done on Aldeburgh High Street but, let’s face it, it’s the fish and chips you’ve come for. Buy them on the main thoroughfare and then take a walk along the picturesque seafront, find a spot to sit and tuck in. Also alongside the shingle beach, you can discover the Martello Tower from the Napoleonic Wars, the Aldeburgh Museum at the Moot Hall, Maggi Hambling’s Scallop installation and take a look at the seafood and shellfish that the fishermen have brought in. You can’t be in this neck of the woods without visiting Thorpeness, the vision of architect, playwright and lawyer Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie who built a fairytale holiday village of part timber framed mock Tudor and Jacobean houses around a 3 foot deep, 64 acre artificial lake called The Meare. Ogilvie was a friend of JM Barrie and the lake’s islands have Peter Pan themes.
wonders natural of Suffolk
Suffolk has many castles, museums and attractions to visit, but let’s face it, it’s the natural world you’re really here for, isn’t it? Our Seven Natural Wonders of Suffolk will give you great reasons to head to the great outdoors…
1 ORFORD NESS
Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit that starts at seaside Aldeburgh and separated from the mainland by the River Alde, is one of the extraordinary places in the country. Now a national Nature Reserve managed by the National Trust and internationally important site for nature conservation, it was once a Ministry of Defence Atomic Weapons Research Centre and site for early experiments in developing radar that were vital in the Battle of Britain. Later, its transmitting station was used to broadcast the BBC World Service.
You can book a ferry trip onto Orford Ness with the National Trust from Orford Quay. Stay a while in the village, with its small Norman castle, Grade I listed church and stores selling excellent smoked shellfish and seafood. There’s great food at the Pump Street Bakery and you can stay at The Crown and Castle. You can also stay at The White Horse or Brudenell, both in Aldeburgh.
2 RIVER BLYTH
The Blyth estuary is one of the great sites of Suffolk, revealing itself as you head along the A12. Head into the Holy Trinity Church at Blythburgh and discover the story of Joe Kennedy Jnr, the man who should have been President of the United States, and spot the claw marks on the door by the fabled Black Shuck. Blackshore Harbour at Southwold is where the Blyth meets the sea. This is a great place to find fresh seafood and shellfish in the riverside shacks.
We recommend lunch at the historic Harbour Inn (spot the 1953 high tide mark… eek!) before a walk to picturesque Walberswick – go across the bridge, take the path across the heathland into the village itself and you can take a row boat ferry back to Blackshore. The ferry operators also organise boat trips all the way to Blyth Estuary. If you’re staying, then The Swan at Southwold is a gem. In Walberswick, try The Anchor.
3 RIVER DEBEN AND SUTTON HOO
Start this by heading to National Trust Sutton Hoo, the famous Anglo Saxon burial site, for stunning views down to the river and Woodbridge. Autumn and Winter are the best time to see it, with the leaves off the trees.
And it would be rude not to visit Woodbridge while you’re here, with its gorgeous riverside setting that includes the Tide Mill Museum. The town’s Thoroughfare includes a great mix of independent shops and cafes and for a great meal or to stay the night, we recommend The Crown or, outside the town, Seckford Hall & Spa.
Woodbridge has a railway station and is on the line from Ipswich to Lowestoft.
The Ramsholt Arms is at the end of a very long track off the Melton to Bawdsey road but it’s well worth the trip, with a lovely setting by the river and you can sit where scenes from the hit film Yesterday were shot. Remember it? Our hero Jack sings The Beatles’ Yesterday and one of his friends says: ‘It’s okay, but it’s not Coldplay. It’s not Fix You’.
At the river’s mouth at Felixstowe Ferry you can take, yes you guessed it, a ferry across the river to Bawdsey. The ferry area is a great place to explore, with a number of eateries including the Ferry Boat Inn and, with waterside tables, the Ferry Café.
visiteastofengland.com/tourism-awards
5 RIVER ORWELL
You’ll know the name Orwell – an aspiring writer took it for a surname to go with George after his publisher told him nobody would buy books by Eric Blair. In fact, the River Orwell was Eric’s favourite place (at one time his parents lived at 40 Stradbroke Road, Southwold and three other homes in the town). Where the river meets the sea, you’ll find Felixstowe, a traditional seaside town with sandy beach that’s currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance. There’s a station in the town with regular trains to Ipswich. From Landguard Fort, you can take a ferry to Harwich, from where Stena operates ferries to Holland.
On the Shotley side of the river there are two places to visit for lunch: The Butt & Oyster pub at the National Trust Pin Mill and the Suffolk Food Hall, the restaurant of which has a wonderful view of the river and Orwell Bridge. Further up river is Suffolk’s county town, Ipswich, with its stunning waterfront of bars and restaurants, and river trips on the Lady Orwell to the bridge or all the way to Harwich.
If you’re staying, we’d recommend Fludyers at Felixstowe or The Salthouse in Ipswich. In Harwich, The Pier has great views, and The George was named after England’s patron saint.
4 MINSMERE
Managed by the RSPB, this national Nature Reserve is one of the best places in the region for birdwatching – watch out for Avocets, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harriers and Bitterns while enjoying woodland, reedbeds, grassland, heathland and the wild coast. Hey, you might even spot an otter.
The RSPB also organise a red deer safari where you can get close to the annual rut in 4x4 vehicles.
If you’re staying then try The Crown at Westleton – Prince William and Princess Kate once stayed, so you can’t get a better recommendation! There’s also Potton Hall.
7 CARLTON AND OULTON MARSHES
The southern gateway to the Broads National Park, this 1000 acres of wetlands and lowland fen is home to some of the largest populations of wading birds in the region.
Now, when we said this was about natural landscapes, this area is actually part man-made, the result of medieval peat diggings that became inundated when water level roses.
The wildlife reserve is only a few years old in this scale, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, with the support of Sir David Attenborough, being awarded £5m to double the size.
There’s two railway stations at Oulton Broad: South takes you to Ipswich and North is on the Wherry Line between Lowestoft and Norwich that goes through the Broads.
6 SHOTLEY PENINSULA
In the Suffolk and Essex Coast and Heaths National Landscape, the Peninsula is where the River Stour reaches the North Sea. Going inland the Stour Valley and Dedham Vale is also known as ‘Constable Country’, gorgeous landscapes that inspired one of our greatest painters, including Flatford Mill that was the backdrop The Hay Wain.
The Peninsula has good walking routes, opportunities to sail at Alton Water Sports Centre and Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park is a great place to see many rescue animals, including polar bears. There’s a railway station at Manningtree. If you’re staying, there’s The Angel at Stoke-by-Nayland and, in Dedham, Talbooth House & Spa and Milsoms.
A filmSuffolk and TV tour
Suffolk has hosted its fair share of dramas, films and TV programmes over the years, not least Harry Potter and Ed Sheeran, BBC1 murder mysteries and Hollywood blockbusters. Discover where the stars of the screen have stood and find the locations where many favourite TV and film stories have been acted out. Let’s hit the road…
WALK IN ED SHEERAN’S FOOTSTEPS…
LOWESTOFT
Ed Sheeran’s home county Suffolk is where his heart is. And has anybody done more than the famous singersongwriter to put help put Suffolk on the map, not least on his album Subtract for which he filmed video singles at locations along the coast.
So let’s start on North Denes Beach at Lowestoft where Ed filmed his video, Boat and Salt Water. Shot close to the groynes and dunes near the Gunton Warren Nature Reserve, the rugged coastline here suits the melancholic mood of the songs. There’s a useful car park here and you can pop into The Sparrows Nest Café for a bite to eat. If you’re interested in nature reserves don’t miss Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Carlton Marshes, 1000 acres of wildness that are the southern gateway to the Broads National Park. Endorsed by Sir David Attenborough, a £4m investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund helped start the remarkable transformation into a new home for myriad wildlife. Lowestoft has a lovely Promenade to take a stroll along, with lots of amusements, activities and places to eat.
Castle on the Hill
SOUTHWOLD
Next stop is the delightful Southwold, with its iconic red and white-striped lighthouse and Victorian pier where Ed filmed videos for Borderline and Colourblind. The films are sombre and monochrome but just imagine what it’s like on a bright, sunny day with the amusements, attractions and refreshment kiosks all in flow. It’s the pier-fect place to take the family and enjoy more than 600 feet of British seaside fun. Oh, and don’t miss Tim Hunkin’s marvellous and extremely eccentric Under The Pier Show. While you’re in Southwold, why not take a distillery or brewery tour with Adnams… or head up the famous lighthouse, with a pint of Adnams at the bottom.
SNAPE MALTINGS
Ed played a special concert at Snape Maltings for the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend 2021. Snape is the home of the annual Aldeburgh Music Festival and the fabulous Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival and is worth a visit any time of the year for lovely walks by the River Alde and a range of eateries and shops selling local produce.
FRAMLINGHAM
Framlingham is Ed’s home town and it’s been his inspiration, not least ‘Castle on the Hill’, his ‘love letter to Suffolk’, which recounted his teenage years in the town, home of the iconic English Heritage 12th century fortification which is well worth a visit, if just for the walk around the battlements. Now who’s the king of the castle? Find Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham and you’ll see where Ed met his wife Cherry Seaborn.
WOODBRIDGE
The Subtract video for End of Youth was filmed at a school in Woodbridge and sees Ed singing in the playground, while a group of kids ran around him playing. Riverside Woodbridge is a picture perfect market town with main Thoroughfare of local independent and artisan shops, restaurants and cafes, mixed in with High Street names. The Crown in the Thoroughfare is the place to have a meal or just a drink. On the river Deben is the picturesque Tide Mill Museum and not far from the town is National Trust Anglo-Saxon burial site Sutton Hoo, focus of the hit Netflix movie The Dig starring Ralph Fiennes and Carrey Mulligan. Also nearby is the family-friendly Easton Farm Park. A great place to stay near Woodbridge is the Run Cottage Touring Park.
IPSWICH
Ipswich is home to Ed’s beloved Ipswich Town and in June 2004 Ed and his father John went to an Elton John concert at the football club’s Portman Road ground. In October 2022 Ed performed an impromptu gig on the footsteps of the town hall on the Cornhill for the Disney+ documentary The Sum Of It All.
PIN MILL
The video for Life Goes On on Subtract was filmed in the quiet woods and heathland at Pin Mill, Chelmondiston, on the Shotley Peninsula by the Orwell Estuary. Walk in Ed’s footsteps by taking a country walk and then popping into The Butt & Oyster for refreshments.
Perhaps the most dramatic archaeological find in British history, 2021 Netflix movie The Dig reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge in Suffolk. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston, it stars Carey Mulligan as landowner Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as local selftaught archaeologist Basil Brown, as well as Lily James, Ken Stott and Ben Chaplin. At first only Brown believes that the mounds on Pretty’s rural estate could be Anglo-Saxon rather than the more common Viking era. Inevitably he is proved right, as their dig unveils the burial site of King Raedwald, his treasure and the remains of his ship. The film received five nominations for the British Academy Film Awards, including one for Outstanding British Film.
Today, the treasure is in the British Museum, but you can visit the National Trust site that inspired the story and nearby filming locations for The Dig. All the shooting done in Suffolk for The Dig are in close proximity so you can travel easily from one location to the next, leaving the crowning glory to the end.
Start with a visit to Thorpeness beach. Shots were filmed here close
to the iconic 15-feet high Scallop sculpture by Maggi Hambling. It was installed there in 2003, so of course is not in The Dig. Very Instagram-able though.
Our next stop is Snape Maltings, home of the Aldeburgh Music Festival and Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival. It’s here that the 1881 sailing barge Cygnet, based here, was filmed on the River Alde for one of the loveliest cinematographic moments of the film. As well as an arts complex, Snape has a range of eateries and shops with distinctive local produce.
The next locations are Butley Foot Ferry and RSPB Boyton and Hollesley Marshes, before heading to Shingle Street, an isolated hamlet by the sea.
Finally head over to All Saints Church, Ramsholt, one of only 38 round tower churches in Suffolk, where some delightful aerial shots were taken. Stay overnight, and next day enjoy a leisurely trip to Sutton Hoo itself. As the National Trust site is open to the public year-round it couldn’t be used for shooting The Dig – but you’ll be immersed in the location that inspired the story.
THE CROWN
In 2019, The Crown, based on an award-winning play, ‘The Audience’, by showrunner Peter Morgan, has a scene filmed at Newmarket racecourse. This lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicles the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II and shows her love of horses and racing. Join Discover Newmarket on one of their tours around the racecourse and other attractions within the town. Other scenes were shot at Somerleyton Hall.
DISCOVER THE DETECTORISTS
This BAFTA-winning British comedy TV series, first broadcast on BBC4 in 2014, was written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars alongside Toby Jones. The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury in north Essex. The plot revolves around the lives, loves and metal-detecting ambitions of Andy and Lance, members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club. Much of it was filmed in and around the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk, including The Castle Inn by the iconic Framlingham Castle.
ON THE MAGPIE MURDERS TRAIL
Based on the 2016 mystery novel by British author Anthony Horowitz, the story focuses on the murder of a mystery author. Starring Lesley Manville and Daniel Mays, the sixpart series was developed by PBS in the US and Britbox but was then bought by the BBC, who announced it would be airing a follow-up season in 2024. Timothy McMullan as fictional detective Atticus Pünd and Manville stars as editor turned sleuth Susan Ryeland who reads an Agatha Christie-type murder mystery story with the final chapter missing. ‘I’m going to Suffolk to find out who did it,’ she says. Some scenes were shot in Woodbridge, but the real star is Kersey, arguably the prettiest village in Suffolk with its iconic ford in the middle of the main street over a tributary of the River Brett. Both stars will reprise their roles in a sequel series titled Moonflower Murders.
DICKENS IN BURY ST EDMUNDS
The Personal History of David Copperfield film, written and directed by Armando Iannucci, had significant scenes shot in Bury St Edmunds. Starring Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton, it’s based on the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds was transformed for filming. Other locations in the town were Chequers Square opposite St Edmunds Cathedral and inside the Theatre Royal, which is the location bookending the film.
DOWNTON ABBEY
The Queen Anne-style Belchamp Hall in Suffolk was used for the Downton Abbey film A New Era as it had the required country pile plus church for the wedding of Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton).
HUNT DOWN HARRY POTTER
Chocolate-box Lavenham offers everything you could want from a place often called the Best Kept Medieval Village in England. The charming market town played its part in the blockbuster movie, The Deathly Hallows Part 1 & Part 2, as Godric’s Hollow, the magical village where Harry Potter was born.
De Vere House in the town played the part of the Potter family home. The magnificent 15th century medieval home is painted a distinctive bright orange colour with timber frames all over the outside. Fortunately for fans, the owners have put a room on Airbnb so you can come and stay here and pretend you are a guest of the Potters. It’s said that De Vere House has the second most photographed doorway in the whole of the UK, only beaten by Number 10 Downing Street. The Swan Inn is also featured in the film.
New Year Resolutions! Your Suffolk
1 ENJOY AN EVENING ON THE IPSWICH WATERFRONT
Cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels… all by the water. It’s like Marseille or Monaco… but in Suffolk! And why not stay at The Salthouse while you’re here.
2 TAKE A LEISURELY TRIP AROUND SUFFOLK’S
WOOL TOWNS
…a reminder of when this area was one of the richest in the country because of the textile trade with the Continent. Don’t miss Clare, Kersey and Long Melford before heading to the piece de resistance, Lavenham, where you can stay the night at The Swan Inn.
Here’s 12 suggestions for things you might want to resolve to do when you visit Suffolk in 2025. They’re reason enough to plan a trip…
3 TAKE A TOUR OF ADNAMS’ BREWERY AND DISTILLERY
After your tour, go for lunch at The Swan before heading down to Blackshore Harbour to enjoy the fishing vibe. Better still, stay the night at The Swan!
4 DISCOVER FELIXSTOWE
It’s a little unheralded compared to Southwold and Aldeburgh, but there’s a lovely traditional seaside vibe to the town, with its pier, amusements, pavilion theatre and lots of great eateries.
5 TAKE A BOAT OUT ON THE BROADS
Hire a boat from Hippersons and head along the River Waveney towards Geldeston and you can take a sneaky peak in peoples’ back gardens before enjoying refreshments at The Locks pub.
6 GO GLAMPING
Bring out your inner hobbit with a stay at West Stow Pods and head to nearby Bury St Edmunds to explore the Abbey Gardens, St Edmundsbury Cathedral and Georgian architecture.
7 GET HORSIE!
If you’re not there for one of the brilliant race days, discover the National Horse Racing Museum at Newmarket. And make sure you’re there early in the morning when all the horses leave the stables and head for The Gallops… an amazing sight. Stay at The Bedford Lodge.
8 GO OFF-ROAD IN THETFORD FOREST
Go off-road with Explore 4x4, outdoor activity and survival adventure specialists. They have lots of tailor-made experiences that’ll have you on the edge of your seats, quite literally!
9 VISIT FRAMLINGHAM CASTLE
Take a tour of the battlements and then come down to earth with a trip to the cuddly animals at nearby Easton Farm Park. Make a break of it with a stay at The Crown in lovely riverside Woodbridge. Oh, and you can visit National Trust Sutton Hoo while you’re here!
10 VISIT ICKWORTH ESTATE
Enjoy the fabulous parklands and house at National Trust Ickworth, best known for its amazing Italianate Rotunda, and stay in the estate’s hotel.
11 EXPLORE DEDHAM VALE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
…you’ll be going in the footsteps of one of Britain’s most famous painters. Not for nothing is this called Constable Country – it’s where he got inspiration for paintings such as The Hay Wain. Stay at Milsoms in Dedham.
12 SPEND A WEEKEND IN ALDEBURGH
Peruse the lovely High Streets shops and seafront, indulging in fish and chips, and don’t miss nearby Thorpeness and Snape Maltings. Stay at The Brudenell or the Thorpeness Golf Club and Hotel.
Willy Lott’s Cottage, Flatford, in the Dedham Vale
Plan your 2025 Suffolk holiday
Now’s the best time to plan your 2025 holiday to make sure you get the accommodation of your dreams and to give yourself something to look forward to! And Suffolk is such a diverse county, there’s always a reason to visit throughout the year…
JANUARY
Bit of a birdwatcher are you? Then this is the time to be in Suffolk, where you can enjoy migrating birdlife along the coast, not least at RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Carlton Marshes and elsewhere in the Coast and Heaths National Landscape.
FEBRUARY
In the Valentine month, what better time to plan a romantic getaway and we’ve got just the place for you: National Trust Ickworth House. Many of the books in the library contain inscriptions of Sir Thomas and Isabella Hervey’s devotion to each other. After she passed away, he continued to write many poems in her honour. Two hundred years later Frederick Hervey and Theodora Wythes defied their family’s wishes to be together. The story goes that they fell in love whilst sharing a plate of macaroons. Enjoy a romantic walk in the parklands before visiting the Rotunda which showcases an internationally renowned art and silver collection. While you’re here head out on a super snowdrop walk at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford.
MARCH
Of course, this month is the official start of spring, a season of spectacular blossoms in Suffolk. Why not visit the spectacular Grade 1 Listed Gardens at Helmingham Hall, owned by the Tollemarche family for more than 500 years. There are two rose gardens at Helmingham; both formal but very distinct in character but with an intention to create something that was close to the kind of garden that the family might have had in Tudor times. Elsewhere, nothing puts a smile on the face like the sight of delightful daffodils and Suffolk is carpeted with them. Try Ickworth, Melford Hall, Sutton Hoo, Kentwell and Nowton Park.
APRIL
It’s Easter and the days are longer and there’s family time to be had in Suffolk. Look out for special events at places such as Thorington Outdoor Theatre, Melford Hall, Kentwell Hall and Framlingham Castle. The National Trust will get in on the fun too – look out for events at Flatford, Sutton Hoo, Dunwich Heath, Orford Ness and Ickworth House. And how you could you want to see the spring babies at Jimmy’s Wildlife Park and Farm and also at Easton Farm Park.
MAY
There’s a long weekend to enjoy so it’s time to book a break in Suffolk. This is a great time to explore the quirky mock medieval village of Thorpeness – take a rowing boat out on the mere and gaze at the House in the Clouds. Or how about heading to Orford where you can learn about the tale of the captured merman being held in the castle and check out the fabulous eateries.
JUNE
It’s World Environment Day this month so how about getting outside at Suffolk’s two National Landscapes? You can visit the Suffolk Coast and Heaths that goes from the Waveney Valley all the way down to the Shotley Peninsula with spectacular rivers and estuaries – the Blyth, Deben, Alde and Orwell. Or head to Dedham Vale, otherwise known as ‘Constable Country’ for the stunning landscapes that inspired one of Britain’s favourite painters. If you’re looking for events, then you have the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts at Snape Maltings and also First Light at Lowestoft.
Wolves, at Jimmy’s Wildlife Park and Farm
Marsh Harriers can be seen at RSPB Minsmere
JULY
Book tickets for Latitude in July, with headliner Sting just announced. It’s not your run-of-the-mill festival. Set in Henham Park near Southwold, this one has comedians, literature, music, dance, theatre, poetry, wellness… and painted sheep. There’s also Primadonna at the Food Museum, Stowmarket and the July Festival at Newmarket.
AUGUST
Now’s the time to head to the seaside and – brace yourselves – take a dip in the briny. There are fabulous sandy beaches to launch yourself from at Southwold, Walberswick and Felixstowe. And why not have an ice cream. Go on, you’re on holiday. This is also a great time to visit vineyards in Suffolk, such as Wyken, Giffords Hall, Burnt House, Valley Farm, Shawsgate or Shotley. Cheers!
SEPTEMBER
The weather’s still summery, so it’s a great time for hiking and cycling across Suffolk. Why not try Thetford Forest where there are waymarked routes across the UK’s largest lowland pine forest. Across the county, enjoy a celebration of Suffolk’s thriving food and drink scene at the Aldeburgh Food Festival at Snape Maltings, next to the River Alde.
OCTOBER
Head to Bury St Edmunds for spooky ghost tours and Halloween fun, and to really frighten yourselves, try Scaresville at Kentwell Hall. Or explore the Brecks to see rutting deer and wild horses and explore unique heathland.
NOVEMBER
Travel to Bury St Edmunds in late November for St Edmunds Day, the annual celebration of the eponymous King of East Anglia who was martyred by the Vikings for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. Bury is Suffolk’s foodie town so take time to explore the restaurants and stay for a farmers’ market. And it’s also one of the most dog-friendly towns in the UK!
DECEMBER
It’s the Christmas season, and the whole county decorates its streets with festive lights. There are carols at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Light Nights at Ickworth, Santa Specials on the Mid Suffolk Light Railway, hampers and Father Christmas at Elveden Courtyard and fabulous festive shopping at Snape Maltings. And it’s panto time – oh yes it is! Make a short break of it when you see the show at the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, at the New Wolsey and Regent in Ipswich, or Marina Theatre in Lowestoft.
Felixstowe beach
WhyCotswolds-by-the-Coast Suffolk is…
If you’ve visited the Cotswolds you’ll know it’s a place of Farrow & Ball paint, Chelsea Tractors, expensive second homes for wealthy Londoners and is very dog-friendly. And so is Suffolk! In fact, we think our wonderful eastern county has everything that the landlocked Cotswolds have, with one added extra – Suffolk is by the sea!
Quaint villages are something that the Cotwolds and Suffolk have in common, both a result of the prosperous wool trade (Cotswold means sheep pen on the hill) that ended when the Industrial Revolution took the textile trade to the north.
A legacy of those times are our marvellous ‘Wool churches’, included in the total of more than 500 medieval churches, the second largest concentration in the world after neighbouring Norfolk. Suffolk also has its beautiful wool towns, not least Lavenham, which was later used as a location for Harry Potter films (Potter was also filmed in Gloucester, in the Cotswolds).
Farrow & Ball’s Sudbury Yellow No 51 might not be named after the Suffolk market town that’s home to Gainsborough’s House, birthplace of the acclaimed British painter, but if F&B do want inspiration from this neck of the woods, they could do worse than look at Suffolk Pink, our own paint from medieval times that’s a concoction of white limewash and pigs’ blood and which you’ll see on wonky timber-framed houses in quaint villages all over the county.
Suffolk has two National Landscapes to the Cotswolds’ one: we have Dedham Vale, inspiration for famous British painter Constable (The Hay Wain was painted at Flatford Mill), and Suffolk Coast and Heaths, which, unlike the Cotswolds, is next to the sea, so can offer short cliffs, lovely estuaries that can only be crossed by ferry, and fabulous sandy beaches at sleepy Walberswick, bright and breezy Felixstowe and genteel Southwold with its fabulous Adnams’ Brewery and Distillery and working lighthouse. Aldeburgh, just down the coast, isn’t known as ‘Islington-on-Sea’ for nothing! Talking of estuaries, in the shadow of the Orwell bridge on that estuary you’ll find The Suffolk Food Hall, our equivalent of the famous Cotswolds’ Daylesford Farm Shop. Both areas have gently rolling countryside, and while the Cotswolds have the meadows of the upper Thames, Suffolk has coastal marshes at Carlton near Lowestoft, Dunwich and Snape Maltings.
Like the Cotswolds, the Romans settled in Suffolk, but Suffolk was also a homestead for the Anglo Saxons, including at Sutton Hoo, famed for the burial ship and treasure of King Raedwald. Another Suffolk Saxon King, Edmund, was martyred by the Vikings and became the first patron saint of England. He is best remembered at bustling but gentle Bury St Edmunds, which could easily be mistaken for a Cotswolds market town.
Suffolk is punctuated with beautiful gardens, historical and lively market towns such as Georgian Beccles, picturesque villages such as Clare and Kelsey, and splendid stately homes such as Ickworth House with its Italianate Rotunda and moated Tudor Kentwell.
Like the Cotswolds, Suffolk has famous reserves for birdwatching, such as Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Carlton Marshes and RSPB’s Minsmere, breath-taking landscapes that are ideal for walking and cycling, and an arty vibe with galleries, exhibitions and festivals.
Unsurprisingly, this landscape provides a rich harvest that can be enjoyed in gastro pubs, country inns, and restaurants in chic hotels as well as characterful cafes. Except, again, Suffolk has its own superb seafood and shellfish that can be enjoyed along the 40-plus miles of coastline.
On pubs, both the Cotswolds and Suffolk are renowned for them. Except Suffolk’s beer is better, especially the afore-mentioned Adnams and St Peter’s. Oh, and if The Cotswolds has the amazing Fleece Inn at Bretforton, owned by the National Trust, then Suffolk has The King’s Head/Low House at Laxfield, an ancient woodpanelled watering hole that doesn’t have a bar – you order at a back room that’s full of fresh barrels of guest beers. And talking of hotels, there’s great accommodation in Suffolk – spa hotels, country house hotels, boutique hotels, charming B&Bs, glampsites and self-catering cottages.
So, is that enough to win you over? Suffolk. Just like the Cotswolds. With added Coast. And perhaps a little less pretentious. And better beer and seafood. You’ll love it. At any time of the year.
Sudbury Yellow No 51
You’re thinking of coming to Suffolk, so we thought we’d educate you about our wonderful county. Just so you’re paying attention, there are three untruths in our article. Can you guess which ones they are? (Answers are at the bottom of page 29)
The Suffolk Knowledge!
1 The name Suffolk means ‘southern folk’ and comes from the Angles who settled here in the 5th century and created East Anglia with Norfolk, who were – duh! – the northern folk.
2 From the 14th to the 17th century, Suffolk was one of the most prosperous counties in the country thanks to its cloth-weaving industry. Its legacy remains in the ‘Wool Towns’ such as Lavenham, Clare, Long Melford and Hadleigh.
3 You’ll find marram grass on dunes along the Suffolk coast, especially at Kessingland, Southwold South Beach and Walberswick. It’s to be encouraged as its deep roots fight against sand erosion by high and rough tides. Marram is Old Norse for sea (marr) and straw or reed (halmr).
4 The Norman Framlingham Castle was where Mary Tudor was staying when she heard she’d been proclaimed England’s first queen. More recently, Ed Sheeran sang about the English Heritage site in ‘The Castle on the Hill’.
5 Hoxne (pronounced Hoxon) is where England’s first patron saint, King Edmund of East Anglia, was captured by Vikings, shot with arrows and beheaded. The head was found later, guarded by a wolf, and when put back with the body the two fused together, clearly a miracle. He is remembered at Bury St Edmunds’ cathedral and Abbey Gardens and St Edmund’s Day is on November 20 when flags are flown.
6 Hoxne’s other claim to fame is the 1992 discovery of a huge hoard of late Roman gold and silver, the largest of its kind to have been found in Britain.
7 Suffolk has two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Suffolk Heaths and Coast around Dunwich and RSPB Minsmere, and Dedham Vale, also known as ‘Constable Country’ for the renowned landscape painter who was born nearby.
8 Grade I listed Flatford Mill, now run by the National Trust, was built in 1733 and owned by John Constable’s father. It is notable for appearances in Constable’s work, particularly The Hay Wain (1821).
9 Another famous painter, Thomas Gainsborough, has had his boyhood home at Sudbury turned into an eponymous museum. A recent transformation has given it the largest exhibition space in Suffolk.
10 Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk, claims to be ‘the oldest English town’.
11 The highest point of Suffolk is Great Wood Hill, with an elevation of 128 metres (420ft). It’s near the villages of Rede and Chedburgh and is the top of the Newmarket Ridge, 40 miles long which stretches from Hertford to Sudbury.
12 A traditional nickname for people from Suffolk is ‘Suffolk Fair-Maids’, referring to the beauty of its female inhabitants in the Middle Ages. Another is ‘Silly Suffolker’, which isn’t about being dim-witted but is instead a derivative of the Old English word saelig which means ‘blessed’, referring to the long history of Christianity in the county.
13 The most easterly point in the UK is Ness Point, Lowestoft. Nearby, Birds Eye has its largest UK factory, where all its meat products and frozen vegetables are processed. It’s also where the fish finger was invented in 1952!
14 Founded in 1948 by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, the annual Aldeburgh Festival, one of the UK’s major classical music festivals, is actually held at Snape Maltings.
15 Made by Crosse and Blackwell in the village of Branston, Staffordshire since 1922, Branston Pickle is now mixed and bottled in Bury St Edmunds, made with the same secret recipe and traditional methods.
16 Ipswich Town is the county’s only professional football team. They play at Portman Road, are nicknamed The Tractor Boys, and when they play Norwich City it’s called The Old Farm Derby (you see what they did there? CelticRangers – Old Firm Derby). Their crest includes the Suffolk Punch, named for a local version of the Punch and Judy seaside story.
17 The author of 1984 and Animal Farm is really named Eric Blair, not George Orwell. He took the pen name so his family wouldn’t be embarrassed by his time in poverty, described in his first book Down and Out in Paris and London. He chose George as the patron saint of England and Orwell from the Suffolk river which he loved to visit.
18 Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle’s 2019 romantic comedy Yesterday was filmed throughout Suffolk, including at Halesworth, Dunwich, Shingle Street, Ramsholt and at the Latitude Festival.
Bernard Matthews has production facilities in the county, not least Holton near Halesworth where turkeys are reared with breadcrumbs on their skin, rather than feathers. They have also developed an added-value three-legged turkey for an extra drumstick, although nobody knows what they taste like –nobody has caught one yet.
20 The most significant archaeological find in Suffolk was turned into the Netflix film The Dig, starring Ralph Fiennes. The story was based on the unearthing of an Anglo Saxon burial site at Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge containing a ship and treasure belonging to King Raedwald.
21 Newmarket is in Suffolk despite almost all its border being contiguous with Cambridgeshire. In fact, one of Newmarket’s two racecourses is in the other county. The tiny corridor that connects the world-famous home of horseracing with Suffolk is so thin that one side of the A14 is inside Suffolk and the other isn’t! So if you drive from Bury St Edmunds to Newmarket you don’t leave Suffolk, but when you drive back you go through Cambridgeshire.
22 Visit Orford Castle, built by Henry I, and discover the story of a wild merman who was caught in the nets of fishermen in the early 13th century and imprisoned until finally let back out to sea. According to Cistercian monk and diarist Ralph of Coggeshall, the merman never spoke ‘even when suspended by his feet and tortured’.
23 National newspaper cartoonist Carl Giles has a bronze statue of his character ‘Grandma’ in Ipswich town centre. Nearby is the 5th century Ancient House, notable for its fine example of pargeting, a decorative façade.
24 The most important American air bases outside the USA are in Suffolk – Mildenhall and Lakenheath, where more than 10,000 service people are stationed.
25 You’ll notice many old buildings painted ‘Suffolk pink’. The colour dates from the 14th century when local dyers added natural substances to the traditional limewash including sloe juice, elderberries, and pig and ox blood.
26 Grade II listed Southwold Lighthouse, built in 1889, is one of only two working lighthouses in Suffolk but the only one you can take a tour of! It’s with Adnams Brewery Tours and you get a pint of beer at the end.
27 You’ll think you’ve stepped into a fantasy world at Thorpeness, a holiday village of mock Tudor villas, the House in the Clouds (a red house on top of a water tower) and a shallow mere where you can row to fairyland isles that were all named by the Peter Pan creator JM Barrie, who used to visit the resort’s creator Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie.
28 Suffolk has a strong claim to be the home of the legendary Black Shuck, a huge black dog with flaming red eyes. According to Abraham Fleming’s 1577 pamphlet ‘A strange and terrible wunder’ the dog, ‘or the divil in such a likeness’, killed two people in St Mary’s church in Bungay and later the same day burst into Blythburgh Church – during a thunderstorm – and killed more people. There are still ‘scorch’ marks on the church door, referred to as the ‘devil’s fingerprints’.
29 If you’re in Rendlesham Woods, watch out for the Shug Monkey, a fantastical beast that’s part muscular bear, part enormous ape. One witness, in the 1960s, said she stared at the beast in horror as it shimmered and then shifted its shape to become a winged gargoyle, taking flight into the darkness.
30 There’s also a UFO Trail at Rendlesham following a 1980 incident, dubbed ‘Britain’s Roswell’, when US servicemen on patrol from RAF Woodbridge saw bright lights descend into the woods. They witnessed a glowing object that was metallic in appearance with coloured lights but as they approached, the lights zoomed off and animals in a nearby farm ‘went into a frenzy’. No explanation has ever been found.
