Suffolk Activities

Worth getting out of bed for

Viewpoint

Unrelentingly flat, Suffolk is not blessed with many natural viewpoints. England offers few lovelier vistas, however, than the sight of Southwold’s multicoloured beach huts from the shoreline.

Arts and culture

Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh is the county’s leading cultural hub – a converted barley house, now home to galleries and a concert hall (www.snapemaltings.co.uk). The Stour Valley, on the Essex border, forms the backbone of Constable Country, the area that inspired many of the local artist’s paintings; take your spaniel to Flatford Mill and recreate The Hay Wain. Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, is a 7th-century ship-burial ground (www.suttonhoo.org). Cathedral city Bury St Edmunds is blessed with an impressive religious edifice and interesting galleries; see more at www.suffolkmuseums.org.

Something for nothing

Trudge along the shingle to the north end of Aldeburgh beach to see Scallop, Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling’s controversial shoreline tribute to composer Benjamin Britten. The four-metre sculpture of two broken scallop shells is loved and loathed by locals in equal measure; you can judge its merits for yourself.

Shopping

The Little Mermaid in Woodbridge (+44 (0)1394 388811) is a truly eccentric Scandinavian shop, selling everything from handbags to furniture. The high streets of both Aldeburgh and Southwold are a hotchpotch of antiques shops, delis, junk emporia and booksellers, as well as the sort of places that serve a lovely pot of tea and a plate of scones without irony. Bury St Edmunds has been a market town since the Middle Ages, and there are still street markets there every Wednesday and Saturday, on Cornhill in the town centre; at the Corn Exchange, there’s a craft market on Wednesdays; and the first Sunday of every month sees the town’s Anthenaeum fill up with bric-a-brac, antiques and collectibles.

Daytripper

The beautiful university city of Cambridge is just across the county line. Take a punt down the river Cam, drink in any one of several ancient and atmospheric pubs, or simply watch future parliamentarians cycle along the cobbled streets, gowns flowing behind them. For a picturesque lunch spot, get a conservatory table in Midsummer House, a pretty Victorian house with a contemporary Mediterranean menu overlooking the River Cam (www.midsummerhouse.co.uk).

Perfect picnic

There are breezily brilliant spots aplenty along the coast, but you can’t beat sitting on the pebbles of Dunwich Beach with a portion of fish ’n’ chips from the Flora Tea Rooms (+44 (0)1728 668625).

Walks

Forget warm milk, Night Nurse and sleeping pills – an afternoon of walking in the heavy, salty air along Southwold Beach, through the harbour and over the marshes to Walberswick is nature’s best cure for insomnia. Thetford Forest, in the middle of the Breckland region, also offers a wide variety of trails through pines and over heath. Lynford Arboretum, where you can walk around the lake, makes for a good entry point (www.forestry.gov.uk/ thetfordforestpark).

Children

Kids will love Scribbles Ceramics in Newmarket, where they can sit down and paint their own designs onto bowls, plates and mugs. Their creations will then be glazed and fired, and sent on. They’ll be eating Coco Pops from them within the fortnight (+44 (0)1638 661555; www.scribblesceramics.com). For something a little more educational, take them on an Island Adventure – the RSPB arranges boat trips from Orford quay out to the Havergate Island reserve. In spring, you might see hares leaping about, salt marshes turned pink with blossom, and birds nesting in the lagoons. For details, ring +44 (0)1728 723155 or visit www.rspb.org.uk.

Activities

Spend a day at the races in Newmarket, the historic home of British horseracing (www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk) – or take in a game of football at Portman Road, home of Ipswich Town FC (www.itfc.premiumtv.co.uk), who, along with deadly rivals Norwich City, play in the Coca-Cola Championship. To do something more sedate, see how the land lies from a great height, courtesy of Breckland Balloons (+44 (0)1362 687006; www.brecklandballoons.co.uk), who fly across all sorts of places in East Anglia, including Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire..

And...

Coastal erosion is something of a nuisance in these parts; over the past few hundred years, more than 50 churches and several hundred streets in Dunwich have succumbed to the constant battering of waves and wind.