East Anglia: Places to Explore

Aldeburgh (pronounced orl-bruh) is a quiet seaside resort, except in June, when the town fills up with people attending the noted Aldeburgh Festival. Its beach is backed by a promenade lined with candy-color... Read more

The Norfolk coast begins to feel wild and remote near Blakeney, 14 mi west of Cromer. Driving the coast road from Cromer, you pass marshes, sandbanks, and coves, as well as villages. Blakeney is one of... Read more

The Georgian streetscape helps make the town one of the area's prettiest, and the nearby Greene King Westgate Brewery adds the smell of sweet hops to the air. Robert Adam designed the town hall in 1774... Read more

With the spires of its university buildings framed by towering trees and expansive meadows, its medieval streets and passages enhanced by gardens and riverbanks, the city of Cambridge is among the loveliest... Read more

Evidence of Colchester's four centuries of Roman history is visible everywhere in this ancient town. The Roman walls still stand, together with a Norman castle, a Victorian town hall, and Dutch-style houses... Read more

Dedham is the heart of Constable Country. Here gentle hills and the cornfields of Dedham Vale, set under the district's delicate, pale skies, inspired John Constable (1776-1837) to paint some of his most... Read more

Known for its magnificent cathedral, Ely is the "capital" of the fens, the center of what used to be a separate county called the Isle of Ely (literally "island of eels"). Until the land was drained in... Read more

As Bishop's Lynn, the town thrived as a port on the River Ouse, growing prosperous in the 15th century through the wool trade and other trade with the Continent; a Flemish influence is apparent in the... Read more

Virtually unchanged since the height of its wealth in the 15th and 16th centuries, Lavenham is one of the most perfectly preserved examples of a Tudor village in England. The weavers' and wool merchants'... Read more

Celts, Romans, and Danes all had important settlements here, but it was the Normans who gave Lincoln its medieval stature after William the Conqueror founded Lincoln Castle as a stronghold in 1068. Four... Read more

It's easy to see how this village got its name, especially if you walk the full length of its 2-mi-long main street, which gradually broadens to include green squares and trees and finally opens into the... Read more

It used to be said that Norwich had a pub for each day of the year and a church in which to repent for every Sunday. Although this is no longer true, real ales and steeples (including that of its grand... Read more

Part of the Suffolk Heritage Coast, a 40-mi stretch that runs from Felixstowe northward to Kessingland, ancient Orford is a beautiful example of the coast's many Sites of Special Scientific Interest (legally... Read more

Peterborough's main attraction, the cathedral, is best seen on a day trip from Cambridge. Much of the pedestrianized city center is marred by a hideous modern shopping center, the Queensgate.... Read more

This seaside town is an idyllic place to spend a day. The old-fashioned beach huts that huddle together against the wind on the shingle beach, all painted in bright colors, make an eye-catching sight... Read more

Serene, honey-hued Stamford, on a hillside overlooking the River Welland, has a well-preserved center, in part because in 1967 it was designated England's first conservation area. This unspoiled town... Read more

An early silk-weaving industry (still in existence, on a smaller scale) as well as the wool trade brought prosperity to Sudbury, which has three fine Perpendicular Gothic churches and some half-timber... Read more

A quiet base from which to explore other nearby towns, the harbor town of Wells-next-the-Sea and the nearby coastline remain untouched, with many excellent places for bird-watching and walking on the sandy... Read more

One of the first good ports of call on the Suffolk Heritage Coast, Woodbridge is a town whose upper reaches center on a fine old market square, site of the 16th-century Shire Hall. Woodbridge is at its... Read more