Bury St Edmunds Star Single Centre
A Suffolk wool town like no other. A luxurious hotel like no other. An unrivalled selection of superb cycle rides. This is one super little getaway which both breaks and honours tradition all at the same time. The curious arty quirkiness of your Georgian boutique hotel totally complements the delightful eccentricities you’re sure to discover as you explore this oh-so-charming historic corner of Suffolk . There are the aviaries in Bury Abbey Gardens, the ‘new’ cathedral tower, the Nutshell pub (England’s tiniest) as well as all of the town’s fine architecture and cultural offerings. Out on your bike, you’ll not want to miss the leaning legacies of half-timbered Lavenham or Ickworth’s oval stately home. Then there is Pakenham’s unique combination of a working windmill and working watermill, and no less than three vineyards to enjoy a splash of Suffolk sunshine. Weirdly enough, all this sounds like something to celebrate! Read More
England
Any Day
Bed & Breakfast
£373.00
3 Days, 2 Nights
Feb - Nov
Grade 1 (Very Easy)
Overview
Treat yourself to a weekend of quirky luxury in one of Suffolk’s largest, wonderfully historic wool towns and enjoy being just a short pedal away from mills and meres, vineyards and medieval villages, a rather eccentric great house and the mysterious lands once ruled by Queen Boudicca. It is ideal for those who want to try a cycling holiday for the first time, or combine some cycling with some great history, culture and maybe even a spot of shopping.
Itinerary
There are 6 great circular rides to choose from to explore the valleys, uplands and picturesque Suffolk wool towns and villages from your luxury hotel in central Bury St Edmunds.
Once you have your bikes (delivered on day two), there’s simply no pressure about when and where you let your two wheels take you. Let the history of this inspiring county unfurl before you at your own pace, as you pedal along quiet Suffolk lanes, across gentle, smoothly undulating countryside.
Day 1 Arrive & explore
Arrive and perhaps take a stroll across to the Abbey Gardens, visit Bury Cathedral or St Mary’s Church, the final resting place of Mary Tudor. The historic town centre with its shops, cafés and tiny ‘Nutshell’ pub are all right on your hotel doorstop too.
Day 2 Choice of circular rides
Take delivery of bikes. Choice of circular rides.
Mileage: Min 15 Max 34
Day 3 Choice of circular rides & depart
Choice of circular rides
Mileage: Min 15 Max 34
These circular rides include a number of options, so that you can not only head out to see the places and attractions that appeal to you, but be comfortable with the mileages too. Each route has been carefully selected to combine great cycling with worthwhile scenery and attractions, and our detailed notes will provide plenty of suggestions for charming local refreshment stops.
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.
Gallery
Dates & Prices
Download PricesFor 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)
Delivery & collection of bicycles with a full briefing
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 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
A luxury boutique 4 star hotel – a transformed, ivy-clad Georgian coaching inn right at the historic heart of Bury St Edmunds. It has a renowned restaurant and is brimful of character, artfully blending the vintage with the vibrant and the captivating with the curious.
Upgrades:
Room / package upgrades available on request. Please ask for details.
We are pleased to discuss details on request.
Request Booking
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