Suffolk Travel Guide: A Great British Escape

With its lavender-covered Heaths Area, meandering estuaries and gorgeous beaches, Suffolk has been well and truly blessed by Mother Nature. When you book your Suffolk stay, you can look forward to top-notch festivals, exhilarating coastal walks and plenty of history, from ancient burial grounds to famous abbeys. What’s not to love about this East Anglian county?

When to visit

You can visit Suffolk any time of year, thanks to its temperate maritime climate and year-round events calendar. The summer months, when days are long and temperatures can reach average highs of 22 degrees, are some of the most popular. However, Spring and Autumn are a great time to visit if you want to avoid the crowds but still enjoy relatively mild weather. Daytime temperatures in winter usually drop to single figures but you can take invigorating beach walks under clear open skies, spotting migrating birds over the estuaries.

How to get there

Suffolk is well-connected to the rest of the UK if you’re travelling by car, bus or rail. It is served by four main A roads, the A12, A14, A11 and A140 which link up to key motorways and car hire options are available across the county.

Norwich and Ipswich have direct rail links to Cambridge and London and the towns of Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Beccles and Woodbridge also have regular train services. Check out the Traveline South East and Greater Anglia websites for information on bus services. London Stansted Airport and Norwich Airport are within a two-hour drive of Suffolk’s key coastal towns.

Why visit Suffolk?

Beaches

Suffolk’s scenic cliffs and historic heathlands fringe some of the finest beaches in East Anglia. Check out Southwold for a nostalgic British seaside vibe. And Lowestoft, located in the most easterly point of the UK (dubbed the Sunrise Coast), plays home to the gorgeous South Beach. Check out our list of the best beaches in Suffolk.

Festivals

Suffolk has such a great festival calendar, there are too many to mention. Aldeburgh Carnival is a riot of entertainment, while the Felixstowe Book Festival is a summer highlight for literary lovers. Look out for the First Light Festival in Lowestoft, one of the most unique festivals in the UK.

Nature

The Suffolk Coast and Heaths area Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) plays home to everything from otters and kingfishers to seabirds and wild deer. Check out our blog Things to do in Suffolk for the lowdown on exploring this stunning area.

Food and drink

Whether you’re pining for traditional fish ‘n’ chips or fresh-that-day seafood coupled with a chilled glass of champagne, you’ll find it here in Suffolk. Don’t miss the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival and beer aficionados will love the brewery tours on offer in Bury St Edmunds.

History and culture

Look no further if you’re a history lover in search of things to do. Suffolk’s cathedral city of Bury St Edmunds is a treasure trove of legends and ancient sites while Framlingham Castle is an impressive fortress where Mary Tudor was famously proclaimed Queen of England. For a real sense of mystery, visit the Royal Burial Grounds of Sutton Hoo and in summer, join the culture buffs at the Southwold Arts Festival.

Hidden Gems

Lavenham: Lavenham will bowl you over with its picture-postcard streets and timber-framed buildings. It’s the best-preserved medieval village in Britain yet is a lovely place to seek out independent boutiques, farmers markets and stylish places to eat.

The Nutshell Pub: Don’t miss The Nutshell Pub in Bury St Edmunds. At 15ft by 7ft, there’s no room to swing a cat in here, but it’s certainly worth a visit for a swift half – it’s officially the smallest pub in Britain.

Beccles Lido: Beccles Lido, an outdoor heated swimming pool in the peaceful market town of Beccles, is a lovely spot to soak up some sun. It has a toddler and baby pool and occupies a lovely spot by the River Waveney.

Where to visit

Ness Point

Head to Lowestoft, so you can tell your friends that you’ve been to the most easterly point of mainland Britain. Ness Point plays home to the UK’s tallest wind turbine and is a superb place to watch the sunrise.

Snape Maltings

While away an afternoon at Snape Maltings, an arts complex founded by Suffolk-born composer Benjamin Britten. Musical performances from the concert hall often feature on BBC Radio and it hosts an array of creative projects, art residencies and independent shops. Situated in a series of redeveloped Victorian buildings on the River Alde, the setting is beautiful.

The Suffolk Coast and Heath Area of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB)

Pack your hiking boots and hit the Suffolk Coast and Heaths which encompasses 155 square miles of shingle beaches, ancient heaths and quintessential Suffolk seaside towns such as Aldeburgh and Southwold. It’s one of East Anglia’s top AONB’s and you’ll discover some unique wildlife including various sea-nesting birds.

Is Suffolk piquing your interest in a coastal UK escape? Have a chat to our concierge team to find the perfect place to stay, or alternatively just have a look at our collection of holiday homes in Suffolk; the most idyllic properties that are in the best locations for going out and exploring this gorgeous part of England.