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DISCOVER EAST Beaches & Broadlands Coast, countryside & so much more! There are countless beautiful and shingle beaches to

explore all along the coast of . One great spot that’s East Suffolk is just made for relaxing breaks and awesome adventures. popular with families lies around - the gateway to the With oodles to enjoy all year round, it’s a place where a little time-out can Broads National Park

. Tear yourself away from the sun, always go a long way. Just a short journey from the bustle of , meet sandcastle fun and seaside razzmatazz of Lowestoft’s resort and one amazing space that’s worlds apart, with a refreshing buzz all of its own.

take time to discover the watery world of - the largest of Whether you’re seeking first class family-time, the the National Park’s shallow lakes, created by medieval folk digging out

chance to catch up with friends, make memories turf for fuel. East Suffolk is ‘bookended’ by two of its major seaside

with loved ones, or just a bit of me-space, East resorts which are also the area’s largest towns. At the southern point, Suffolk has all the right local ingredients for a

remains a relaxed seaside holiday destination for all ages,

perfect getaway. having been ‘discovered’ as a spa town in 1891 by Empress Augusta of Cultural Activities & Events Cultural * Cultural Activities & Events Cultural And with so much to see and do, so many new * . Edward (VIII) and Mrs Simpson also later helped put it on things to try and so much more on its horizon, who the map. Like Lowestoft and ever-popular and Walks, Cycle Rides & Themed Itineraries Cycle Rides & Walks, can resist coming back for more? , The Guide to Pocket * Felixstowe lies on a river estuary with access to wonderful wetland Maritime & Market Town Heritage Town Maritime & Market Coast, countryside & so much more!! Coast,

Walks, Cycle Rides & Themed Itineraries Cycle Rides & Walks,

* habitats excellent for birdwatching at Trimley. Food & Drink Coast, countryside & so much more! Coast, Maritime & Market Town Heritage Town Maritime & Market

Lowestoft, Felixstowe & Everything Felixstowe In-between Lowestoft, EAST SUFFOLK EAST

Family Fun Family So Food & Drink much

Lowestoft, Felixstowe & Everything Felixstowe In-between Lowestoft,

EAST SUFFOLK EAST Superlative East Suffolk heritage MAPS, WALKS & INFO & WALKS MAPS, SOUTHWOLD ‰

INFO & ITINERARIES MAPS, EAST SUFFOLK EAST Market Town Must-sees Lowestoft Family Fun Family Most Easterly Point in : ’s Butter Cross is a Georgian gem. Both arty known locally as Ness Point Aldeburgh and (great for antiques) creatively combine practical shopping with cool café culture. Felixstowe squares, ‘scores’ and an historic town centre. boasts a lido, UK’s Busiest Container Port: market

hides behind historic houses and a crinkle-crankle wall, whilst

Britain’s only shingle spit ‰

INFO & ITINERARIES MAPS, SUFFOLK EAST MAPS, WALKS & INFO & WALKS MAPS, SOUTHWOLD SOUTHWOLD with a foreland: loves its Victorian heritage and nostalgic cinema. Lowestoft (70,000) Largest Town: Shop, then picnic above castle mere in historic House in the Clouds Most eccentric landmark: or enjoy green spaces and grazing Orwell – Eric Blair (aka George independent shops by the beach-huts at Most famous river: Southwold. Orwell) borrowed its name While away a day in Deben-side Woodbridge STAY A WHILE or pop Biggest Character: Lowestoft’s Gulliver, in at old coaching stop . Boutique hotels, historic inns and farmhouse B&Bs; one of the UK’s tallest onshore self-catering cottages and country clubs; camping, glamping, wind turbines Glorious Green Valleys festival stays and event-tenting; caravan sites, holiday parks Global popstar, 3 Most Famous Resident: 4 1 Slip through the gateway to to follow the and river cruisers; volunteering holidays and children’s A

winding adventure breaks – East Suffolk’s has them all. R. Waveney Lowestoft inland through hugely Which one(s) will you choose? . historic landscapes towards the fine market town of 0 The Broads Lake 4 Bungay. The river was navigable all the way there () . Beccles Lothing House in the Clouds A1 Bungay . 3 4 when Bigod built his castle and planted vines on the 1 The ultimate in blue-sky thinking breaks. A river cliff, but these days even pleasure boats must (Beccles) Glamping pods on the water The Saints A1 stop not far beyond St Michael’s impressive Beccles

4 Well, whatever floats your boat… A1 5 . bell tower. With wonderfully wide water-meadows and on-site cottages 4 4 magnificent viewpoints, the Waveney Valley makes for A real inspiration for every artist. Norfolk 2 Diss 1 excellent cycling country. A Martello Towers ( & . . ’s Holy Trinity church - the ‘Ship of the Aldeburgh) . Suffolk Marshes’ - stands land-locked now, but the village on Are you on the look-out for these? the River Blyth was a significant medieval harbour. In Vintage Airsteam Caravans (Leiston) Halesworth Essex . Victorian times, additional engineering made the The silver lining’s on the outside. Blythburgh . Southwold waterway navigable to Halesworth maltings. Why not London R. Blyth . . walk the riverside and old railway track footpaths from Suffolk Halesworth to Southwold? South of River, the A140 . ’s 0 path has been blocked A112 2 by an enormous shingle spit. A1 . Minsmere Continuing as the River Ore, it’s

Framlingham even joined by before . .Saxmundham exiting into the . Follow . the Sailors’ Path from Snape Leiston Maltings to Aldeburgh to explore its

A1 09 .Thorpeness varied landscape. 4 . The . Snape cuts a Wickham Aldeburgh gorgeously green valley south of . R. Alde . Market 2 5 Framlingham, twisting and turning GETTING AROUND 1 1 2 A past ancient abbeys, watermills and In easy reach of London, London Stansted airport and A1 A14 probably ’s longest stretch of International port, East Suffolk is served by road and rail. Melton crinkle-crankle wall at Easton, before its final silty . Butley Buses also operate in and around towns and rural communities. Woodbridge Orford . River stretch from Woodbridge to Bawdsey. Enjoy it from There is a considerable network of signed footpaths, . Sutton Hoo the riverbank on a station to station walk (see over) or cycle routes, bridleways and byways. . Deben on a boat trip from . Buses: suffolkon Peninsula board.com The 11.5 mile Trains: R. Ore estuary meets the nationalrail.co.uk/eastsuffolklines.co.uk . R. Suffolk Stour and North Sea at Felixstowe’s peninsular.

Walking/Cycling/Horse-riding: D discoversuffolk.org.uk e Its marshland and mudflats at Trimley, and 12 b A A e A14 1 n Bawdsey are nationally important birdlife habitats with 4 . R. Peregrine Falcons nesting on nearby Orwell Bridge. Orw ell The Pocket Guide to The Heritage Coast East Suffolk is produced by Ever-Changing & Captivating East Suffolk Council. . R. Stour Felixstowe • Dunwich was England’s 10th largest town in the 1200s, . but destroyed by storms two centuries later. Legend goes © 2019 Drab Ltd/Xtrahead Content, design & production: that bells of 11 lost churches still toll beneath the waves. wearedrab.co.uk / xtrahead.co.uk Illustration: wearedrab.co.uk Photography: xtrahead.co.uk • Orford Ness has grown five miles since Henry II built Orford Castle. • Aldeburgh’s seafront Moot Hall museum was once in the medieval town centre. East Suffolk • Covehithe is home to a clifftop church within a church. But not for long… has something for everyone • Felixstowe and Southwold owe their piers to visiting Victorian passenger-filled steamboats. & a whole host of events to enjoy. • Thorpeness Meare was dug as a centrepiece for Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie’s ‘Merrie Olde England’ – an Edwardian fantasy holiday village

East Suffolk Inspired by East Suffolk for his friends and colleagues. Its towns & villages regularly stage has something for everyone Painters, writers, classical composers, sculptors and carnivals,& afêtes whole &host street of events fairs; to enjoy. singer-songwriters - East Suffolk has been (and still Coast antique & craft markets, arts festivals, very much is) an inspiration to them all. Its towns & villages regularly stage & open studios & festive themed events. • William J. (1785 -1865) & Joseph D. Hooker country The Garden of Suffolk carnivals, fêtes & street fairs; antique & craft markets, arts festivals, (1817-1911) (Halesworth) As coast-side sandy soils give way inland to rich boulder clays, open studios & festive themed events. • Edward Fitzgerald (1809 - 1883) Woodbridge East Suffolk agriculture really comes into its element. Cereal and Head to its many theatres & concert halls Head to its many theatres & concert halls • Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) root crops, asparagus fields, soft fruit farms and orchards – the for eveningsfor evenings of ofmusic music and and performance performance • Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856 - 1925) Kessingland pickings are rich and so too the farming history. or to listen to prize-winning authors. or to listenEnjoy yourto prize-winningfavourite music & comedy authors. acts • Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928) Walberswick Pioneer James Josiah Smyth sold his patented seed drill worldwide, returning to

Enjoy yourin stunning favourite surroundings music at top & comedy acts • Sir Alfred Munnings (1878 - 1959) Bungay to build assembly rooms inspired by alpine chalets. At Leiston, Richard Garrett’s international events such as • Arthur Ransome (1884 - 1967) Levington ‘long shop’ - now a magnificent museum - made mighty steam engines on Britain’s first in stunningLatitude, surroundings Folk East & at top internationalthe Aldeburgh events Festival. such as • (Eric Blair 1903-1950) Southwold production line. And was where established his agricultural • (1907 - 1984) Aldeburgh machinery business before building a world-renowned firm in Ipswich, later to create the

Latitude,Find FolkEast out what’s on & & so much more at... THESUFFOLKCOAST.CO.UK • (1913 - 1976) , Lowestoft first commercially produced, powered lawnmower. Cutting edge stuff in 1902. the AldeburghTHESUFFOLKCOAST.CO.UK Festival. (birthplace); Snape/Aldeburgh Today East Suffolk continues to be at the

• P.D. James (1920 - 2014) Minsmere, Dunwich, Southwold forefront of innovation, design and new

• Ruth Rendell (1930 - 2015) Orford, Aldeburgh technologies and still showcases its ongoing Find out what’s on & so much more at... • (b. 1945) Aldeburgh achievements and agricultural heritage at the • Ed Sheeran (b.1991 ) Framlingham annual Suffolk Show. THESUFFOLKCOAST.CO.UK

Fritton. Loop the Loop . . TIME FOR A TASTY TOUR OR TWO? Lound. Lowestoft-style! EAST SUFFOLK – SO MUCH TO SEE & DO Rollercoaster and historic tram rides, boat trips, boardwalks and even . Corton . close encounters of the big cat kind – beyond . Lowestoft’s super-sandy South Beach, its piers, prom and refreshing Royal Plain fountains, lie so Don’t miss… Local & Lovin’ it many surprises. Take your tribe to R Waveney Kessingland to find Africa Alive and Delicious Food & Drink Festivals its cheeky lemurs monkeying about in the trees. Swing by Market days and food festivals. Farm café breakfasts. East-Suffolk- Carlton Oulton .. • Beccles Food & Drink Festival (May) Colville for some pond-dipping at Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve or Broad . sun-ripened strawberry tea treats with rich local cream. Orford . Lowestoft • Woodbridge Shuck Festival (Sept) oysters and snips of wood-smoked salmon. Aldeburgh’s famous to put a toe in the past, riding the East Lake • Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival (Sept) Anglian Transport Museum’s buses, trams . Lothing fish and chips. Fresh asparagus from the roadside stall. Bacon and Carlton. • Framlingham SausageFest (Oct) hams sliced before your eyes at the UK’s oldest artisan or trains. There are boat trips on Colville producer. Delicious breads with Baron Bigod cheese or . Oulton Broad, golden moments to Food rich rapeseed dipping oil. Crisp new wines and . treasure at Lound church, whilst 3 Bungay 4 & 1 flavoursome cordials. A tipple of gin or heart-warming A ’s gardens are truly drink 12 .Kessingland ales from breweries great and small. a-mazing. A A1 Still energy left? Time then to hit the rides at Take a tour and discover them all… St Peter 4 Corton’s . 4 South Elmham Pleasurewood Hills Family Theme Park! But what about a 2 Southwold (Adnams Brewery & Distillery) » 1 A Lowestoft walk to England’s most easterly point? Or maybe a

Blythburgh (happy pigs, enjoying malty feasts!) » climb to the museums and gardens in Sparrow’s Nest and Dunwich (famous fish & chip café) » Middleton . zig-zag up and down the steep fishermen’s steps known

(farm shop) » Aldeburgh (Fish, chips and so . as ‘The Scores’? much more) » Snape (oyster bar, farmers’ . Blythburgh. . Southwold Great R. Blyth markets and annual food festival) » Orford for (smoke houses) » Ufford (micro-brewery) » . families Marlesford (farm café) » Framlingham .Dunwich 20 . ENJOY MORE 11 (vineyard, home of ‘Frampagne’) » Peasenhall A Peasenhall 2 (Emmetts hams) » Heveningham (Hill Farm Oils A1 .Middleton FUN TIMES rapeseed fields)» Cratfield (free range Christmas Framlingham. IN EAST SUFFOLK turkeys) » Wissett (vineyard) » St Peter South . What’s on your bucket list? Elmham (St Peter’s Brewery) » Bungay (raw milk A 10 and Baron Bigod cheese). Marlesford 94 3 Meet a Suffolk Punch horse at their home near Woodbridge Wickham. . . Snape Market 2 15 Aldeburgh Find the scary claw marks left by devil dog, , in Blythburgh church MARKET TOWN – MARKET DAYS A1 R. Alde . 2 A1 Feed a lamb at Easton Farm Park Monday: Southwold Ufford Tuesday: Framlingham . Find the odd one out Whizz off on a power-boat ride from Southwold . Orford Wednesday: Saxmundham, Wickham Market . Climb Ed Sheeran’s ‘’ in Framlingham Thursday: Bungay, Southwold, . Sutton Hoo Row across to Peter Pan’s property on Thorpeness Meare Woodbridge Friday: Beccles Lose yourself in the maze at Somerleyton Hall Saturday: Beccles (1st & 3rd), Go for a dip in Beccles outdoor ‘lido’ swimming pool Framlingham, Halesworth (2nd), Hide up with your binoculars at Minsmere (3rd), Snape (1st), Count the spots on the giraffes at Kessingland’s Africa Alive (last) Sunday: Felixstowe Climb up inside Green post mill near Framlingham Lowestoft – no set days Watch Tim Hunkin’s cheeky water clock ‘perform’ on Southwold Pier

DEBEN ESTUARY WALKS Tides & Ancient Times Alight at Melton train station near Woodbridge to enjoy two history and wildlife rich walks, both fully waymarked by the East Suffolk Lines Community Railway Partnership. Woodbridge Wander (1.5 miles/2.4 kms each way) Follow the Deben

downstream via boatyards and some brilliant birdwatching to Woodbridge’s iconic tide mill. Explore the mill’s living museum, graze the independent

shops, or wander up to St Mary’s and Shire Hall on Market Place. Watch out

for more waders on the way back, or simply take off by train directly from The Coast with the Most Felixstowe Favourites Woodbridge station. Southwold’s fantastic free museum has the Colourful beach huts, buzzing cafés and a bright new pier entrance; great

Sutton Hoo Circular (5.5 miles/8.9 kms) Discover the Deben – Valley of the longest, best preserved Viking warship steering shingle beach stretches and long lengths of prom; nostalgic cliff-top villas and

Kings – heading upstream via Green nature reserve and oars in the world! Its Sailor’s Reading Room historic public garden terraces – the resort of Felixstowe is a firm favourite at

St Edmund’s church to curve round over the soft, shifting ‘Sandlings’ houses all sorts of ship figureheads and its any time of year. But its thriving seafront isn’t the only breath of fresh air.

to the mysterious ship burial site at Sutton Hoo. Was this the tomb Amber Museum is full of golden oldies. Breeze along to , the birding haven by Felixstowe Port’s great

of Anglo-Saxon King Raedwald? Will you spot kingfishers on your cranes, or simply get straight to Landguard Point. Follow the nature reserve’s

way? Why was the church dedicated to Edmund? Wonder as boardwalk across precious vegetated shingle to admire the Napoleonic fort,

you wander and enjoy superb viewpoints over Woodbridge explore the fascinating Felixstowe Museum or just settle down at a vista-rich

before returning to Melton station. café to enjoy a slice of River Orwell action. ns and mapping for these and other East Suffolk For full directio You’ll get a different helping of fish and ships on the Deben Lines country and coastal walks from railway stations across East estuary. If you go fishing around , cross by boat to k Suffolk, visit: eastsuffolklines.co.uk and suffolkwalkingfestival.co.u the ‘home of ’ experience at Bawdsey. Fab news East Suffolk Foot Ferries Fancy some forest? Alternatively head inland for walkers for river trips from Did you know? • Southwold – Walberswick Forest near & cyclists! Waldringfield or East Suffolk has 40 miles of heritage • Felixstowe – Bawdsey Woodbridge has fab walking Springs coast. Its river estuaries and RSPB • Felixstowe – /Harwich and off-road biking trails. nature reserve - truly Minsmere are part of the Suffolk WAVENEY VALLEY BIKE RIDES • Butley But do you dare track down Coast & Heaths 150 square mile sites of alleged alien refreshing stuff. When The Saints come cycling in... Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty encounters on its UFO trail..? ‘The Saints’ is an area full of history and mystery. Discover the Waveney Valley’s which attract millions of migrating secrets by cycling out from fine market towns, Beccles and Bungay. Enjoy circular birds each year. cycle rides (incl. part of ) through gentle, colourful History & Heroes countryside, dotted with farmsteads, wide commons and . Bungay 3 ancient monuments. Home to mighty curtain walls or castle keeps at Framlingham, Orford and 14 Bungay and Napoleonic fortifications along the coast, East Suffolk has also seen A . The Saints Tour Flixton many a flying fortress in more recent times. During World War II, great swathes Start/Finish: Bungay Distance: 16 miles/26 kms A1 of countryside were put to tarmac as East Suffolk played host to British and 4 Highlights: Eight ‘Saints’ villages; Castle; 4 American Airforce personnel by the thousand. Today museums from Felixstowe’s Priory Church; ruined South Elmham Minster 12 Landguard Point to Lowestoft’s Sparrow’s Nest or Flixton (Bungay) keep precious A (detour); St Peter’s Brewery. memories alive, so too the roadside memorials, concrete traces of rural airfields Marshes & Lanes and more chilling post-war reminders like Bentwaters Cold War Bunker .Halesworth Start/Finish: Beccles or Bungay (Woodbridge) and the haunting pagodas on Orford Ness. Suffolk Distance: 17 miles/27.5 kms R. Blyth Highlights: Explore both sides of the river. Church; Monuments and Memorials Trail Orford Castle for views over the Ness. Adjacent Mettingham Castle; Gt Common ; village was a WWII tank training ground. 393rd Bomb Group 0 Geldeston (detour to Geldeston Locks); Maltings. Museum holds regular hangar dances. Parham airfield restored control tower, A112

390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum. used as a drill hall 2 Full directions, mapping, more day rides and for volunteers. Flixton Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum (446th Bomb A1 .Minsmere Cycle Route info: discoversuffolk.org.uk . Group) home to rare WWI Felixstowe F.5 ‘flying boat’. .Framlingham Bungay Castle besieged, mined and originally destroyed in . Leiston. 12th century! Halesworth Airfield Memorial Museum Parham. The information in this guide is provided in A (Holton), bomb base visited by Glen Miller, now home to 10 good faith and is correct to the best of the 94 different propellers. Minsmere Leiston Old Abbey ruins . publishers’ knowledge at the time of going to Debach press, but is subject to alteration. house WWII pill box; best-preserved German Hedgehog 2 R. Alde 2 5 1 11 All rights reserved. defences (Dunwich Heath) Theberton church has twisted A A No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or German L48 fragments from local 1917 disaster. transmitted in any form or by any means, More in Leiston’s Long Shop Museum. . For more information visit electronic, mechanical, photocopying, . Butley recording or otherwise without the prior River .Orford THESUFFOLKCOAST.CO.UK permission of the publishers.