Suffolk is a part of the country that I’d never visited until this year. It has borders with Norfolk, Cambridge and Essex making it a popular holiday destination or a great place to spend a day.
My parents have holidayed there a few times in the last couple of years and they really enjoyed it so they invited us to go with them this year. We decided to take Alfie with us (after all, what’s the point of going on holiday in the UK if you can’t take your dog?) and set off to explore everything the east coast has to offer.
So, whether you’re there for the week or just popping over for a day trip, here are some suggestions for places to visit in Suffolk.
Beccles
Beccles is a market town, close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border. It’s situated on the River Waveney and is full of independent shops, cafes and restaurants.
One of the things we loved most about Beccles was the interesting mix of old architecture in the shops and houses there. There are plaques galore so read them all to find out more about the houses.
If you like walking you can also take a lovely stroll alongside the river and take a look at the many canal boats that are moored here. We grabbed a coffee from the kiosk on the river and strolled with these.
We had lunch at the Bear and Bells pub in the town centre which is dog friendly. There’s a lovely terrace to sit outside here if it’s warm and if it isn’t, the pub is super cosy inside with roaring fires and the staff are super friendly.
The food is great too – we all had the open prawn sandwich which was delicious.
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a gorgeous seaside town which is full of pastel coloured holiday cottages. There’s also a pebble beach which is lined with fisherman’s huts.
Here, you can buy seafood fresh from the sea that morning.
There’s also a high street with some gorgeous shops and independent coffee shops and Aldeburgh has a rich cultural history with multiple art galleries, iconic sculptures and the Aldeburgh Music Club.
It’s famous for its connection to Benjamin Britten who founded the Aldeburgh Festival which takes place here in June every year.
You can walk along the seafront here, past the marina, and you’ll reach Found Tower, an old Martello Tower which has been converted into a holiday home. We recognised it as the placed where Sandy Toksvig and Alison Steadman stayed in Channel 4’s Extraordinary Escapes.
It’s now available to book as a pretty impressive place to stay. However, we did check on the website and it’s all booked up until 2022.
We stopped for lunch at the Brudenell Hotel which is on the seafront and enjoyed a glass of champagne overlooking the waves. The food here is amazing – I went for the risotto with scallops and it was absolutely full of flavour.
Southwold
At Southwold you’ll find a traditional seaside town where the promenade is lined with pastel coloured beach huts. It has a lovely sandy beach and a prominent lighthouse which stands at 31 metres tall.
Southwold is famous as once being home to George Orwell and it also has a traditional pier which stretches into the sea. The pier is dog friendly and is home to a collection of wild and wacky homemade slot machines with names such as “Rent-a-Dog” and “The Booth of Truth.”
These are not your typical 2p pushers or House of the Dead shoot em ups!
The pier also has a water clock on it where every half hour there is a man doing a piddle! It’s made from salvaged hot water cylinders and is designed to highlight the importance of water recycling for the environment.
There’s a shop too with seaside-y gifts and trinkets.
For lunch we headed to the Sole Bay Inn, a dog friendly pub near the lighthouse which was super popular – we only just got a table! They serve delicious pub classics as well as a range of specials.
Lee and I split the gammon and scampi to create a surf and turf for ourselves.
The gammon was served with a pineapple salsa which was yummy and the gammon itself was perfectly tender and salty.
Walberswick
Walberswick is a quite Georgian village which has both the looks and the charm. Start your day in Walberswick by walking along the sand and shingle beach.
Then there’s also the nature reserve which follows the River Blyth estuary and is home to otters, deer and various species of bird.
In the village there are lots of gorgeous houses to marvel at and a couple of places to stop for refreshments. We popped into a dog friendly café called The Tea Shed and enjoyed a cuppa and a slice of cake.
On your way out of the village head to the old church ruins. The church was destroyed in the 1690s as the town struggled to maintain it and a smaller church was built on the same site.
The two stand side by side now which makes for quite an interesting sight.
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is more your traditional British seaside resort and it’s actually the most easterly point in the UK. It used to be a thriving fishing port and you can still walk around the harbour today.
There’s a huge sandy beach here which you can take your dog on out of season and it has won the Blue Flag award. This would be a great place to watch the sunrise too, as Lowestoft is the first place in the UK to see the sunrise.
Oulton Broad
Just outside Lowestoft sits Oulton Broad, the gateway to the Broads National Park. Again you can take a lovely stroll by the river or nip into one of the cute cafes for a drink.
We popped to The Old Dairy where I grabbed a pumpkin spice latte.
You can also hire a boat here for the day to explore the river further.
Kessingland
We stayed at Kessingland in the Parkdean caravan park there and it has the best beach for dog walking. The beach is rugged and wild with sand dunes and grass and you can walk all the way from here to Lowestoft (I didn’t!).
We loved our daily morning walks here.
We enjoyed the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted from Beach Fish & Chip Shop in the town. Honestly there were melt in your mouth delicious and perfectly seasoned with salt and vinegar.
The batter on the fish was perfectly crunchy and light. They were so good we had them on two nights!
We also ate at The Waterfront Restaurant on one night. This super cute restaurant is really rustic and cosy inside and the food is fabulous.
I had a huge piece of halibut and mum and Lee both had steaks which were perfectly cooked. The staff were lovely too and we all had a great night here.
Dog friendly holidays in Suffolk
We didn’t actually find Suffolk to be very dog friendly compared to places like Cornwall or the Lake District or even where we live in Derbyshire. This is a real shame because there are lots of walks for them.
From the expansive sandy beaches where they can run free to more sedate riverside strolls. Dogs are allowed on most of the beaches here from September to April but be sure to check before you take them on.
We found that a lot of the cafes, pubs and restaurants weren’t dog friendly so just be sure to do your research when you’re looking for places to eat. I’ve made sure to point out in this post which places we went which were dog friendly so add these to your list!
