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

Product Information

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. 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. The farm itself felt very well spaced out, the animals had plenty of area to explore, it felt very clean, no litter or mess anywhere, it's easily a full day out.

With Suffolk on Board you can plan journeys using public transport from and to a town or village, named station or stop, or point of interest. The village is compact, but has everything you could possibly need, including 2 shops, churches, excellent sports facilities, a garage, a pub, a top restaurant, a medical centre and a modern primary school all within easy walking distance. The village is predominantly an agricultural community, now mainly arable, pig and poultry farming. The Halesworth and District Museum (which has been runner-up in the Suffolk Museum of the Year Awards and was winner in 2017 of the “Object of the Year” award) is housed at the railway station. The displays take you through 10,000 years of local history; from the earliest Bronze Age settlers in the Blyth Valley to the busy hub of malting, brewing and agriculture which Halesworth was well-known for in Victorian times, and on through the 20th century. * Just a 10-15 minute drive takes you to Long Melford, where there are plenty of places to eat and drink. Also close by is The Six Bells at Preston St Mary, some 4 miles away. This is a Grade II listed village pub offering fantastic ‘Pub Classics’ on their lunchtime and dinner menus, as well as local specials and fish sourced from Leigh On Sea. While away an afternoon watching the Six Nations or relaxing in their spacious garden, and feel yourself at home in this picturesque part of the country.In Long Melford there’s plenty to see and do, with numerous antique shops and pubs, several boutiques, restaurants and cafes, and a growing hub of Art Galleries including The Jessica Muir Gallery, Lime Tree Gallery. Just behind the High Street are the water meadows of Long Melford – bring your wellies as these attractive fields are a joy to splash about in, especially if you have a dog with you! The whole of the museum was clean and tidy and very well looked after. The toilets were tidy and clean and even the gift shop looked pleasing. Framlingham Castle reflected in the meare, the Castle’s outer wall looks majestic at any time of day (c) Ian Dalgleish NEWMARKET RACECOURSES One other legacy of the wool trade might also be unique craft shops specialising in hand made knitted clothes. As you stroll around Lavenham you’ll see several of these independently owned and run shops and boutiques which have been lost from most High Streets. 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.

Woodbridge has a history of rope-making, sail-making and boat-building and Sir Francis Drake had his fighting ships built at Woodbridge.

The fabulous attractions and great days out in Suffolk mean you can do as much or as little as you want but most of all it is about having a good time. Lavenham is one of the best preserved Medieval villages in the UK, boasting some 320 listed timber framed buildings, many of them protected by English Heritage. This unique village was created some 750 years ago by Henry III when he granted Lavenham ‘market status’ which stimulated the most prosperous period in the village’s history. 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. Surrounded by rural landscape and dramatic coastline, the restaurants and bars in Ipswich create delicious, international menus made fresh from the county’s produce. Have lunch in a traditional Suffolk pub or quirky bar, grab a coffee from a waterfront café or wind down in the evening for dinner at one of the town’s many award-winning restaurants or bistros before retiring in one of the town’s boutique hotels, quirky guesthouses or self-catering apartments

A shingle spit scattered with abandoned military buildings – the relics of years of secret investigations – swathed in rare plant life, and crowned by an iconic red and white lighthouse with just a handful of years left before it crumbles into the sea, Orfordness is definitely one of the strangest landscapes you’ll ever come across. Its combination of beauty and eeriness make it one of the top sights in Suffolk. 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. 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

WESTLETON HEATH

A few more people did come in as time went on, but it's spacious enough to let people past without being too close. Suffolk is a county that unless you travel slowly through it, you may miss many of its charming and redeeming features. From Lowestoft to Felixstowe, where the North Sea constantly erodes the coastline of Suffolk are the picturesque seaside resorts of Dunwich, Orford, Southwold and Aldeburgh where there are sandy heaths and mud flats. Inland, Suffolk is an agricultural landscape of wheat fields, thatched cottages in rural villages and attractive market towns like Bungay, Beccles and Bury St. Edmunds; that are rich in their own history making the region of particular interest to the visiting tourist. Fressingfield is one of those lovely Suffolk villages typical of the county, with a great sense of community spirit. The village is in high Suffolk, close to Diss and just 40 minutes drive from the coast at Southwold. It has a population of over 900, a mixture of long established local families, who have lived here for generations, and also a substantial number of people who have moved into the area from London and the home counties since electrification of the Norwich to Liverpool Street line in the 1980s. Financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to honour the Maltings heritage of the town, a Malt ‘Experience’ and ‘Trail’ was launched in 2017. The 'experience' is located at The New Cut Arts Centre, where the trail starts.