Ipswich
Ipswich is Suffolk's county town, sitting at the head of the Orwell estuary, and is generally reckoned to be one of England's oldest continuously occupied towns, with roots as an Anglo-Saxon trading settlement going back well over a thousand years.
The centrepiece today is the Ipswich Waterfront around the old Wet Dock, once one of the largest enclosed docks in the country and now a mix of restored maltings, apartment blocks and the University of Suffolk campus, with the marina itself still busy with leisure boats. The medieval street plan survives in patches around the town centre, and a scatter of historic churches — a dozen or so medieval ones still stand — hints at how prosperous the wool and grain trade once made the town.
Christchurch Mansion, a Tudor house set in its own park just north of the centre, holds a notable collection of Constable and Gainsborough paintings and is free to visit, while the town also makes a practical base for exploring the Suffolk coast and the Shotley peninsula, both a short drive away.
Where to Stay in Ipswich
- Salthouse Harbour Hotel — a boutique hotel in a converted dockside warehouse right on the Waterfront marina.
- Novotel Ipswich Centre — a modern hotel close to the train station and town centre.
- Holiday Inn Ipswich — Orwell — just off the A14, a straightforward option for drivers passing through.
- Premier Inn Ipswich Central — a budget-friendly chain option a short walk from the Waterfront.
Getting there
Ipswich has a direct rail line to London Liverpool Street, usually just over an hour, and sits just off the A14, making it a workable base for both the Suffolk coast to the east and Constable Country to the south-west.