Off to Suffolk for our holidays - best tips gratefully received!

[TyneView]

We've not been before, we are a professional couple, on our knees due to stupid working hours ( more due to the covid response). We just need to chill.

We have bikes, for what I call 'leisure cycling' 😂 - round to the pub and back...maybe a bit further.
We like food, beaches or countryside. We like pretty places, independent shops and cafes rather than a chain.

Thanks!

www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-east-england/suffolk/

What I mean about Blythburg church is that they don’t publicise the black shuck connection as they want people to go to the church to enjoy the architecture etc rather than come to see the mark on the door. We happened to turn up there when there was a guided tour. If they still do them it’s well recommended.

Lots of great suggestions on here. Framlingham is lovely for a wander, try to go on a market day. Orford is nice too. In Woodbridge honey and Harvey cafe is amazing for lunch. The the Shotley pinusula is interesting to explore too.

Enjoy the Adnams beer. Best beer in Britain! 🍺
I'm from Ipswich. Tangham forest is good for a walk / cycling and has a visitor's centre with a nice playground. You can do it on the way to / from Orford. Orford is lovely but very busy. You can get a boat over to the peninsula and see all the cold war stuff.
Languard fort at Felixstowe is a Napoleonic era fort, you can see container ships going to the docks if that's your thing.
Previous posters have mentioned the other stuff I'd have recommended.

You can walk from Blythburgh to Walberswick, then take the ferry to Southwold. There are 2 nice pubs in Walberswick.

Aldeburgh is fab for a day on the beach. Great fish and chips as well. Snape is a few miles down the road, there is a great cafe in Snape Maltings.

If you're staying near Woodbridge then Sutton Hoo is a must.

There is some lovely countryside near there, and great lanes for cycling. We have cycled from Woodbridge to Orford and back. It's an easy route as it's pretty flat.

Dunwich is definitely worth a visit - you can swim in the sea in the morning, then go to Dunwich Heath for a walk. Really pretty. If you walk across the Heath you get to a pub called The Eelsfoot Inn which is really friendly.

If the weather isn't good, Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich is worth a visit.

Oh yes www.theeelsfootinn.co.uk/ is great.

Sutton Hoo is definitely a must! We went yesterday. And do the guided talk around the mounds to bring alive the background to the discovery.

Loved Suffolk. Framlingham also nice. South wold is a great seaside town.

Back with a huge 'thank you' - we had a really amazing holiday in a very lovely but relatively unspoilt part of England. Suffolk seems very laid back, beautiful seaside towns, loved the fish shacks - and amazingly no queues for an outdoor table.
We went to Southwold on Saturday morning, clear blue sky, scorching hot...I didn't think we would 'get in' - no queue, parking available. We were a bit stunned and kept comparing it with the reported busyness of Cornwall.

Holiday house was gorgeous and in the countryside with just 'silence'. Breakfast on the terrace, a drink at night. We cycled to the local, friendly pub for some meals, sitting in their garden. Visited the local sights including Sutton Hoo, 'the castle on the hill' including listening to Ed Sheehan in the car(😂), attended a couple of free concerts at Snape Maltings,visited antique/retro yards, walked loads.

Southwold is a gorgeous seaside town, Aldeburgh too. Woodbridge, Thorpeness and Orford delightful. Sitting drinking coffee on the pier at Souhwold or on the cafe deck on the quay at Orford was so relaxing.

We loved it.

Your recommendations were all spot on - we returned to this thread a number of times to check for more!

Thank you ( now to all keep Suffolk a secret😉).

An update ,that's lovely of you to post .So glad you had a good time .

Shingle street is nice and quiet, it's where the river goes into the sea.

OP, thank u for updating.
If u want to re-live some of the atmosphere, grab this book, it's a time-slip based on Sutton Hoo
River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0007302320/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1629283004&sr=8-1

@AvaCallanach

The church at Blythburgh on the way to Southwold is famous and worth a quick stop off en route.

That’s a lovely church.