Cycle Breaks

Love gardens? Then let this tour put you in a gentle Suffolk spin. Pedal along rural lanes bright with wildflowers, past great greens dotted with campion pinks and little thatched cottages with towering hollyhocks to the famous gardens of Bressingham on the Norfolk border. Take a trip to ‘Foggy Bottom’ or ride on a steam train to see the Bloom family’s glorious gardens from a different angle. American airmen took to the wartime skies nearby and just a pedal push further, the River Dove follows a peaceful path through historic Hoxne and past the fine flint church and motte and bailey castle at Eye. You’ll find floral delights all along the way and cider orchards too near half-timbered Debenham, before you head back across Ronald Blythe’s idyllic ‘Akenfield’ country.

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.

Conquer a couple of estuaries with some handy ferry-hopping using long established foot ferries across the Rivers Deben and Orwell to cover even more Suffolk sights to your tour. This route takes in all the destinations and attractions of our 8A tour - castles, cliffs, coastline both wild and cultured, Constable Country, the medieval treasure villages plus time in stylish Southwold - and gives you even more time to explore the area around Orford, to discover Felixstowe and the Shotley Pensinsular on your way to the inspiring Dedham Vale and Stour Valley.

The castle at Framlingham looks even more imposing at a distance thanks to its reflection in the enormous Mere. Small Suffolk rivers once saw fleeces washed and prepared for the all-important wool trade . At the coast, wealth ports came and went with stormy tides... This tour maps Suffolk’s man-made and natural waterscapes, from castle meres to creeks, quaysides and shingle spits, Edwardian seaside resorts, Martello towers and tiny ferry boats, ship burials, boatyards and bygone Stour Valley trade routes captured on canvass by Constable himself.

If you don’t want to miss a Suffolk trick, this tour brings you an unbeatable combination of castles, cliffs, coastline both wild and cultured, Constable Country and the mellow moods of medieval treasure villages. The landscapes may be enormously varied, yet the cycling remains reassuringly leisurely. If you feel that your perfect tour might also need a spot of Southwold , that oh-so-English, smart and stylish seaside gem, then never fear – we’ve got that covered too in our slightly longer tour, Castles, Cliffs & Constable (Tour 9A).

If you like rivers and boats with a great helping of history and local flavour then this is the Suffolk escape route for you. Enjoy castles and culture washed down with a glass of crisp local wine or refreshing real ale, then snake down from reedy creeks to the coast perhaps as you head to listen to tinkling masts on the Deben at Woodbridge or muse over the mysterious ship burial site at Sutton Hoo.

This tour offers plenty of flexibility and scope for real relaxation and is ideal if you wish to try out a cycling holiday for the first time. The choice of gentle circular rides allows you to cover distances you feel happy with at the same time as exploring picturesque villages and countryside made famous by Constable’s brushstrokes.

Enjoy some of the quietest areas of north Suffolk and its Norfolk borderlands en route to the unspoilt Suffolk heritage coast, rich in history, wildlife and natural beauty. Head up to the Waveney Valley to take in the gardens of the famous Bloom family at Bressingham. There are stops near Norfolk’s Diss with its ancient meare and Suffolk’s gentle Halesworth, before the crumbling cliffs beckon at Covehithe and lead down via the nostalgic seaside resort of Southwold; ancient Dunwich and the old fishing town of  Aldeburgh; Orford with its royal castle and mysterious Shingle Street to Woodbridge and tales of Sutton Hoo's treasure-rich ship burial by the River Deben.

Enjoy the wild variety of the unspoilt Suffolk coast and the county’s best in bold and impressive castles. Drink in colourful heathlands, bird-filled marshes and the fruits of the local vineyard. Work up an appetite on riverside routes or watching fishermen land their catch on Aldeburgh beach. Experience landscapes and seascapes which inspired writers like PD James. Will you hear the bells of Dunwich’s lost churches tolling beneath the waves?

There’s a real sense of cycling through Suffolk history on this rather palatable tour. The Rivers Alde, Ore and Deben each hold their secrets – from Orford’s oyster-filled creeks and towering 12th century castle keep to the mysteries of the Sutton Hoo burial mounds sitting high above the Deben. There are more winding creeks and plenty of tempting tea rooms and crafts at Snape and Framlingham couples a massive curtain wall of a castle with a rather tempting vineyard.