Day 1--Start in Needham Market (unsure about the hotel).
Day 2--Travelling through quiet villages via the renowned ‘Jimmy’s Farm’ you reach East Bergholt the birthplace of John Constable then on to Flatford Mill. You can take a guided Constable appreciation tour, go rowing on the River Stour or simply relax in the riverside tea-room.
Cycle on to the pretty village of Dedham, with antique shops and a craft market to explore, before reaching your hotel just outside the village. (Stay at the Sun Inn or Milsoms.)
Day 3--Today you visit the ‘Wool Town’ of Hadleigh, an ancient town whose buildings give evidence to its past prosperity. The rows of half-timbered houses dropping down the hillside to Kersey ford provide a splendid scene as well as the opportunity for a lunchtime pint. You spend the night in Lavenham, famous the world over for its historic streets and jumble of Tudor houses. (Stay at the Swan at Lavenham.)
Day 4--Drop in to wonderful Ickworth House on the way to Bury St Edmunds an ancient market town, full of history and old Suffolk charm. Here you can walk through the massive stone gateway to the ruined abbey flanked by beautiful gardens. The cathedral with its recently restored tower is nothing but impressive. There’s a twice weekly market. (Stay at the Angel)
Day 5--Return to Needham Market. The undulating countryside makes a delightful journey visiting the pretty village of Badwell Ash and Wyken Hall gardens and vineyard at the end of your tour.

--Head out onto Suffolk’s gentle uplands on the north route (25 miles / 40 kms) to discover many mills, a delightful mere and even a vineyard. Clock up an historic post mill at Stanton, a tower mill at Bardwell and both a working windmill and watermill at Pakenham . An area steeped in history, you’ll be touring lands once occupied by Celtic tribes and where Romans set up fort.
--Setting out east then veering westwards, a refreshing route out of Bury St Edmunds (29 miles /46 kms) leads around lakes and parklands to a reconstructed Anglo Saxon village at West Stow, then nestles alongside the River Lark before returning through picturesque Suffolk villages to the bustle of Bury town centre.
--The 3 routes to the south all weave their way through tiny wool villages with huge flint churches to the medieval master of them all, half-timbered Lavenham. Take the picturesque villages route (30 miles /49 kms) or why not add a vineyard (31 miles / 50 kms) or two (34 miles /55 kms)?
--A shorter parkland pedal out of Bury St Edmunds (15 miles /25 kms) delivers big rewards too in the form of the eccentric oval great house. Ickworth House is set in historic parklands and charming gardens and well worth the visit.