The 10 prettiest villages in Suffolk
A low-lying county sandwiched between Essex and Norfolk, Suffolk remains surprisingly undiscovered – the sort of place people say they have never been to and don’t know much about. Its inhabitants wouldn’t have it another way, believing they have discovered a corner of England that is small yet extraordinarily scenic, rural yet cosmopolitan – not far from London, yet far enough to escape into another world.
Suffolk’s biggest draw is perhaps its coast, a designated National Landscape (the new name for what was previously Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) that feels alluringly remote in places. It’s home to two of Britain’s most select (some would say snooty) seaside resorts in Aldeburgh and Southwold, in between which are a handful of end-of-the-road villages and some glorious stretches of sandy heath, marsh and woodland.
Inland, on the Suffolk/Essex borders, Constable Country is a string of villages around the River Stour associated in various ways with John Constable, the landscape painter, many of them providing quintessentially English views. Beyond here are a number of places that were prosperous wool-making towns in the Middle Ages and have now subsided into picturesque retirement – picture-postcard villages full of timbered medieval houses, outsized churches and whitewashed guildhalls.
My list of Suffolk villages is by no means a definitive one: there are a number of places I considered including and didn’t, and likewise a couple of villages that snuck in at the last minute. Have I missed your favourite place in Suffolk? Let me know in the comments if you think I have got something wrong and why.
10. Laxfield
A large village yet one that feels quite remote, situated in a bit of rural no-man’s-land between Halesworth and Framlingham. Its unusually wide main street is lined by large houses that are typical of Suffolk, often thatched, most of them painted in various shades of pink and orange, and anchored at one end by the unmistakable bulk of Laxfield’s timbered Guildhall. Now a museum, it dates from 1520 and hosts all sorts of artefacts pertaining to the village, while across the marketplace All Saints Church has an unusually wide nave topped with a remarkable beamed timber roof – well worth a look.
For a pint
The thatched King’s Head draws many to the village. This ancient boozer, also known as the Low House, has no bar, just a tap room with barrels and a series of cosy wood-panelled rooms with log fires. There’s a garden out the back and they do food, making it a special place to enjoy Sunday lunch.
Stay here
The King’s Head/Low House has decent rooms above the pub. Otherwise, you might try the two converted railway carriages of the charmingly named Choo Choo Moo, just the other side of Harleston, which are the last word in luxury glamping.
Did you know?
Laxfield was the home of Oliver Cromwell’s most famous henchman, “Smasher” Dowsing, who toured the county in search of religious icons to destroy and boasted widely of doing so.
9. Somerleyton
Right on the edge of the Broads National Park, and the very fringes of Great Yarmouth, Somerleyton is an estate village, part of a 5,000-acre country pile centred on nearby Somerleyton Hall and rebuilt as a model village in the 19th century by the Victorian developer Samuel Morton Peto. As a result, it’s an unusual-looking place, with something of a toy town air – chocolate-box thatched cottages and a shop next to a village green and pond. It benefits from its proximity to the Hall – still a family home but open to the public on guided tours; the gardens and grounds are well worth visiting too. If it looks familiar, it may be because it filled in for Sandringham a few years ago in the Netflix series The Crown.
For a pint
The village has a great, dog-friendly local pub in the Duke’s Head, a welcoming place with a large beer garden that also serves excellent upmarket pub grub and hosts occasional live music nights.
Stay here
The grounds of Somerleyton Hall are gorgeous, and the best way to experience them is to stay at Fritton Lake – either in its boutique Clubhouse hotel or its contemporary lodges dotted through the woods. You can explore the lake by boat (or indulge in a spot of wild swimming), and there’s also a heated outdoor pool, tennis courts, a restaurant and a shop selling all manner of produce.
Did you know?
Somerleyton is on The Broads and has some moorings on the river, but its real claim to maritime fame is that the hovercraft was invented here – in the 1950s by one Charles Cockerell, who owned a boatyard in the village.
8. Dunwich
Now a tiny village on the stretch of coast between the Sizewell nuclear power station and Walberswick, Dunwich was once one of England’s largest medieval ports, and – believe it or not – the sixth largest town in England. However, coastal erosion means that the bulk of the town was swallowed by the sea centuries ago, leaving a village of less than 200 people. It’s said that you can still see some of Dunwich’s former buildings at low tide, and it’s perhaps worth a mention here for that reason alone. But it also remains an alluring and rather magical place in its own right – a huddle of houses leading down to the pebble beach, backed by the woods of Dunwich Forest and Heath. Once here, you can feel almost entirely cut off from the world outside. Only the small museum, the parish church, which has the remains of an old leprosy hospital on its grounds, and the ruins of the once substantial Greyfriars Monastery, just outside the village, point to a more glorious past.
For a pint
The village has an excellent pub, The Ship, which is a good place for a drink but also for food, especially fish and chips. The Flora Tea Rooms by the beach also serves superb fish and chips and other goodies to hungry walkers following the Suffolk Coast Path.
Stay here
You need to stay overnight in Dunwich to experience its special atmosphere, and indeed to listen out for those church bells. Luckily, The Ship has some very nice boutique rooms upstairs and in a separate building behind the pub.
Did you know?
You’re close to one of East Anglia’s (perhaps the country’s) best RSPB reserves at Minsmere, where a mix of woodland and reedy marshland are home to large numbers of wading birds and waterfowl. It’s by far the most popular attraction close to Dunwich and one of East Anglia’s most visited RSPB reserves.
7. Clare
One of the many former cloth towns in this part of southern Suffolk, Clare has the buzz of a small town but the look, feel and population of a medium-sized village, coalescing around an intersection of streets where the Bell Hotel guards a triangular marketplace. The small village museum dutifully records the history of what used to be a much larger settlement, while Clare Castle Country Park holds the remnants of another bygone age – the village’s former station, now home to a café. There are lots of walks beyond the castle taking in the meanders of the river Stour, which circles the village, and back in the village centre there are a few independent shops on the bustling high street, including a wonderful local bookshop, Harris & Harris.
For a pint
Clare used to have its own brewery, Nethergate Ales, but this has since moved to Long Melford, leaving the best places for a drink either The Swan on the High Street or The Globe on Callis Street.
Stay here
Options are limited in Clare but if you’re looking for somewhere nearby try Rectory Manor in the small village of Great Waldingfield, just the other side of Sudbury – a cosy country house B&B with a tennis court and pool.
Did you know?
On the other side of the Stour from the village centre, Clare Priory was the first Augustinian house in England, dating back to the 13th century, and it still welcomes Augustinian pilgrims on religious retreats.
6. Orford
Like so many East Anglian villages, Orford was once much larger and has the remains of a 12th-century castle to prove it – not to mention the obligatory oversized medieval church. It’s also a village with two centres: a picturesque main square, which is the closest thing to a commercial hub – a couple of pubs, Pinney’s seafood restaurant and shop and the popular Pump Street bakery; and its quayside, about half a mile away, which looks across to the nature reserve of Orford Ness – mudflats and marshes that are home to a series of abandoned military buildings. It’s a mysterious place, and can be reached on regular National Trust boats, as can the neighbouring Havergate Island, which is an RSPB reserve. Those not fancying a boat ride can just mosey around the harbour, enjoy the sunsets and stock up on smoked fish at Pinneys.
For a pint
The Jolly Sailors, near the quay, is a cosy spot if all you want is a drink (though they offer decent food too), and there’s also the King’s Head on the main square.
Stay here
The obvious place to stay is the Crown & Castle, which sits on the far side of the main square – a formerly run-of-the-mill pub that was gussied up by TV’s hotel inspector Ruth Watson about 20 years ago and has had a couple of changes of owner since. It has lovely rooms, a couple with sea views, and an excellent restaurant. Those who want to explore the village’s surrounding countryside more fully can also hire one of its electric bikes.
Did you know?
Four of Suffolk composer Benjamin Britten’s works had their first performances in Orford’s parish church of St Bartholomew, including the one-act opera Noye’s Fludde in 1958.
5. Walberswick
All of Suffolk’s coastal settlements have an end-of-the-road feel, none more so than Walberswick, which sits at the end of a turning off the A12. Once here, there is literally nowhere else to go, apart from climbing aboard the foot ferry across the river Blyth to Southwold. As such it’s not the sort of place you come across by accident, and (outside of summer high season at least) it can be very peaceful as a result, with a village green, a handful of shops, a stretch of beach and a couple of pubs. It used to host a well-known crabbing festival but that got too popular for its own good so they called it off – Walberswick residents prefer to remain just that little bit off the beaten track, and who can blame them?
For a pint
Walberswick is lucky enough to have two excellent pubs: The Bell Inn, closest to the river, a cosy warren of rooms serving good food and drink, and the slightly more feted Anchor, on the road as you come into the village, which has a reputation for high-quality food as well as an excellent wine list and a vast selection of craft beers.
Stay here
Both pubs have rooms – The Bell is the more basic of the two, The Anchor the slightly fancier option – and Walberswick is a delightful place for an overnight stay.
Did you know?
Walberswick is a place for celebrity spotting. Various media and creative folk, most famously Richard Curtis and Emma Freud, have made their homes here, and there are regular rumours (usually unfounded) about who might be next.
4. Lavenham
It would be hard to leave the tourist honeypot of Lavenham out of any round-up of picturesque Suffolk villages. Not only because it’s one of the most visited villages in the county, with its regiment of wonky half-timbered houses featuring on every Suffolk postcard and advertising campaign, but also because it’s a genuinely interesting and historic place. It’s quite large for a village, but too small to be a town, and once the centre of the region’s lucrative medieval wool trade – hence the large Gothic church of St Peter & Paul, and the timbered Guildhall on the picturesque marketplace. Unsurprisingly, the village’s antique backdrop pops up regularly in films and adverts, and it’s easy to spend a couple of happy hours wandering its streets and alleys inspecting the beams, dates and wonky windows of its numerous crooked houses.
For a pint
There are a few decent pubs around the village but the Airmen’s Bar at The Swan Hotel (theswanatlavenham.co.uk) is probably the nicest – and certainly the most historic – place for a drink.
Stay here
To really partake of the Lavenham vibe, stay at The Swan, with a gloriously comfy lounge – perfect for afternoon tea – and rooms that deftly blend heritage with modern amenities. It also has a spa and a couple of places to eat, including an atmospheric fine-dining restaurant.
Did you know?
John Lennon and Yoko Ono visited Lavenham to shoot a film called Apotheosis, which among other things depicts the hooded pair rising out of the marketplace in a hot-air balloon.
3. Peasenhall
Peasenhall is probably the most attractive of a collection of pretty villages on the seaward side of the A12 as you head towards Lowestoft. It’s a short detour from the main road, and one well worth making, with a charming main thoroughfare lined by the River Yox, over which occasional footbridges give access to the street’s ancient cottages. At one end there’s the Weaver’s tea room, and at the other one of a number of interesting village shops – Emmet’s, which as well as selling all the usual basics also cures its own ham and bacon and stocks many other interesting deli items.
For a pint
Peasenhall no longer has a pub but The White Horse in the neighbouring hamlet of Sibton is easy to reach. It’s not only a terrific local but is known for its excellent food, some of it sourced from its own kitchen garden.
Stay here
The Sibton White Horse has a selection of simple but comfortable rooms in a separate building and also hosts a summer campsite in the land beyond its garden.
Did you know?
Peasenhall is known for its crowds of peacocks, which roam freely around the village throughout the year.
2. Long Melford
Not just a name, Long Melford is more or less just one main street – almost three miles in length. This makes it sound a bit boring, which it most certainly isn’t, with all sorts of shops and cafes, several pubs and various architectural styles featured along its length, which runs from the Nethergate Brewery, at the southern end of the village, to the ultra-pretty triangular village green at the northern end, where the Black Lion pub sits just in front of the impressive church of the Holy Trinity. This is one of Suffolk’s most beautiful medieval churches and well worth a look, as is the National Trust property of Melford Hall on the other side of the green, while a few yards north of here the moated Tudor manor house of Kentwell Hall is a major family attraction hereabouts.
For a pint
Long Melford has no fewer than six pubs – the Black Lion and the Hare Inn at the northern end of the village, and The Bull Hotel, The Swan, Cock & Bell and The George & Dragon spaced out along the high street, so you are never far away from a drink. Perhaps the best place to have a beer, though, is the village’s Nethergate Brewery, with its convivial taproom.
Stay here
There are a number of places to stay in Long Melford, but The Black Lion has the best position on the green and has lovely boutique rooms and an excellent restaurant – all reasonably priced.
Did you know?
The village featured prominently in the classic 1980s TV series Lovejoy, with the Bull Hotel and a number of the high street’s many antique shops appearing.
And the winner is…
1. Kersey
Tiny Kersey pops up in all those pictures advertising the beauties of rural Suffolk, and no wonder: its main street, lined by bendy pink and orange thatched houses, slopes down to a ford and then up again to the tower of the large church of St Mary on the high ground above. There’s also a small green, surrounded by more ancient houses. Kersey was originally one of the prosperous south Suffolk wool towns in the Middle Ages, known for its coarse woollen Kersey Cloth, which was used for uniforms and overcoats and the clothing of the poor – a cheap, practical fabric that’s still made in small quantities to this day.
For a pint
Unsurprisingly, Kersey’s pub – The Bell Inn, on the main street – is a historic timbered affair, with lots of beams and a large beer garden. The building is full of character and it serves good food and drink and hosts an annual beer festival and occasional live music.
Stay here
Situated in another nearby village that used to be a wool town, just a couple of miles south, The Crown in Bildeston is a welcoming 15th-century coaching inn with boutique rooms and a long-established reputation for good food.
Did you know?
Kersey’s church was formerly known as the “Thank God Church” for the role its illuminated tower played in guiding pilots back from bombing missions in Germany during the Second World War.
