Take a stroll along Aldeburgh beach in Suffolk and you’ll come across not one but two famous sculptures. Maggi Hambling’s controversial scallop stands 4m high on the shingle, creating a mirror for the sound of the waves. A tribute to Suffolk-born composer Benjamin Britten, it bears an inscription from his opera Peter Grimes: “I hear those voices that will not be drowned.” Other landmark buildings built during this 16C boom were the opulent St Peter and St Paul Church (below) and the Lavenham Priory. 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 . A few exotic animals along with farm animals , picnic areas and play areas for the kids , restaurant and gift/toy shop , woodland walk with den building. 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.

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. 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. Halesworth is a small market town built upon a Roman settlement and is full of interesting buildings, from timber framed structures to Victorian former almshouses. The main shopping street is known as the Thoroughfare, which is an East Anglian term for the main street of a town.It’s not clear why Lavenham became the epicentre for the wool trade but it might have been down to the fact that proportionately fewer people in Suffolk were bound to a local lord (41% of Suffolk people were Freemen compared to just 9% in neighbouring Essex) which enabled them to be entrepreneurial. However we do know that the riches of Lavenham’s residents have left a unique legacy in the shape of the stunning timber-framed houses that they built to show off their wealth, as well as the Lavenham Guildhall). In this Tudor building the ruling merchant class held court, fine-tuned the laws and trading regulations that helped create Lavenham’s wealth. Today the Guildhall is operated by the National Trust and contains a local history museum, with exhibitions on medieval cloth industry. There’s also a tranquil walled garden with dye plants used since the Middle Ages, so make a date to explore Lavenham’s history at the Guildhall. Felixstowe has a pebbly beach extending from the port at Landguard Fort to Felixstowe Ferry, an old fishing hamlet on the River Deben. A promenade runs along part of the beach, from the nature reserve in the south-west to Cobbolds Point (Maybush Avenue in east), with traditional beach huts along most of that length. Mannings Amusement arcade with snooker halls and food outlets can be found at the southern end of the prom. The pier also has a cafe and amusement arcade. Read our guide to Felixstowe here. Kersey too was well known for cloth-making – so well known that it is mentioned in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost. Kersey was famous for a rough, ribbed cloth which was especially suitable for hosiery. Today Kersey is yet another picturesque Suffolk village, probably best known for pottery and right in the centre, a road that fords River Brett, where once the cloth-makers used to soak their materials. Ipswich is the county-town of Suffolk and is one of the oldest English towns, it is home to over 1,500yrs of heritage, a cutting-edge theatre and arts scene, cool waterfront bars, cosy Suffolk pubs, and a vibrant community of independent stores. By Rail: Halesworth's rail station is located on Station Road, Halesworth IP19 8BZ. Local services run to Lowestoft and Ipswich. From Lowestoft onward travel is available to Norwich and from Ipswich on the mainline service to London Liverpool Street.

One look at Framlingham Castle’s tall battlements and it’s easy to see why Mary Tudor chose to gather her troops here before marching on London to claim the throne. Not only is Framlingham’s 12th-century fortress one of the top sights in Suffolk: a walk along its precipitous outer walls gives you some of the best views of the county. Use the layers on the map to find information on local weather and forecast, travel information including traffic conditions showing the latest traffic flow and congestion. 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.Standing at the very heart of historic Bury St Edmunds is Suffolk’s only cathedral. Built within the grounds of Bury St Edmunds Abbey, which housed the relics of St Edmund until his shrine was destroyed during the English Reformation, St Edmundsbury Cathedral began life as a small stone church. After centuries of rebuilds and additions, it became a cathedral in 1914, and is best viewed from the spectacular Abbey Gardens adjoining it. 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 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.

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. Matters were drawn in to focus the next day when we went to the Weavers Spa, and also for lunch at the Crown in Stoke by Nayland, staff were cheerful, helpful and great at both of these local places. The restaurant was really nice, looked stunning aswell as its set inside an old barn! The food was really really nice, we will happily eat there again, you are allowed to take your own food and have a picnic on the grass if you wish but we ate in the restaurant and I think we would again as the food was super yummy !! From mysterious shingle spits to chocolate-box villages, imposing castles to beasts doing battle, these are 15 of the top sights in Suffolk: HELMINGHAM HALLFramlingham Castle reflected in the meare, the Castle’s outer wall looks majestic at any time of day (c) Ian Dalgleish NEWMARKET RACECOURSES

Aldeburgh is world-renowned thanks to its connection with Benjamin Britten, the founder of the Aldeburgh Festival, which takes place in June every year.Pastel-coloured 19th Century holiday villas line the promenade and to the east, the pebble beach with fisherman’s huts selling the daily catch. Did you know?

WILLY LOTT’S COTTAGE

The semi-pedestrianised Thoroughfare and large traditional Market Place make it easy to wander through the town centre popping into the mainly independently owned shops. 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. 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.