Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, we stayed at an apartment in Suffolk for 2 nights with my family. We stayed in Yoxford: a small village about 40 minutes from Ipswich, which was a great location for the Suffolk coast. On the Sunday we drove to Southwold, one of the most popular coastal towns to visit in the area and we spent time on the seafront admiring the colourful beach huts, the sandy beach and the lighthouse that the town is famous for.
We arrived at 9am as heavy rain was due in the afternoon and we didn’t want to waste the best part of the day. Southwold was very quiet at this time and we were able to walk along the pier as soon as we arrived without the crowds. The pier had a sea-themed cafe, some little gift shops and a whacky wall of mirrors, which were a lot of fun to walk along.
From the pier, we walked along the seafront past all of the beach huts. Every hut was unique and personal to the owner, which certainly made them interesting to look at. We also got to see the Southwold Lighthouse, which dominates the town’s skyline.
We carried on walking towards Southwold Harbour, which is away from the town centre but right next to the local campsite and caravan park. The harbour had lots of seafood restaurants, some shops and a crabbing area for families. There were such a huge variety of boats to look at, which is part of the novelty of visiting a seaside town.
By about 11am we headed into the town centre for brunch. We stopped at at a little independent restaurant called Coasters for cups of tea and sausage/bacon sandwiches. It was such a cute little place, but they easily made room for a table of 6. The owners of the eatery also run the shop next door called Beaches and Cream. One of my favourite restaurants in Florida shares the same name, so I was really excited to see the shop when were exploring Southwold town.
After brunch we popped into a few shops in the town and I managed to find quite a few postcards for my scrapbook. Southwold has lots of souvenir shops that are full of seaside-themed gifts.
In the early afternoon we went back onto the pier as most of the shops on it weren’t open when we arrived in Southwold. The pier was very busy later on in the day and it had a totally different atmosphere to early in the morning.
Just as we were finishing up on the pier, the heavy rain started and we decided to head back to the car. We had just over 4 hours and that was the perfect amount of time to see the pretty coastal town. Southwold is a real coastal gem and if you’re in Suffolk anytime soon make sure you pop by and see it.
We had a lovely time in Suffolk over the bank holiday.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
Visited Southwold very briefly on Friday, October 18, 2024, as an interlude during a visit to UK from Canada for family and other social reasons. I had not been back to England for six years, and Southwold in particular for nearly 50. I was horrified. Cars, cars, and more cars. parked every which way, and my own rental Toyota RAV4 was taking up more than its own fair share of road. The town’s prettiness is virtually buried under the effects of tourism which mask the very beauty people come to see. Never tried to park in the town at all. Drove to the harbour car park, walked the beach, enjoyed an ice cream, and left. England is just bursting at the seams, driving’s a nightmare, and £10 notes seem to cover every minor contingency.