Right, you locals - Norfolk or Suffolk? I want to visit East Anglia!

[LadyMacbeth]

Following on from (yet another) Boden thread, can I just reassure you now that I am not a brayer about to descend upon you in a Range Rover...

I have had a yearning for several years now to visit East Anglia as I have a very romantic vision of it consisting of rolling green countryside, windswept beaches, red telephone boxes, thatched free ale pubs and, er, policemen on bicycles.

I know there is currently a thread on Norfolk beaches, which is v interesting thanks but I would like to know a little more about Suffolk.

Is East Anglia anything like my vision? Or have I been influenced too much by that film where John Cleese gets lost in a wilderness of Gainsborough landscapes and Trappist monastries?

If so, where in your opinion are the loveliest places to stay? Any recommendations of villages with good pubs and luxury holiday cottages would be a bonus.

TIA...

We visited friends in suffolk recently and it was lovely.
We went to the coats for the day and had a very nice time. And we saw a windmill so dd1 was happy!
We tried to stay at RedHouse Farm, Haughley, but couldn't. We laso looked at a log cabin place to hire, byt can't remember th ename.
I'm not eeally much help, am I?!

north norfolk coast is gorgeous. we went there last year and then to Suffolk for the second week. lots of pleasant things to see and do in Suffolk but i think north norfolk has the edge. there is a tv series on atm with stephen fry "kingdom" which is set in n. norfolk - that should give you an idea, it is a bit of a travelogue...!

Thanks littlerach... will Google Red House Farm.

Any one else out there? Or is East Anglia completely deserted?

orford, southwold, lavenham would be my recommendations for suffolk.

Not a brayer? OH, that's all right then, come on over...

Well, seeing as I live in Suffolk, it doesn't seem at all romantic to me, but that's just because it seems ..well.. just normal.

However, it is quite windswept, the beaches can be quite good, although the North Sea is often the colour of cold tea. (Oh, dear that won't really sell it, will it?)

Actually I really like living here, but can't recommend places to stay, as most of our visitors stay with us (and sadly we don't do B&B generally speaking).

OK, thanks bk. Will have to watch the program. I've heard of it but didn't know it was set in Norfolk.

Would agree North Norfolk coast good, also Norfolk Broads, though can get very busy in tourist season.

don't watch it too long, it's pants! just watch the opening sequence and the initial establishing shots... it's typical sunday night itv fare! apologies if you like that - you will be in heaven

Doesn't Claudia Schiffer live in Lavenham? Is it a bit Cotwold-esque in its ponce rating?

(No offence to Woldshire of course, I love it but one does get sick of the shiny 4x4s by the end of the stay...)

Actually, Lavenham, Southwold and Aldeburgh are all abit poncey (although picturesque with it).

well as blu said on the boden thread, you need to avoid the trendy bits of suffolk and norfolk if you want to get away from 4x4s and other trappings of the braying affluent...

also, you must read the accidental by ali smith!

Cotswold even

Oh, I haven't watched Sunday night TV for ages, perhaps I'll butter some crumpets to eat in front of it like I did when I was little...

they are the nice places which is why people want to visit them...

you could always try hunstanton and great yarmouth if you want a less fulham on sea type experience...

Thank you so far.

What about the more-rural-less-coastal areas then?

which? norfolk or suffolk?

which? norfolk or suffolk?

Either - isn't Norfolk v flat and Suffolk a little more rolling?! I think I like the sound of Suffolk.

I'll have to do a bit more research.

Thanks everyone for your advice so far. I have to go out now!

Well we're going to poncey Southwold for a holiday in 3 weeks' time and I can't wait!! Went there a few years ago and had a fantastic time with ds1. This time we're going with dp's parents (handy built in babysitting ) and are renting a big house in Southwold, so bits of shops and beach and countryside all in one.

lol at your description, don't think it's like that - at least not where I have been.
We used to live in Norwich, so fairly central for alot of Norfolk, and now live near Cambridge.
It depends what type of holiday you want, what age kids are, what you are planning on doing etc.
The Norfolk broads are good for a boating holiday.
Great Yarmouth is like a seedy run down crappy Blackpool.
There is the trendy Suffolk places.
Centre Parcs in Elveden.

Thats the one - Southwold. Has a pier with a strange arcade in it?
Nice beach, lovely harbour place further on, think my mate bought odsme good fish there. We had lunch there and was v nice.
I'd def go back there to stay.

Great Yarmouth - nooooooooooooo!!! Sorry to anyone who lives there, but it makes me instantly depressed. I don't think Southwold has a pier, does it? Beach over by Walberswick nice too (just a walk over from Southwold.
I like Suffolk scenery as green rolling, but the N.Norfolk coast does have that windy wide open barreness that feels liberating. Some good NTrust houses in Suffolk, also Blickling Hall in Norfolk, if you are into that kind of thing.

A little further south on the Essex/Suffolk borders - in Constable country with Gainsborough just up the road - we stayed at Gladwin's Farm in Nayland. Excellent pubs and restaurants in Nayland/Stoke by Nayland and convenient for visiting Suffolk coast.

Southwold has got a pier. It was renovated about 18 months ago and is really lovely now.
SOUTHWOLD PIER

isn't Norfolk v flat and Suffolk a little more rolling

bits of both Norfolk and Suffolk are very flat - the fenland area over to the west mainly. The rest is pretty much rolling.

Breckland to the west is sandy/heath/forest, then the middle bit is heavy clay and rolling farmland, and the coastal bit tends to be heath again (eg Dunwich heath, also the bit round Sherringham).

There is the low lying bit around the Broads too.

Pretty much everywhere there are quaint thatched cottages and cute villages. Beware though - very few dual carriageways mean trunk routes can be very slow in the summer.

Beaches - all pretty similar - wide, sandy (or gravel) sometimes backed by low cliffs.

If you like pootling down country lanes by car, or bike, or on foot - it is the place for you.

Pick an area and go googling - see what you come up with.

I'd go for the North Norfolk coast - Holkham, Wells, that sort of area. It is beautiful. Holkham beach alone is worth a visit (used in the end scene of Shakespeare in Love). If the Broads - the area around Ranworth is full of "quaint" (what a terrible word) villages.