The Backs Cambridge. Britain on View
Ely Cathedral Cambridgeshire
Custom House, Purfleet Quay, King's Lynn historic Quayside Norfolk
Boating Holidays & Boat Trips in the Norfolk Broads
Rowing Boats on the Stour between Dedham & Flatford, Constable Country Suffolk/Essex Border
Wildflowers on Aldeburgh Beach Suffolk Coast
Beccles Quay Southern Broads Suffolk
Flag Fen Archaeology Park & Bronze Age Centre nr Peterborough
Suffolk Heaths Coast at Dunwich Heath
Southwold Pier & Beach Suffolk Coast
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery NorfolkThe counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia contain some of Britain's most beautiful lowland landscapes. In Cambridgeshire is the magnificent flat landscape of The Fens from which burst great ship cathedrals like Ely Cathedral. In Norfolk is the stunning North Norfolk heritage coast with off-shore seal island Blakeney Point and Britain's largest wetland The Broads, a favourite area for lock-free boating holidays. Thetford Forest straddling the Norfolk and Suffolk border is Britain's largest low lying pine forest and mecca for family cycling holidays in East Anglia. The Suffolk Heritage Coast contains the beautiful heaths of Dunwich Heath and Europe's largest shingle spit Orford Ness. In the far south of Suffolk on the Suffolk/Essex border is Dedham Vale AONB & the Stour Valley, immortalised in the paintings of John Constable who was born in East Bergholt in Suffolk.
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A wealth of holiday experiences are in East Anglia from family fun seaside holidays in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Hunstanton to one of Europe's finest preserved medieval cities Norwich. Cambridge is one of Britain's most visited locations with its historic university colleges and many museums. In Suffolk Ipswich contains a stunning heritage waterfront and marina whilst Bury St Edmunds is home to famous site of pilgrimage St Edmundsbury Cathedral. An overiding theme which makes this area special in Britain is East Anglia's network of waterways and its spectacular coast which includes two designated heritage coasts. Rarely are you far from a beautiful heritage quayside in East Anglia be it the historic Hanseatic Wash port of King's Lynn or Great Yarmouth's historic quay along the River Yare. The Norfolk Coast is where Admiral Lord Nelson learnt to sail around the Burnhams. East Anglia's network of rivers and Broads offer numerous opportunities for boating holidays, sailing, rowing and watersports.
Cambridgeshire contains one of Britain's most popular cultural city breaks Cambridge with its spectacular Cambridge University Colleges and premier museums and galleries linked to the university. Popular tours in Cambridge include the Cambridge punting tours along the River Cam which afford spectacular views of The Backs of the riverside colleges. Northwest and west of Cambridge is Huntingdonshire with historic market towns Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots. All three are great riverside gateways onto the East Anglian waterways and the Huntingdonshire towns and villages great craft shops, riverside real ale inns and beautiful rural country cottages and touring parks. Huntingdon is famously the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell and Cromwell's former school in the town is now the Cromwell Museum.
Cambridgeshire contains two iconic Norman cathedrals, Ely Cathedral and Peterborough Cathedral. Both are landmark historic buildings in Britain which regularly feature in top ten lists of 'must visit' buildings. The unique flat landscape of The Fens which pushes up from Peterborough to King's Lynn and The Wash across March and Wisbech and north of Cambridge taking in Wicken and Ely is a magical memorable landscape. There are no hills here, the drama is in the great expanse of flatness dotted with boating waterways and spectacular Fen wetlands sites like Flag Fen, Wicken Fen and Welney Wetlands Centre. The Fens are popular for narrowboat holidays and birdwatching and feature a choice of fun family farm parks, traditional real ale inns, nature reserves, award winning tearooms, character country hotels and numerous camping and caravan sites.
From boating holidays in the Norfolk Broads and stunning Norfolk market towns like Swaffham, Diss and Downham Market to city breaks in medieval Norwich, Norfolk offers a fantastic mix of holiday experiences. The Norfolk Broads are one of Britain's most popular destinations for lock-free boating holidays across miles of waterways in what is Britain's largest wetland. Attractions in the Norfolk Broads feature historic Norfolk windmills, country house estates, adventure parks, gardens and nature reserves.
Norwich is one of Britain's most beautifully preserved medieval cities with spectacular historic architecture alongside a premier shopping experience, great theatres and festivals and outstanding restaurants. Discover King's Lynn's beautiful historic centre and quayside or marvel at Swaffham's spectacular Georgian market square. Beautiful market towns in Norfolk like Diss, North Walsham and Swaffham host fantastic markets for antiques, gifts and local produce. Thetford Forest on the Norfolk and Suffolk border is Britain's largest low lying pine forest popular for cycling holidays in East Anglia.
The Norfolk Coast offers a diverse mix of coastal attractions from the stunning nature reserves of the North Norfolk Coast to premier English family seaside resort Great Yarmouth. The stetch of the North Norfolk Coast from Hunstanton across to Weybourne is one of Britain's designated heritage coasts. Around the Burnhams, where Admiral Lord Nelson was born and learnt to sail, is the offshore Scolt Head Island Nature Reserve. Offshore Island Blakeney Point further east is also a nature reserve, home to breeding colonies of seals. Visitors can take boat trips to both these beautiful islands on the Norfolk heritage coast.
Seaside resorts on the Norfolk Coast include elegant Hunstanton with its glorious beach and striped cliffs facing The Wash. Hunstanton is popular for watersports and contains many seaside attractions. Sheringham is home to the North Norfolk Railway and Cromer with its beautiful pier is a Victorian seaside gem. Family seaside resort mecca on the Norfolk Coast is Great Yarmouth with its stunning 15 miles of wide sandy beaches, family fun theme parks, amusement arcades and family fun piers. A wide choice of family attractions sit around Gt Yarmouth including Fritton Lake Country Park.
Suffolk is one of Britain's ancient counties, largely untouched by the industrial revolution and featuring spectacularly preserved medieval centres such as best preserved medieval village Lavenham. Two of Britain's most famous painters, John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough, herald from Suffolk. Constable was born in the Suffolk village of East Bergholt and Constable Country around Dedham Vale and the Stour Valley on the Suffolk and Essex border is one of Suffolk's most popular areas with visitors. Gainsborough was born in beautiful market town Sudbury where his birthplace home is now a museum.
The two large Suffolk towns Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich are superb centres for holidays in East Anglia. Both contain a breathtaking array of historic buildings from the Abbey remains, cathedral and Norman tower in Bury St Edmunds to the stunning Tudor Christchurch Mansion, Ancient House and spectacular historic waterfront in Ipswich. Suffolk is also home to world centre for horseracing Newmarket with its two historic racecourses, National Stud and the National Horseracing Museum. On the northern edge of the county are the Suffolk Southern Broads with two stunning main centres Beccles and Bungay.
The Suffolk Coast is home to one of East Anglia's two designated heritage coasts, The Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB which stretches from Kessingland in the north to the Stour estuary in the south. Spectacular coastal features here include Europe's largest shingle spit Orford Ness and the Suffolk heaths and beach at Dunwich Heath. The Suffolk heritage coast contains the beautiful seaside gems Southwold and Aldeburgh, both of which boast premier attractions including award winning Southwold Pier and Snape Maltings Concert Hall, host venue for the internationally acclaimed Aldeburgh Music Festival. Perfect holiday bases from which to explore the Suffolk heritage coast include Saxmundham with its many fine traditional pubs and historic market town Haleworth, a real centre for the arts and music festivals in Suffolk.
Lowestoft is the Suffolk Sunrise Coast's premier seaside holiday resort with Blue Flag beaches, two piers and a stunning heritage quay. Beautiful Southern Broad Oulton Broad sits just inland at Lowestoft. Other hightlights on the Suffolk Coast include Blue Flag family friendly Felixstowe beach. Felixstowe has a rich heritage as a coastal defensive site explored in-depth at Landguard Fort. Luxury hotels and premier golf are at coastal Thorpeness whilst Woodbridge is home to an exquisite quayside. A famous English castle is also in the Suffolk Coast area. In the 16th century Mary Tudor was at Framlingham Castle when she received news she had been proclaimed queen. A tour of Framlingham Castle alongside the mere includes the breathtaking wall walk not to be missed on a visit to the Suffolk Coast.
