Wondering about a trip there in May.  Some nice pretty little town with a nice beach and some stuff to see maybe.  Never been that way before, neither have my folks.

Any suggestions?

You might be thinking of Southwold. Have you watched Peter Greenaway’s ‘Drowning by Numbers’?

That’s Southwold, and worth visiting on that basis alone.

Bury St. Edmunds is quite nice for a day. Home of Greene King.

Southwold, home of Adnam’s.

Aldeburgh is a quaint little place.

I live in Suffolk. Places to visit include those mentioned above and….er….

Don’t go to Ipswich. Shithole of the highest order. Also if you’re coming from Cardiff (that’s where you are right?) its a flippin long way (I regularly go the other way to ride at Afan). But there’s some decent road riding to be had and lots and lots of lovely quiet lanes to cycle down. Also, you won’t need gears..

Southwold is lovely. We were there 2 years and are going back in May for another week.

Aldeburgh is a quaint little place.

very stony beach unfortunately, Southwold has the nicer beach and better pubs (the Nelson and the Harbour Inn) theres a foot ferry to walberswick which is very pretty also with a couple of nice pubs. Be warned it’s expensive. the Nelson in southwold is the busiest pub I’ve ever been in, we usual pop in once a month and by 1 oclock all year round it is rammed!

I keep posting a reply and it keeps getting deleted…. Not sure why… I’ll try PMing instead…

it was there a minute ago verses !

it was there a minute ago verses !

Glad I copied and pasted it to notepad beforehand, it took me ages to write!

Let me try again

Coast:
Southwold, Aldeburgh, Minsmere (RSPB reserve), Shingle Street (remote and rumoured German WWII landing site), Bawdsey (Radar development site), Orford (Castle) and Orford Ness (Nature reserve and former military testing site), Felixstowe (“Old” and “New” ends, old is quieter with a small ferry across to Bawdsey, new end is more of your typical “kiss-me-quick hat” type UK seaside town, although it does have the Landguard Fort – old sea defence site – and the cafe overlooks Felixstowe port – not sexy, but the size of some of the ships is worth a look)

In-land:
Lots of pretty and picturesque little towns and villages; Framlingham (Castle and some of Detectorists was filmed in the town. Oh and Ed Sheeran’s sometimes spotted there), Woodbridge (near Sutton Hoo – famed Saxon burial site), Lavenham (more thatched cottages than you can shake a stick at, including one used as exterior of Harry Potter’s parents house), Flatford (home of artist John Constable and scene of “The Haywain”).
If you were to go to Bury St Eds from the coast, the drive along the A1120 to Stowmarket then onto the B1115 via Rattlesden is quite picturesque.
As for Ipswich, I think flange has been a bit harsh – as with everywhere it’s got its nice bits and its bad bits, but there’s plenty of parks, a lot of history and a nice-but-unfinished waterfront development.

Biking:
Suffolk has a reputation for being flat, while there’s no major climbs, I think rolling is a fairer description, and there’s no end of quiet country lanes for road biking along. If you were bringing an MTB, there’s a nice bit of waymarked Singletrack in Tunstall Forest as well as plenty of off-piste, there’s also Thetford/Brandon and Dunwich forests.

Nice little aircraft museum west of Lowestoft at Flixton, Lowestoft itself not pretty but beaches decent to south of town. Oulton Broad nice enough and plenty of river walks and country pubs.

“Bury St. Edmunds is quite nice for a day. Home of Greene King.

Southwold, home of Adnam’s.”

Long Melford – home of Nethergate too.

Some very lovely little villages and lovely little village pubs; Lovejoy was filmed in nearly all of them (probably – I know of several on the Essex/Suffolk border).

Thetford Forest is worth a spin round on a XC bike. High Lodge has loads of good outdoorsy family stuff too, but the parking is a little _ouch!_

Otherwise Bury St. Edmunds is lovely, Cambridge is a stone’s throw away and Ipswich is a hole in the earth.

“Lavenham (more thatched cottages than you can shake a stick at, including one used as exterior of Harry Potter’s parents house)”

Oh yes – there’s that too.

Tunstall is hillier that Thetford if my memory serves, but the Welsh mountains it ain’t.

(Not going to try an edit as last time I did the post magically disappeared)

Dunwich forest is great for a little trail run (and some cheeky MTBing)

it’s also worth noting it takes ages to get anywhere the only dual carriages ways go to Ipswich and felixstowe/harwich

Pretty county. Verses has got most of the bases covered I think.

Minsmere bird reserve is good if you like that sort of thing.

One I quite enjoyed on a recent family visit, your tastes may vary….
Park at the little carpark park at Sizewell (yes Sizewell with the nuclear power stations) and take a walk north along the beach past the old and new power stations and on to the cafe on the top of the cliffs in the old cottages (you take a footpath away from the beach to get up there). I forget their name but it’s on the edge of a bird reserve and the tea and cake are very good and there’s a nice slightly odd contrast to the walk of those nuclear monoliths and the quiet tranquility of the surrounding area. It will leave you with a warm glow….

Accommodation all ready booked or going mid-week? You may find school holiday time in May is fully booked in Southwold. Good luck. (Unless you’re not fussy about either cost or quality).

“Lavenham”

Oh yes… Had a stroll through there with my GF… She loved the place. wonky, cooked houses. A few nice pubs and cafes. Interesting history as to why it looks the way it does.

I live in Bury and can vouch for its lovlyness. 👍🏻😎