What to do on the Suffolk Coast
As someone whose earliest memory of the English seaside is sitting in the back seat of the family Triumph as it crawled along the Brighton seafront in a hot, sticky traffic jam, the Suffolk coast has a special place in my heart. Because in Suffolk that would never happen. There isn't a coast road. Nature hasn't allowed it. Instead, there's the inland A12, which weaves its way through shadowy forests, skirting great swathes of purple heather and yellow gorse-smothered heath and marshland.
The bit between Southwold and Aldeburgh is loveliest because of all its extremes: the picket-fenced perfection of Southwold; the low-key charm of Walberswick, where various Freuds (Esther, Emma) have lived for years, with its wind-whipped cottages and wide sandy beach; and Dunwich, a tiny village on a vast stretch of shingle, which was once a major port before gradually being washed away by the sea. Dingle Marshes and Dunwich Forest are to the north, and going south – skipping Sizewell – is Thorpeness, a fantasy holiday village built by a Scottish barrister in 1910. Further along there's bookish, ruggedly charming Aldeburgh, with its literary, arts and food festivals and some of the freshest fish and chips on the planet. Get the most out of all of it by abandoning the car and walking or cycling. And, when in Walberswick, rowing – or get rowed by Dani Church, whose family has been offering this low-fi shuttle service across the Blythe estuary since the 1800s.
Where to eat & drink on the Suffolk Coast
The Adnams Brewery is integral to life in Southwold (beer has been brewed on site since 1345) and its malty whiffs waft down the streets. Walk into any pub and chances are Adnams owns it - for a pint of Ghost Ship ale in the cosiest setting, the old-school Lord Nelson is a short scamper from the beach. For excellent fish and chips (or venison sausage and herby mashed potato), book a table at The Crown Hotel on the High Street. Two Magpies Bakery, a few doors down, is the place for great coffee, sandwiches to take to the beach and just-baked loaves of sensational sourdough. Saturday is pizza night here: Cheesus H Crust, a crispy and delicious base laced with locally smoked ham, organic honey and rocket, is a bestseller.
If you're heading to Walberswick from Southwold, slurp up some oysters from one of the quayside shacks before hopping on the ferry. Once across the water, The Anchor is reliable for good pub grub as well as creative wine and beer matching. I've got three words to say about old smugglers' haunt The Ship at Dunwich. Sticky. Toffee. Pudding. Miss it and live a life of regret. Also try the Blythburgh pork and black-pudding Scotch egg.
For original fish dishes, the Seafood & Grill restaurant at Aldeburgh's Brudenell Hotel is run by Darran Hazelton, who can often be found down at the fishermen's huts on the beach gauging the day's finest ingredients. Buying haddock and chips from Aldeburgh Fish and Chip Shop then sitting on the sea wall to eat it like a teenager is a seminal Suffolk experience. Then and only then is it OK to go to sibling the Golden Galleon for a grown-up supper at the upstairs restaurant, the Upper Deck.
What to see & do on the Suffolk Coast
The Adnams Brewery tour, often led by local characters – such as Jane Leonard, a retired ballerina – is the coolest introduction to Southwold, and the view from the top is the best in town. Stroll past the candy-coloured beach huts to Southwold Pier, pick up locally churned Suffolk Meadow Ice Cream and duck into the Under the Pier Show, the world's most eccentric amusement arcade. For a peaceful contrast, take the seafront path to the Sailor's Reading Room for a flick through the papers. The Electric Picture Palace aims to recreate the cinema-going experience of the 1950s, with usherettes, a commissionaire on the door, and the national anthem playing at the end.
Crabbing is huge in Walberswick (though avoid the weekend of the annual British Open Crabbing Championships, cancelled twice in recent years due to overcrowding). All you need is a bucket, line, cooked bacon for bait and a good spot on the bridge over the creek. You'll be pulling them out hand over fist - a surprisingly exhilarating experience.
At Dunwich, after that Scotch egg in The Ship, pop next door to the museum to learn more about the seat of the first bishop of East Anglia, which in 1086 was one of the 10 largest towns in England, with at least six churches and monasteries. You can then walk along the clifftop to the ruins of Greyfriars, a Franciscan monastery and one of the few buildings to survive. Aldeburgh Museum is housed in Moot Hall, which was once in the centre of town, but coastal erosion means it's now right on the beach. In June there's the Aldeburgh Festival, the renowned arts and music jamboree launched by Benjamin Britten in 1948, although it now mostly takes place just inland at Snape Maltings. The Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival in September showcases more than 90 producers.
The stroll up the beach to Thorpeness takes about 40 minutes from Aldeburgh, passing the giant stainless-steel scallop by Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling that fans out from the sand. Once there, hire a dinghy and paddle to one of the little islands on the Meare lake for a picnic, just as its creator, Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie, intended.
The best shops on the Suffolk Coast
Buying fresh fish right from one of the leather-skinned fishermen on the beach is one of the great pleasures of Aldeburgh. For just-cooked lobster wrapped in newspaper, shell and claws already cracked for easy access, find Dean Fryer, whose hut is opposite the White Lion Hotel. For other essentials, there's Aldeburgh Market (a deli and café championing regional produce) which, after moving location several times, has now found its happy place on the High Street. Pick up holiday reading from the friendly Aldeburgh Bookshop on the High Street.
Should the desire to buy a pair of J Brand jeans or an Ilse Jacobsen raincoat outweigh the need to go crabbing, Collen and Clare on Southwold's Market Place is like a mini-Fenwick. As well as ale, Adnams produces award-winning gins infused with 13 botanicals and delicious, butterscotchy vodkas, which make nice presents to take home. Stop off at the Thorpeness Village Store for really amazing homemade sausage rolls, tender Suffolk ham that's been glazed on the premises and Olga's jams and fudge. You can't spend a weekend in Suffolk without picking up a few random antiques (a door knob shaped like a soldier, a Victorian tablecloth, absolutely anything made of that white and blue enamel). Thorpeness Emporium will provide all the opportunities you need, as will Tinkers of Walberswick.
The best hotels on the Suffolk coast
The Swan, Southwold
The Swan has been an affable gathering point for centuries. After a dramatic facelift, it opened for business again in 2018. This is a 17th-century coaching house and one of three pubs in Southwold run by Adnams brewery, which was founded in the area in 1872. Shoreditch-based design studio Project Orange is responsible for its thrusting new look, which mixes oil paintings and collectibles – spot Churchill’s signature on a framed page from the visitors’ book in 1940 – with perfectly plumped sofas, interesting geometric wallpapers and a riotous colour palette. Downstairs are two restaurants: The Tap Room, at the back, has the feel of a smart pub; the more grown-up, street-facing Still Room has a copper bar that acknowledges the inn’s brewing past and present. The 24 bedrooms in the main house include six very big suites with separate living areas, wood panelling and lovely market-place views. Another 11 rooms are arranged around the lawn behind, and look across to the lighthouse.
Address: The Swan, Market Place, Southwold IP18 6EG
Price: Double rooms from £200
Book your stay
Brudenell Hotel, Aldeburgh
It's worth shelling out for a sea-facing room at Aldeburgh's beachfront Brudenell Hotel - the higher the better, for the thrill of lying in bed with the curtains-open feeling of floating in the sea. The terrace is great for an early seafood supper in the fading light of a warm summer's day.
Address: Brudenell Hotel, The Parade, Brudenell Street, Aldeburgh IP15 5BU
Price: Double rooms from £130
Book your stay
The best houses to rent on the Suffolk coast
Or book one of a clutch of uniquely brilliant rentals, such as the Martello Tower at the foot of the Orford Ness peninsula, the most northerly of the defence towers built to keep out Napoleon, now a two-bedroom weekend bolthole. In Thorpeness, clapboard beach house Valetta sits right on the sand, while the five-bedroom House in the Clouds inhabits a 1920s water tower. Or rent the three-bed 1 Church Cottages. An hour's walk up the beach is The Old Fisherman's Hut for a quintessential Walberswick weekend.
For more information, visit thesuffolkcoast.co.uk and suffolkcoastandheaths.org
This feature was first published in Condé Nast Traveller June 2016, and fact-checked in March 2021.
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