Cycle Breaks

Combine a great array of imposing fortified castles with the mellowest of Stour Valley landscapes and most charming thatched and half-timbered villages which Suffolk can offer. This tour really has something for everyone from sedate rivers by the southern heritage coast to the bustle of busy Woodbridge on the Deben and chocolate-box delights of pink thatched cottages and real village greens.

This very gentle Suffolk experience allows plenty of time to linger and explore some of Suffolk’s best-loved picturesque villages. If you’re not sure how far you can pedal, this is a really great tour to get away on. You’ll soon be rewarded with half-timbered Lavenham, Kersey’s water-splash, medieval guildhalls, inns and thatched cottages galore. Go easy, enjoy a relaxing massage or round of golf at your first hotel and look forward to winding down the lanes and the whole pace of life.

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.

Here’s an encounter with coastal Suffolk that’s a real breath of fresh air. From your comfortable coaching inn by the charming village greens of Westleton, two circular day rides introduce you to some of Suffolk’s inspirational icons and plenty of its secrets too. Visit arty market towns and old fishing villages; mighty medieval churches and cliff top ruins or look up to the House in the Clouds, to Southwold’s lighthouse and its famous fine brewery. From heathland, woodland to smooth rolling countryside, truly unspoilt coastline and curvaceous creeks, it’s a landscape to fall in love with. And if that doesn’t set your heart a flutter, there’s always the east coast’s premier birdwatching spot on your doorstep at Minsmere.

Sketch ‘Constable Country’ roughly as the area the 19th century artist could reach on foot or horseback, and it’s not surprising that the places where he set up his easel are all within easy pedalling distance of each other around the Stour. This tour enjoys the gentlest of English landscapes, taking in historic towns, water meadows and meanders, boats and bridges and includes the sites of some of Constable’s best-loved paintings.

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.

Set off to explore the delightful market town of Framlingham with its imposing castle or the post-mill at Saxtead en-route to Woodbridge. Located on the Deben, this is a great place to spend a couple of nights with its inviting waterfront, historic tide mill, great collection of browsable little shops and architectural delights down every tiny street. A choice of circular rides from here proposes visits to Snape, Orford, Shingle Street, Sutton Hoo and Felixstowe

This neat little tour is just great for getting a real taste of Suffolk. A local vineyard, a picturesque working windmill, half-timbered villages and pink thatched cottages plus gardens stately or small are all highlights of the gentle routes across smooth rural landscapes. Crowning glory however has to be the truly fabulous flint castle with redbrick, twisted Tudor chimneys in the delightful market town of Framlingham.

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.

Explore the gently rolling, oh-so-English landscapes immortalised by Constable and pedal at your own pace through the beautiful half-timbered villages- the legacy of Suffolk’s medieval wool trade-based wealth. This leisurely tour takes in the very best of both worlds, and being on the saddle gives it all a special immediacy and added dimension. Somehow taking time gives you time to take it all in, amidst the natural peace of country lanes and the respectful silence of person-powered pedals!