Around & About
Things to Do… Places to Go… People to See...
And also see our new blog which features upcoming events and lots of weblinks
Located on the fringe of the village of Westhall and three miles from Halesworth, Belle Grove is fantastically well placed to explore the region. The village shop and pub is a 4 minute drive away. In the Winter , enjoy bracing walks along the coast, retreat to cosy pubs and restaurants and laze in front of a roaring stove. In the Summertime, dip in the sea, promenade on stylish Southwold Pier, shop 'til you drop and feast al fresco .
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 on a ‘as needed’ 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; good indoor swimming pool ; numerous antique shops. Nearby is the excellent North Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton.
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 as well as Batemans Barn and the mysterious ruins of the Minster.
Many of the outlying villages have excellent public houses and food. Many have Garden Open Days in the summer.
within a 15 mile radius:
Lowestoft - once a flourishing fishing port and Britain’s most easterly point (Lowestoft Ness). Not a madly attractive town centre but has excellent sandy beaches (Blue Flag) and a long promenade. East Point glass pavilion.
Oulton Broad – gateway to the Broads and a mecca for boating enthusiasts and naturalists. Considered one of the finest stretches of inland water in England.
Kessingland – good beach. Suffolk Wildlife Park. Car Boot sale every Sunday.
Covehithe – church ‘within’ a church. Dramatic coastal erosion. Recommended 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 16th century coaching Crown Inn. Antiques. Vineyards nearby.
Laxfield – here there is a 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
More of 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.
WOODBRIDE - 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...
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)
The nearest town to Belle Grove is Halesworth, a charming and ‘undiscovered’ market town just a few miles inland from the coast. For more information on Halesworth, click here.
An A B C
The area caters for most tastes and interests…
Art - Art Galleries, Centres for Visual Arts, Artists’ Open Studios
Antiques - antique centres & shops, antique fairs & flea markets
Amber – look for some on the beach / best place in Britain to find it
Aviation history - WW2 airfields & memorial museums, Duxford
Archaeology - Sutton Hoo, Dunwich, Grime’s Graves
Architecture - rich in Medieval timber-framed buildings
Auctions - weekly at nearby Beccles and Diss
Beaches - clean and safe bathing on sand and sand/ shingle beaches
Bird-watching - RSPB Minsmere Bird Sanctuary, Orford Ness
Boating, as in ‘messing about in’ on the Broads, Thorpeness Meare, Fritton Lake
Books - second-hand & antiquarian
Car Boot sales & flea markets
Cycling – good hire facilities in locality
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 Barns, Suffolk Wildlife Park, Discovery Centre, Dinosaur ,Adventure Parks, Aquariums, 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 - classical - Aldeburgh Festival, Snape, Wingfield, outdoor concerts Music - popular -Latitude Festival, Gig in the Park, Aldeburgh summer proms
National Trust - houses - Ickworth, Blickling, Oxburgh Hall etc
Nightlife - (not a lot - try clubbing in Gt Yarmouth/Norwich !
Theatre - professional - Southwold Summer Theatre, Norwich, Ipswich Theatre - am-dram - various open air venues
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, Framlingham Castle, the Minster
Rural trades & crafts - agricultural museums, farm tours etc
People-watching - Southwold Pier, street cafes, town strolls
Seafood - sea-fresh fish off the quay, crabs in season, oysters
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
Vineyards - 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
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 these places – and many others - is supplied in the Information Packs in each cottage , compiled for your convenience.
Internet connection also makes it easy to check out a venue before visiting.
Check out 'real ale' hostelries at www.suffolkcamra.co.uk/pubs
Events Calendar
This is just a quick synopsis of annual 'doings' and events but there are many more of course. Please ask for specific dates, which, of course, change from year to year or check on the internet. Can also check www.onesuffolk.co.uk/whatson/EvtList.htm
January – April
Daffodil walks & gardens
Easter Programme at Snape
Easter Bunny Trail at Oxburgh Hall
Bluebell walks
Family Wildlife Walks and 'Winter Wanders' at Minsmere
May
High Tide Festival at Halesworth The Suffolk Show, Ipswich
Suffolk Game & Country Fair, Glemham Hall
Norfolk Open Studios
Southwold Fair
Local asparagus starts
Garden Antiques Exhibition & Sale, Southwold
Bergh Apton Sculpture Trail
June
The Royal Norfolk Show, Norwich
Halesworth Food, Drink & Craft Street Fayre
Suffolk Open Studios
Sandringham Country Show & Horse Trials
Southwold Smack & Classic Boat Rally
East Coast Regatta
Summer Antiques Fair, Southwold
PYO strawberries
July
'Latitude festival' at Henham 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
Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Britten Festival, Snape
December
Christmas Market, Southwold
Christmas Street Fairs/Lights in many towns
Blythburgh Carol Service