Essex & Suffolk
the National Horseracing Museum. It truly is heaven for equine enthusiasts, but there’s something for everyone with shopping, eating and even summer concerts at the July Racecourse – after the racing. Lovers of the outdoors should head for the natural lowlands of The Brecks – all 379 square miles (940km2
) of
Above main: Couple walking in Framlingham with the Castle in the distance. Above: A blue plaque for Benjamin Britten in Aldeburgh. Right: Jockeys training at the Gallops area in Newmarket, Suffolk
them, covered in pine forest and heathland, and home to myriad fl ora and fauna; take a trip on The Broads – the well-known name for the collection of lakes and rivers that wend their way from Norfolk to Suffolk – fi nding their southern point at Beccles, or feel the sand between your toes on the beaches of Lowestoft, Felixstowe and Southwold, with their brightly painted beach huts. Down the coast a little, breathe in the bracing sea air of
Aldeburgh, a quintessential English seaside town, and enjoy fresh fi sh and chips on the front. Walk further along the pretty shingle beach and arrive at an unusual metal shell sculpture, Scallop, that seems out of place at fi rst – that is until you learn it is in homage to composer Benjamin Britten by local artist Maggi Hambling. Britten lived in Aldeburgh and is buried in the local churchyard. He is something of a legend in the area; in 1948 he, along with a couple of friends, founded the Aldeburgh Festival, which still takes place each year and features national and international musicians performing at nearby Snape Maltings Concert Hall (also established by Britten). Continuing southwards brings us once more to the
border between Suffolk and Essex. Picturesque Dedham lies across the boundary, a prime example of the shared landscape. It, along with Flatford Mill and East Bergholt
14 BRITAIN
comprise Constable Country thanks to their intimate connections to the landscape painter John Constable and his work. Walk along the banks of the River Sour, boat down the river or wander around the countryside and you come face to face with the scenery depicted in Constable’s paintings Dedham Vale or The Hay Wain, seemingly unchanged in the last 200 years. It is the same throughout the two counties – a sense of
the ancient and modern existing in the same timeframe. Perhaps that is why this corner of Britain is so magical; the mixing of the old and the new, the blending of what has gone with what is here now, creating a unique landscape and countryside shaped by its history and culture.
Go to
www.visitessex.com or
www.visitsuffolk.com for ideas about what to see and do or visit
www.britain-magazine.com
www.britain-magazine.com
PHOTOS: © VISITBRITAIN/ROD EDWARD/LOOP IMAGES/IAN MURRAY
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