Castles, Cliffs & Constable – 8 Days
A real touring opportunity to discover Suffolk’s green and pleasant lands even along the haunting heritage coast. In Debenham, village verges vie with overhanging houses and antique shops; a white post mill sits proudly on Saxtead Green; Framlingham Castle looks out across smart college lawns; at Southwold, once ravaged by fire, green swathes now space out the houses by Gun Hill; Orford castle perches on the greenest mound and at Sutton Hoo mysterious bumps mark bygone burials close to acres of turf fields. Lavenham and the great greens of Long Melford are certainly jewels in Suffolk’s crown, but the greatest emerald perhaps has to be Constable Country with its immortalised water meadows and Stour Valley slopes. Read More
England
Any Day
Bed & Breakfast
£1,060.00
8 Days, 7 Nights
Feb - Nov
Grade 2 (Easy)
Overview
Explore the full length of the beautiful Heritage Coast from Covehithe in the north to the River Deben in the south. On then to take in the charms of Constable Country and the medieval splendour of Lavenham.
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
An excellent day’s ride through Debenham, a pretty village with its overhanging houses and antique shops, Saxtead Green’s beautifully restored 18c post mill and into Framlingham. Here you stay the night with time to visit the massive castle in this lovely old market town.
Mileage: Rec 22 Min 21 Max 38
Day 3 Huge castles & crumbling cliffs
Visit vineyards where you can taste Suffolk wine and cycle on to reach the coast. At Covehithe you reach the unspoilt heritage coast. You travel down the coast to Southwold for the night.
Mileage: Rec 26 Min 26 Max 35
Day 4 Bright beach huts, birdlife and Britten
From Southwold, you journey down the coast to the lost city of Dunwich, across heather clad Dunwich Heath, through the RSPB reserve at Minsmere and on to the elegant seaside town of Aldeburgh for the night.
Mileage: Rec 21 Min 21 Max 28
Day 5 Creeks and concert halls, shingle streets and ship burials
Going inland to find river crossings, you visit the Maltings at Snape, home of the Aldeburgh Festival, climb to the top of dramatic Orford Castle, reach the tip of Orford Ness at quiet and beautiful Shingle Street, visit Sutton Hoo, the site of the Anglo-Saxon treasure ship burial, and cycle down into the market town of Woodbridge for the night.
Mileage: Rec 37 Min 16 Max 43
Day 6 Weaving towards the wool towns
Winding through Suffolk lanes you’ll pass through the villages of Little Bealings, Tuddenham, Claydon to name a few – each with its own character, church and village inn.
You’ll explore Kersey with its quaint houses and water-splash before reaching your night’s stop in Hadleigh an attractive market town with fine old buildings and quiet riverside walks.
Mileage: Rec 24 Min 24 Max 34
Day 7 From Constable’s inspiration to medieval masterpieces
From Hadleigh you head into the heart of ‘Constable Country’. Explore East Bergholt his birthplace, Flatford Mill where a guided tour visits seven scenes painted by Constable including `The Haywain’ and Stoke by Nayland whose church tower, visible from miles around, featured in many of his paintings.
You may wish to visit the antique shops at Long Melford before finishing the day in Lavenham.
Mileage: Rec 30 Min 12 Max 35
Day 8 Rural return
Spend the morning exploring Lavenham, before a gentle ride back to Needham Market, again through pretty villages, with the option to visit the Museum of East Anglian Life at Stowmarket.
Mileage: Rec 24 Min 16 Max 40
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)
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 close to the market town of Diss, 3 star hotels in Framlingham, in or close to Southwold, Aldeburgh, central Woodbridge, Bildeston and Lavenham.
Holiday pricing is determined by start day and includes any weekend supplements.
We are pleased to discuss details on request.
Request Booking
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