Suffolk (OS Travel Series - Tourist Map): Sheet 21 (OS Travel Map - Tour Map)

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A few more people did come in as time went on, but it's spacious enough to let people past without being too close.

From mysterious shingle spits to chocolate-box villages, imposing castles to beasts doing battle, these are 15 of the top sights in Suffolk: HELMINGHAM HALL Where better to start a tour of Suffolk Villages and Towns than in Lavenham where the streets are timber-framed Avenues, and walking through the village itself is like walking through a Medieval world, one that is better preserved than anywhere else in England. There is a real village community in Fressingfield, with a wide range of activities for all ages and interests. These range from a preschool group, brownies, beavers, cubs and scouts, alongside the Women’s Institute, Mothers’ Union, Royal British Legion and over-50s Luncheon Club amongst others. All welcome new members! Come and spend some time in this lovely village and get a sense of country life at its best. There are several accommodation options and lots of activities throughout the year, including the Fressingfield Garden Festival in June.

15 TOP SIGHTS IN SUFFOLK

Nonetheless the rest of the house is certainly worth seeing . It was built by one Edmund Withypoll around 1548 . In one room there was some 16th century painted wall panels which caught my eye at least . Thank God for our DIY stores I don't believe I could do as good a job as this . One room also had a collection of musical instruments including a Harp get them . Again my musical talents are zero and my voice even worse . By this time I had realised I would certainly have been divorced had I lived in the 1500s . Perfectly located for exploring The Suffolk Coast and countryside, in Halesworth you are ideally situated to travel to the many coastal resorts, attractions, villages and towns. Did you know?

This place is a hidden gem. Never been before and lived here for years. Went on Saturday around 11am. It wasn't too busy which I loved as I suffer with anxiety and being around crowds. Going into the museum your greeted with a welcome desk, a lovely little shop and a view of the museum infront of you. The staff are absolutely lovely and really helpful.Today Lavenham is a thriving village with a strong community spirit. It has a hub of art galleries, some fantastic restaurants and hotels, plenty of cafes and pubs for pit stops, and lots of interesting buildings to visit. There was a cool painting of the famous and talented Joshua Reynolds and one of Sarah Churchill I believe . A very interesting toy collection shows how to live before play station was around . Close by is another weaver village – Long Melford and this is also well worth a visit. ‘Melford’ is derived from ‘mill’ and ‘ford’, and ‘Long’ doesn’t need explaining to anyone who has attempted to walk the main street in Long Melford – all 2 ½ miles of it! The longest in England. There are many interesting sights in Long Melford, starting at the Holy Trinity Church at one end of the village overlooking a substantial green, where there is a Tudor mansion in close proximity – Melford Hall, built in 1450.

Aldeburgh has a rich cultural identity and is home to the Aldeburgh Literary Festival, multiple galleries and iconic sculptures as well as the Aldeburgh Music Club started by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in 1952. Lavenham holds a Farmers Market on the fourth Sunday of every month in the beautiful space at Village Hall. Over 30 local traders attend the market selling some of the region’s highest quality, local produce. Stalls include fresh fruit & vegetables, home baked cakes & pies, local pork & beef, Suffolk apple juice, jams & preserves, fresh pesto, plants & cut flowers and locally brewed real ales & wines. The fantastic kid friendly Farmers’ Cafe serves delicious homemade soup, freshly baked cakes, Farmers’ Breakfasts & good quality coffee using local products direct from the market traders. The Park has latterly been transformed by the hard work of the volunteer group Halesworth in Bloom. They have added colour to all parts of the town, gaining gold awards four years in a row and Best Small Town in East Anglia. The Hooker Trail (leaflet available from the VIPs) highlights the connection with Halesworth of the Hookers, father and son, who were the first two directors of Kew Gardens. Owners of town gardens host a regular Open Gardens Day showcasing their displays. Chocolate-box Lavenham offers everything you could want from a place often called the Best Kept Medieval Village in England: half-timbered merchants’ houses, winding streets, a lavish 15th century church, and an embarrassment of listed buildings. If Lavenham’s picturesqueness wasn’t enough to tempt you, it’s also well known for its restaurants, such as The Great House and the 800-year-old Swan Hotel, and for being the home of Harry Potter: Lavenham was used as Godric’s Hollow, the magical village where Harry Potter was born, during filming of The Deathly Hallows Part 1 & Part 2. Like many of the Suffolk towns, Halesworth has it own weekly outdoor market held in the traditional Market Place. There are other produce, plants and brocante markets taking place at different town venues during the year too.

ST EDMUNDSBURY CATHEDRAL

Now in its fourth year, The Cut is home to the INK Festival which champions new work from emerging and established playwrights, with a host of events including plays, radio plays, films and children's workshops. Pre COVID, the centre hosted the Centre hosted the Halesworth Arts Festival every October and the Tessa Fuchs Chamber Series every spring which will hopefully be repeated. Other landmark buildings built during this 16C boom were the opulent St Peter and St Paul Church (below) and the Lavenham Priory. Lavenham was one of the centres of the wool trade in Suffolk in the Middle Ages, exporting its materials via Ipswich to Holland and Spain. Very successful it was too – in Henry VIII’s reign, Lavenham was the fourteenth wealthiest town in England. The stunning Guildhall in the centre of Lavenham was built c1520 by the Guild of Corpus Christi, one of the town’s four medieval guilds, and is today maintained by the National Trust. Willy Lott’s Cottage in Suffolk (c) Alastair Rae. Willy Lott was a neighbour of John Constable, and his house featured in several of the great master’s paintings WESTLETON HEATH

The most convenient ways to find parking places in East Suffolk are either via Find My Nearest, and where parking fees apply the council’s RingGo parking service .Famous people from Halesworth include Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, the famous botanist who was born in 1817; and George Landsbury, leader of the Labour party from 1931 - 1935. Every autumn, Suffolk’s red deer do battle to secure the right to mate (c) Paul Sawer ALDEBURGH BEACH The Distance tool shows a distance radius around a point on the map and can be used to calculate the distance between two points on the map. Suffolk Villages and Towns mainly reflect the county’s rich history as a centre for the wool industry in the Middle Ages and Tudor times – here you’ll find timber framed houses, magnificent Guildhalls and opulent stately houses as well as the humble pretty thatched cottages Suffolk is well known for. The village revived in the early 19C when the railway (since defunct alas) breathed new life into the area, and opened it up for trading in coconut matting and horse hair manufacturing.