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Castles, Cliffs & Cloth

Tour: 8B
Circular Cycling Holiday
Hotel To Hotel Cycling Holiday

Make a meal of your gentle Suffolk adventure. There’s a great castle for starters in Framlingham, many delicious places to enjoy on the Heritage Coast’s varied menu, plus a rich helping of medieval wool town masterpieces for dessert. From the crumbling Covehithe cliffs all the way to haunting Shingle Street, the sea air and cycling will work wonders for your appetite. Dunwich fish and chips, Orford oysters, Aldeburgh ‘s freshest fishy catch... Suffolk is renowned for its wonderful fare. To supplement the fruits of the sea, there are local meats, cheeses and fresh fruit and veg for you to savour! Read More

Destination

England

Start Day

Any Day

Board Basis

Bed & Breakfast

Prices from

£1,026.00

Duration

8 Days, 7 Nights

Availability

Feb - Nov

Tour Grade

Grade 2 (Easy)

Read Overview
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Overview

See the full splendour of the beautiful Heritage Coast from Covehithe in the north, through the lost city of Dunwich to Shingle Street in the south, with a taste of the medieval Wool Towns to finish.

Tour Code:
8B
Activity:
Cycling
Type:
Circular Cycling Holiday, Hotel To Hotel Cycling Holiday
Country:
England
Area:
Suffolk
Duration:
8 Days, 7 Nights
Board Basis:
Bed & Breakfast
Availability:
Feb - Nov

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive & explore

Arrive at Needham Market, explore the area and spend your first night in or near this small market town.

Day 2 Winding lanes & windmills

Head through the lanes to Debenham, a pretty village with its over-hanging houses and antique shops, then on to Saxtead Green. Here you can visit the beautifully restored 18c post mill and, perhaps, take refreshment at the inn nearby. A detour to one of the vineyards in the area is well worth the visit.
You spend the night in the quiet market town of Framlingham where the 12th century castle, the one-time home of Mary Tudor, and church are both superb.

Mileage: Rec 22 Min 21 Max 38

Day 3 Huge castles & crumbling cliffs

After visiting the vineyards, pass by Bramfield Church, with its unusual detached round bell tower. You may wish to take a detour to the north, hitting the coast as the road ends abruptly at the crumbling cliffs of Covehithe, a haven for birdlife. Turn south towards the pretty lighthouse and red pantiled roofs of Southwold.

Mileage: Rec 26 Min 26 Max 35

Day 4 Glorious greens and the brightest of beach huts

A relaxing day in Southwold, a delightful cliff top town of narrow streets and spacious greens surrounded by cottages in flint, brick and colour wash. Cycle north to Covehithe if you missed it yesterday or follow the River Blyth inland to see the magnificent church at Blythburgh.

Day 5 Stylish resorts, cliffs & curlews

Cross the River Blyth to Walberswick by footbridge before heading south across heather clad heath land to see what remains of the medieval port of Dunwich.
Continue through the RSPB reserve at Minsmere and on to the elegant seaside town of Aldeburgh, where fishermen haul their boats onto the beach just across the road from your hotel.

Mileage: Rec 21 Min 21 Max 28

Day 6 Waves & warrior kings

Going inland to find river crossings, you visit the arts centre at Snape, climb to the top of dramatic Orford Castle, possibly taking a boat trip from Orford Quay.
Onward then to the tip of Orford Ness at quiet and beautiful Shingle Street, followed by a visit to the site of the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo before finally arriving in Woodbridge for the night. If you were to miss out either Shingle Street or Orford, then the distances would fall to 28 or 26 miles respectively.

Mileage: Rec 37 Min 16 Max 43

Day 7 Weaving towards the wool towns

Take time to explore Woodbridge and visit the Tide Mill before climbing back onto your bikes and pedalling along quiet Suffolk lanes, passing through the pretty villages of Bealings, Tuddenham and Kersey.
You spend the night in Hadleigh, an attractive market town with fine old buildings and quiet riverside walks.

Mileage: Rec 24 Min 24 Max 34

Day 8 A quick splash and medieval amazement for the finale

The ride to Needham Market takes you through some of the prettiest villages in England. You’ll splash through the ford in Kersey high street, (visit Long Melford with its mile long high street full of antique shops) and explore the unique collection of medieval buildings in Lavenham, the most spectacular of the wool towns.

Mileage: Rec 30 Min 19 Max 45

Dates & Prices

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For tour start days/dates, seasons and all prices, please click on the PRICES button above

PRICE INCLUDES

Ensuite accommodation as described with full English breakfast (prices based on two adults sharing)

Hire of hybrid bicycle and ancillary equipment (single pannier and handlebar bag or map holder, pump, basic tools, spare inner tube & puncture repair equipment, helmet if required)

Luggage transfer between hotels

Local assistance on call (we will attend for puncture repair in Suffolk)

Detailed itinerary with meticulously planned and researched routes following quiet country lanes with a choice of routes available each day (usually recommended, long and short)

Route notes, descriptions and use of good OS mapping (maps available on arrival). We pride ourselves on our detailed level of documentation which includes plenty of top tips for places to visit or for relaxing and sampling the local fare along the way. We send electronic versions of these documents by email approximately two weeks before your stay so you can plan ahead and look forward to your gentle cycling adventure

We have now switched the default navigation system to GPS – in our opinion this is now the most convenient method as it eliminates the need for frequent stops to check the map

  • We provide you with access to a premium GPS smartphone navigation app (IOS or Android) and send you links so that you can download all of the route options before you leave home.  We will provide a handlebar bracket for your phone if required; it is also recommended that you bring a spare battery/powerbank to make sure that your phone lasts the day
  • We can also provide GPS tracks in whatever format if you prefer to load them into your own GPS Unit.
  • Finally, we can provide a limited number of GPS  units with the routes preloaded – this is on a first come first served basis – please let us know as soon as you can if  you would like to use one
  • We will also provide OS 1:50,000 mapping on arrival as additional support to allow for any impromptu route changes
  • Traditional map-based navigation (using marked OS maps) is still available as an alternative at extra cost upon request (at least two weeks in advance)
Please note that the price EXCLUDES

Costs of getting to and from the start point

Accommodation Options

Selected 4 star historic inn in Rickinghall, 3 star hotels in or near Southwold (2 nights), in Framlingham, Aldeburgh, Woodbridge and Bildeston.

We are pleased to discuss details on request.

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