INTRODUCTION

Just like Norfolk, there are quiet lanes and unspoilt villages to explore, and the pace of life is gentler. There are forests and heathlands, fields, woods and rivers.

Close to the border with Norfolk, Lowestoft is the most easterly town of England. As well as clean sandy beaches, it is also a fishing and commercial port. Further south, Southwold and Walberswick are two most delightful and individual seaside resorts, linked by summer ferry and all year by a footbridge over the River Blyth, from which small fishing boats operate. Southwold's colourful beach huts are frequently photographed, while the natural lighting in the river area has attracted photographers and painters over the years. Dunwich and Aldeburgh are now much smaller than they were in the past, having been washed away by the sea over the centuries. Much of the coastline here, including a long 12-mile spit of land called Orford Ness, is a haven for birds and wildlife, managed carefully to encourage a huge variety of birds. Felixstowe is a popular family resort with good beaches and floral displays.

Inland are quiet towns like Georgian Woodbridge, Regency Bury St Edmunds, and medieval Lavenham, Clare and Long Melford, while Ipswich is the main town, with its museum, Christchurch Mansion and parks.

 SEVEN WONDERS

• Newmarket Horse Racing
• Lavenham Guildhall
• Bury St Edmunds Abbey Gardens
• Walberswick & the River Blyth
• Constable Country
• Aldeburgh & Dunwich
• Orford Castle

DID YOU KNOW?

• The UK National Stud for breeding race-horses is at Newmarket in Suffolk.
• Woodbridge has a rare tidal mill.
• The bandleader Glen Miller is reputed to have had his last drink at Lavenham Swan hotel.
• Magna Carta was written and signed by the barons (but not the king) at Bury St Edmunds abbey.
• Thorpeness is the East of England's most eccentric village with the most unusual former water tower, the House in the Clouds.
• The smallest pub in England is just 12 feet by 7 feet inside, the Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds.

WHAT'S YOUR HOBBY?

• Golf.
• Sailing (dinghy, yacht, motorboat: rivers, lakes, tidal creeks, sea).
• Fishing (rivers, lakes, beach, and sea).
• Walking (Forest and heathland).
• Photography/ Painting/ drawing (Walberswick).
• Bird-watching.
• Horse racing.
• Music (Aldeburgh Festival, Snape Maltings).
• Eating!

 SAMPLE ITINERARIES

• Footsteps of Constable, Gainsborough & Munnings.
• Lavenham & Bury, Clare, Long Melford.
• Southwold, Aldeburgh, Dunwich.
• Framlingham Castle & Orford Castle .