AROUND & ABOUT

Things to Do… Places to Go… People to See...

The location of Stable End Cottage gives easy access to the huge range of facilities and attractions that this corner of East Anglia has to offer. :-

Art (Art Galleries, Centres for Visual Arts, Artists’ Open Studios)
Antiques (many antique centres & shops, antique fairs & flea markets)
Amber – look for some on the beach best place in Britain to find some)
Aviation history (WW2 airfields & memorial museums, Duxford)
Archaeology (Sutton Hoo, Dunwich, Grime’s Graves)
Architecture (rich in Medieval timber-framed buildings)
Auctions (weekly at Beccles and Diss)
Beaches (safe bathing on sand and sand & shingle beaches)
Bird-watching (RSPB Minsmere Bird Sanctuary, Orford Ness)
Boating, as in ‘messing about in’ (the Broads, Thorpeness Meare, Fritton Lake)
Books (second-hand & antiquarian)
Car Boot sales (genuine booters)
Cycling (hire facilities available)
Castles (Framlingham, Orford , Norwich, Bungay)
Crafts (Potteries, Ceramics, Textiles, Glass)
Churches (500 medieval churches in Suffolk alone)
Country pursuits (Agricultural Shows, Game Fairs, Farmers Markets)
Country Estates (Sandringham, Somerleyton, Holkham Hall)
Eating Out (from pub lunches to nationally renowned Restaurants)
Family (Pleasurewood Hills, Banham Zoo, Play Barn, Suffolk Wildlife Park, Discovery Centre, Dinosaur Adventure Park, Aquarium , Fritton Countryworld etc)
Fishing (deep sea, trout lakes, coarse fishing – angling licence needed)
Fresh food (PYO, markets, preserves, roadside stalls, farm shops)
Flying/gliding (Old Buckenham Airfield and other)
Gardening (specialist nurseries, village open gardens, country house gardens)
Golf (excellent local courses with day memberships)
Going to the Dogs – Great Yarmouth Stadium
Ghosts [Black Shuck at Blythburgh, the Bungay Bigod Ghost !)
Horses (equestrian centres, riding, horse sanctuaries, specialist museums)
Horse-racing (Newmarket, Fakenham)
History (museums, medieval buildings & ancient monuments]
Kites (acquire a hand-crafted one and fly by the sea)
Mills (working Windmills, Tide Mills, Tower Mills)
Motor Racing (sport/banger/karting/ at Snetterton, Foxhall, Yarmouth)
Music ( Aldeburgh Festival, Snape, Wingfield, outdoor concerts etc)
National Trust houses (Ickworth, Blickling, Oxburgh Hall etc)
Nightlife (not a lot - try clubbing in Gt Yarmouth/Norwich !)
Theatre (open-air, Southwold Summer Theatre, Norwich, Ipswich)
Railways (narrow gauge railways, steam locomotives)
Real Ale (Adnams, St Peters Ale and many more)
Roses (Peter Beales, Mannington Hall Gardens)
Ruins (Leiston Abbey, Covehithe church, Castle Rising Priory)
Rural trades & crafts (agricultural museums, farm tours etc)
People-watching (Southwold Pier, street cafes, town strolls)
Seafood (sea-fresh fish, crabs in season)
Swimming (Blue Flag beaches, indoor heated pools, pub gardens)
Shopping (Snape Maltings, Southwold, Norwich, Woodbridge etc)
Steam engineering (Bressingham, Strumpshaw , Forncett
Urban fix (at Norwich, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge)
Vinyards (excellent locally made wines from Wissett, Shawsgate, Wyken…)
Walks (excellent coastal & marsh walks, country rambling, forest trails)
Water Sports ( sailing, wind-surfing, water-skiing)
Wildlife (Otter Trust, Birds of Prey/Owls, RSPB Sanctuary, Nature Reserves)

see Around and About and Whats On

Also see www.norfolktouristattractions.co.uk
www.visitsuffolk.org.uk
www.suffolktopattractions.com

www.heritage-suffolk.org.uk

(note:American visitors may be particularly interested in the 'american connections' page of www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/tourism)

Further detailed information as to many of these places – and others- is supplied in the Information Pack at the cottage which has been compiled for your use.

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within a 10 mile radius:

Southwold – a charming & timeless seaside town. Sand & shingle beach (Blue Flag) and famous beach huts. Open greens surrounded by period houses and cottages. Individual shops. Lighthouse. Amber Museum. Real Ale (Adnams). Working harbour – fresh North Sea fish. Restaurants. Re-born Pier. Good for antiques. Electric Palace Cinema. One of the famous Southwold Beach Huts is available for rental with the cottage on a daily or weekly basis.

Blythburgh – the famous Holy Trinity Church with its ‘angel’ roof. Overlooks the Blyth estuary. Illuminated at night.

Walberswick - pretty cottages around village green. Dunes, sands and walks. Much favoured by artists since 19th century. Approach by road or be rowed across from Southwold. Pubs. Visitor Centre.
Walberswick National Nature Reserve – Sandlings heathland, reed beds, inter-tidal mud flats, marsh, woodland and tidal estuary of the River Blyth form an unique grouping of habitats.

Bungay - unspoilt market town with ruins of Norman castle; indoor swimming pool ; good for antiques. Nearby is the excellent North Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton and the Otter Trust at Earsham.

Beccles – fine old market town with 14th century church & a major boating centre for the Broads. Bargains can be had at the weekly furniture auction.

Walpole – Walpole Old Chapel (Historic Chapels Trust)

Heveningham – the privately owned fine 18th century Heveningham Hall is not open to the public but it is interesting to drive by and see the extent of the work that has recently gone into re-creating the Capability Brown designed landscape.

The Saints – fascinating time-forgotten corner of Suffolk where its famously easy to get lost in the car ! Stunning St Peters Hall can be found here as well as Batemans Barn and the mysterious ruins of the Minster.

Other villages – Halesworth serves several outlying villages many of which have excellent public houses and food. Many of these have Garden Open Days in the summer.

within a 15 mile radius:

Lowestoft - once a flourishing fishing port. Harbour and docks.
Britains most easterly point (Lowestoft Ness).
Now primarily a seaside resort - good sandy beaches (Blue Flag), long promenade. East Point glass pavilion.

Oulton Broad – gateway to the Broads and a mecca for boating. Boating enthusiasts and naturalists. Considered one of the finest stretches of inland water in England.

Kessingland – beach. Suffolk Wildlife Park. Car Boot sale every Sunday.

Covehithe – church ‘within’ a church. Dramatic coastal erosion. Clifftop walks.

Raveningham – Raveningham Hall Gardens & Centre – oriental carpets/hand-crafted kites etc.

Reedham Ferry – the only crossing point of the River between Norwich and Lowestoft.

Dunwich –in medieval times a major thriving port since claimed by the sea. The sound of Old Dunwich church bells are said to be heard on stormy nights! Walks . Kites . Ruins. One pub.
Museum chronicling the erosion over the ages.
Fresh fish from the boats and best fish ‘n chips ever (except for Aldeburgh!).

Dunwich Heath – National Trust Nature Reserve. Great walks and views.
Lighthouse keepers cottage turned teashop. Heaths Area of Outstanding Beauty, one of only 41 in the country.

Westleton – a classic pretty village. Adjoins Minsmere Bird Sanctuary (one of the RSPB’s premier sites) – nature trails and Hides.

Aldeburgh - traditional seaside town put on the map culturally by the Festival of Music & the Arts. Benjamin Britten connections.
Historic buildings inc. the 16th century Moot Hall.
Fresh fish off shingle beach. Excellent restaurants. Cinema. Near Snape…

Snape - The Maltings Concert Hall (brilliant acoustics and a world famous performance venue. Walks through the reeds and marshes. Boat trips. Shopping Centre. Antiques

Thorpeness
Pseudo-Tudor ‘planned’ village just north of Aldeburgh, built in the early 1900’s around the Meare – a 60 acre huge artificial lake studded with islands and a paradise for children. Think ‘Swallows & Amazons’. Also the ‘House in the Clouds’ and working windmill

Framlingham - Attractive town surrounded by pretty countryside and dominated by 12th century castle with 13 towers. Live performances held at the Castle throughout the summer. Hospitality at the xth century Crown Inn. Antiques. Vineyards nearby.

Laxfield - thatched Tudor pub without a ‘bar’ - beer still served from the barrel in the old kitchen.

Wingfield – Arts and Colleges Yard & Galleries, home of Wingfield Arts.
14th century house. (The book ‘I Capture the Castle’ is based on Wingfield Castle)

Within 45 minutes drive :

Norwich - county town of Norfolk and one of England’s best preserved medieval cities
Splendid Cathedral
Sainsbury Centre for Modern Art (Norman Foster designed)
The Forum – state of the art new Library & Media centre
Norman Castle – Keep & Museum
Historic buildings, parks, churches
Maze of streets and lanes
Shopping malls / Good individual shopping
Famous outdoor market
Arts and entertainment/Cinemas & Theatres

Great Yarmouth
A family entertainment destination. - amusement arcades & games. Pleasure Beach for rides.
Sea Life Centre aquarium Race-course.

Ipswich
County town of Suffolk.
Historic wet dock – maritime heritage
Medieval churches
16th century Christchurch Mansion
Tolly Cobbold Brewery.
Magnificent Parks.
Shopping.
Arts and entertainment/Cinemas & Theatres

Orford
Orford Castle. Boat trips.
Famous seafood – ‘The Butlery at Orford’
Orford Ness – Nature Reserve (longest vegetated shingle spit in Europe) with de-classified military installations (development of radar). Accessible by boat from Orford Quay.

Woodbridge - on River Deben
Once noted for ship building and sail making
Now an attractive town - pedestrianised centre & narrow streets
Good shops - Antiques. Tide Mill on quayside – functioning up to1957.
Suffolk Punch Horse Museum.
Cinema
Nearby is family-orientated Easton Farm Park .
On opposite bank is Sutton Hoo (National Trust)

Sutton Hoo – Anglo-Saxon Royal Burial Site (National Trust) where treasures were only unearthed in 1939.

Bressingham – Alan Bloom's Dell Garden, Adrain Bloom's Foggy Bottom Garden & Steam Centre

Stanton – Wyken Hall – Elizabethan manor house, vineyard, gardens.
Restaurant in 16th barn.

Banham – Banham Zoo. Sunday Car Boot sale.

And much more...

spring countryside close by the cottage

In the wider context:

60 minutes Bury St Edmunds (fine Georgian Theatre)
60 minutes Snetterton (motor racing circuit)
75 minutes Newmarket (Racing, Anglesey Abbey Gardens)
90 minutes Ely (Cathedral)
90 minutes Cambridge (Colleges)
90 minutes Thetford Forest (walking, riding and outdoor pursuits)
90 minutes Lavenham & Long Melford (superb medieval buildings)
90 minutes Dedham & Flatford Mill (Constable country)
90 minutes Sandringham & several National Trust Houses
90 minutes Norfolk Heritage Coast (Cromer, Blakeney Point)

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Annual Happenings

Note: this is just a quick synopsis of annual events but there are many more of course…

January – April
Daffodil walks & gardens
Easter Programme at Snape
Easter Bunny Trail at Oxburgh Hall
Bluebell walks

May
The Suffolk Show, Ipswich
Suffolk Game & Country Fair, Glemham Hall
Norfolk Open Studios
Southwold Fair
Southwold Literary Spring Festival
Local asparagus starts
Garden Antiques Exhibition & Sale, Southwold

June
The Royal Norfolk Show, Norwich
Halesworth Food, Drink & Craft Fayre
Suffolk Open Studios
Sandringham Country Show & Horse Trials
Southwold Smack & Classic Boat Rally
East Coast Regatta
Summer Antiques Fair, Southwold
PYO strawberries

July
Regatta, Beccles
Antique Street Market, Bungay
Aldeburgh Festival of Music and Arts
Southwold Summer Theatre
Heveningham Country Fair
Westleton Wild Flower Festival
Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival
Framlingham Horse Show

August
National Open Crabbing Championships, Walberswick
Antique Street Fair, Halesworth
Southwold Summer Theatre
Snape Proms
Lowestoft Carnival

September
Maritime Festival, Gt. Yarmouth
Southwold Summer Theatre
Maize Maze, Farnham
Henham Steam Rally
Southwold Jazz Festival

October
Halesworth Arts Festival

November
Southwold Literary Festival
Britten Festival, Snape

December
Christmas Market, Southwold
Christmas Street Fairs/Lights in many towns
Blythburgh Carol Service