Direct Holiday Homes

About the Area

Around & About

There are many places to visit close by, including:

Southwold - a charming seaside town on the Suffolk coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has a victorian pier, lighthouse, colourful beach huts and a lovely sandy beach. It is also home to the Adnams brewery.

Aldeburgh - once home to the composer Benjamin Britten, Aldeburgh has a pebble beach with fishermen’s huts selling the daily catch. The town is famous for its outstanding fish and chips at the local fish and chip shop, as well as its summer festival, great restaurants, quaint shops and a 100 year old cinema. The Martello Tower is the northernmost of more than 100 Martello Towers on England’s coastline, built between 1808 and 1812 to prepare for an invasion.

Dunwich heath and beach - looked after by the National Trust, the beach supports rare plant life such as Sea Pea, and the cliffs provide the perfect soil for Sand Martins to make their nests. There are also several areas of sun baked sandy cliffs, with its ideal conditions for rare insects such as the ant lion and the spider wasp. The ship at Dunwich is a great place for eating and drinking and the Flora Tea Rooms on the beach is great for a snack or fish and chips. The beach car park is donations. Nearby are the ruins of Greyfriars medieval friary.

Walberswick - beautiful seaside village sitting just south of Southwold. It has sweeping sand dunes, understated beach huts and a tea room bordered village green. The National Trust heath and beach are beautiful, and home to a variety of interesting species. The beach closer to the town is backed by sandy dunes, and the sea is nice and shallow; perfect for young families.
Further southwards, low crumbling cliffs appear and the beach is at its most rugged. A major attraction for children in summer is crabbing by the harbour - local shops sell buckets, baits and lines. Sample the local cuisine at the Michelin recommended Anchor, with seaward views and a wood-fired oven in the garden. They use produce from the village allotments and market gardens, so everything is fresh and truly locally sourced! There’s also the Bell Inn, run by Adnams, whose brewery is up the coast in Southwold and a mobile fish hut, colourfully styled as a beach hut with wooden seagulls and bunting, serving award-winning fish and chips. The Black Dog Deli, Walberswick’s local delicatessen, where you can pop in for a delicious bacon sandwich and freshly brewed coffee, or pick up some local cheese, bread, cakes and pastries.

RSPB Minsmere - a coastal nature reserve with woods and a wetland, with 7 bird spotting hides, nature trails and a tea room. Minsmere's habitats also include four national conservation priorities: reedbeds, lowland wet grassland, shingle vegetation and lowland heath. Thorpeness Meare - A big boating lake with Dinghies, punts, rowboats, canoes and kayaks for hire.

Rendlesham Forest - Rendlesham Forest is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Walk the UFO trail and discover more about the famous UFO sighting in December 1980. There are children's play areas, a bike park for experienced riders, sculptures to discover in Tangham Wood and plenty of places for a picnic.

Saxmundham - a charming market town with a busy High Street with cafés, pubs and restaurants, along with independent shops, a Waitrose and Tesco.

Also worth a stop off:

Emmerdale Farm shop – in Darsham, Saxmundham have their own home-reared Red Poll cattle and stock a wide variety of quality produce sourced locally and regionally. This includes fresh and frozen meat, local vegetables, frozen homemade prepared meals and a wide range of spices and pickles. Potatoes, asparagus and beans grown on our doorstep are seasonally available. They stock a wide range of delicious homemade pies, quiches, scotch eggs and sausage rolls.

Poachers Pocket – a lovely pub in Carlton. You can walk here from the caravan using mainly footpaths, but the footpath crosses the A12.

At-a-Glance Tick List