Suffolk Reports
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Beccles
Review of Beccles by P Lane on August 8th, 2006
I used to go to Beulah Hall with my children when they were younger and haven't been back for a couple of years. we booked a long weekend, at short notice, and were delighted to discover that they no longer cater for children on the site, mine having 'grown and flown'. it was so peaceful and relaxing that i booked 10 days off and went there to unwind. with the new reception building, good sized pool, clean shower and toilet facilities and no screaming kids, it was the perfect break. we were lucky that the English weather was so fantastic and that the Lowastoft Air Festival was on whilst we were there. over all, give it a go. superb.
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Belchamp St Paul
Review of Belchamp St Paul by dave wilson on July 20th, 2006
Picture postcard thatched rooved pub located on the village green. Good quality, freshly cooked 'pub grub.' Friendly landlord, staff and locals. Great beer (try a pint of Belchamp Beer)
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Bradfield Combust
Review of Bradfield Combust by claire on August 5th, 2006
i visited this charming little pub by chance, when coming back fom work one day with my colleague. i was delighted to find friendly staff, lovely atmosphere, gorgeous food and wine lists, and the desserts were exquisite! my partner and i manged to share three! i would definetly recommend this pub to anyone, i shall be back soon!
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Bures
Review of Bures by Leslie on August 2nd, 2009
The Swan Pub & Bistro - This is a real hidden gem. The food was as good as we have experienced. The portion sizes are now spot on, our previous visit had left us unable to consider desserts. Top quality food, beautifully presented and reasonably priced. Highly recommended.
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Bury St Edmunds
Review of Bury St Edmunds by Yvonne Reeves on August 5th, 2009
I went to Bury St Edmunds by Belles Coaches for the first time in 2000 and go back nearly every Month because it is such a Beautiful Place to Visit.
I have been going now for 9 Years.
Abbey gardens and the Cathedral are my first places I visit and make my way to the Tea Rooms for a Coffee and one of thier delicous Scones.
I then make my way up to the Market area go into most of the Shops and walk around the Market Stalls until it is time to get a Spot of Lunch in one of the Caf'es,there are plenty to choose from in Bury and are all very reasonably Priced.
I then make my way back to Abbey Gardens,walk around the Beautiful gardens that are looked after very well,it's nice to see the different Flower Beds in the different Seasons.
There is a lovely Herb garden not far from the Tea Rooms.
I then usually go and have a cup of Tea and then go and Sit in the Cathedral for half an Hour,it is so Peaceful and has a lovely feel in there,they have done a Wonderful Job with the Tower.
Then I go and sit on one of the Benches in the Abbey Gardens watching People come and go until it is time to go and catch my Coach back to Lowestoft,Suffolk.
Christmas is a really good time to Visit too when they have the Christmas Market on the Area near to the Cathedral,if you haven't been to Bury St Edmunds,can I suggest to make time to go and see what a Lovely Place it is,I just wish I could Move there,Perhaps one Day I May get my Wish.
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Darsham
Review of Darsham by NELL & BRIAN on May 26th, 2009
we have been living in Darsham for 5 years on the 13th june this year, running the local pub. Brian's the chef & i'm front of house & leicence holder, I can honestly say it's a lovely little village, pretty little church & chapel. The village hall is an old nisson hut from before the war's. There's a pottery with beautiful hand made pottery by the propriter Glen Hugo,we have a organic vegetable's at Swallow's Oganic's, a residentail nursing home called Priory Paddocks where the care is excellent.The station is with in walking distance, Darsham Taxi are oppasite the station if you need to get too the local B&B. It's called White House Farm & you get a lovely warm welcome from Mick & Elaine, we are a friendly little village. Finish your visit at the pub, where the food's good, friendly welcome & atmosphere, log fires in the winter all warm & cosy & nice & cool in the summer with home cooked food. Come and see us .
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Eye
Review of Eye by Tim Kahane on July 6th, 2006
The town of Eye derives its name from the Old English word for ‘island’ and it is believed that the first settlement on the site would have been almost entirely surrounded by water and marshland formed by the River Dove to the East and South East; its tributary to the North; and by the low land, part of which now forms the Town Moor, to the South and West. Today it provides the perfect location for touring the historic and beautiful towns and villages of East Anglia.
There have been Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age finds in and around Eye but the earliest evidence of settlement in the town dates from the Roman period and includes buildings and coins dated circa 365.
In Saxon Britain, prior to the Norman Conquest, Eye was one of the numerous holdings of Edric of Laxfield, a wealthy and influential Saxon and the third largest land holder in Suffolk. After the Norman Conquest, the importance of the town was firmly established in the region when the Honour of Eye was granted to William Malet, a Norman Lord, and continued to be held by royal or noble families until 1823. Between 1066 and 1071, Malet constructed a castle, to establish his military and administrative headquarters, and started a highly successful market thus initiating the urbanisation of the settlement. Later in 1086-7, Robert Malet, William’s son, founded the Benedictine Priory of St Peter, a cell of the Abbey of Bernay in Normandy.
Eye began to lose its strategic importance after 1173 when the castle was attacked by Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk, during the rebellion against Henry II, and later during the Second Barons' War of 1265 after which it never regained its former status. Its prison continued in use up until the early C17th despite a programme of demolition of most of the castle buildings during the C14th. A windmill, built in 1561-2, stood on the motte until the circular mock keep was built in 1844. The ruins of the keep are still in place today, and Castle Street and Church Street trace the elliptical shape of the former outer bailey.
There has been a church in Eye at least since 1066 but the present building, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, dates from the C14th and is considered one of the finest churches in the county. A C13th Early English doorway, from a former building, was retained in the construction of the C14th church. In the C15th, and again the C16th, there were periods of further new work and renovation. The church was restored in 1868 by James Colling, a London architect. A particular feature of the church is the magnificent late-C15th rood screen which has a loft and rood designed by Ninian Comper in 1925. The screen is reputed to originate from Great Massingham Priory in Norfolk.
The earliest mention of industry in Eye records that in 1673 ‘the women’s employ in this town is making of bone lace’ and later in 1830, ‘the humbler class of industrious females employ themselves in lace making’. It would appear that Eye was at the centre of a localised lace making industry for many years; the last lacemaker in the town died in 1914. Lace was not the only industry, however, and the County Directories, list the many trades and occupations of the people of Eye over the 18th and 19th centuries. They included blacksmiths, wheelwrights, coopers, clockmakers, tailors, milliners and printers. There were several slaughterhouses, two breweries, and two retteries for the processing of flax. Iron and brass founders, agricultural implement makers, and church bell frame makers and hangers remained in operation into the C20th. Businesses recorded in Eye in 1937 included auctioneers, booksellers & printers, boot & shoe makers, corn chandlers, drapers, surgeons and watchmakers as well as banks, bakers, butchers and grocers.
Eye was once the smallest borough in the country, its claim based on the 1205 Charter of King John. The Charter was renewed in 1408 then many more times by successive monarchs. However, in 1885 the Town Clerk of Hythe proved that the original Charter belonged only to Hythe in Kent, the error having arisen from the similarity of the early English names. The error was confirmed by archivists in the 1950s but borough status was not discontinued until 1974 after government reorganization when Eye became a parish but retained a Town Council, a Mayor and the insignia. From 1571 to 1832 Eye boasted two MPs, then, following the Reform Act 1832, one MP until 1983 after which the Eye Constituency became the Central Suffolk Constituency.
In 1846 Eye Borough Council failed in its attempt to route the new London-Norwich railway line through Eye. The line, completed in 1849, went instead through Diss ensuring its growth in prosperity and population while the importance of Eye waned. A branch line from Mellis finally closed in 1964. Today Eye retains its character as a small market town, with a population of around 2,000.
Through the years Eye has had a Deer Park, a Leper Hospital, a Gaol, a Workhouse, a David Fisher Theatre, a Coaching Inn with Posting Establishment, a Working Men’s Hall and Reading Room, a Guildhall, a Grammar School, twenty pubs (including beer houses) and an Airfield which was occupied by the 480th and 490th USAAF Bomb Groups during World War II.
Eye today has a hospital, a health centre, three schools, three churches, a library, a police station, a fire station, an industrial estate on the former airfield, a WI market, and a picnic site (The Pennings) beside the River Dove. The Town Moors recreation site has play areas, football pitches and a large area of woodland walks. Eye also boasted one of the smallest professional theatres in the country which inhabited the Assembly Room of the former White Lion Coaching Inn.
Eye has three Grade One listings: the Guildhall (now a private house); the castle and the Church of St Peter and St Paul. There are seven Grade Two* and 152 Grade Two buildings in the town. Eye Town Hall, an imaginative and unorthodox building dating from 1856 and listed Grade Two*, was designed by Edward Buckton Lamb, one of the ‘Rogue Architects’ of the mid-Victorian period. Behind the Town Hall is The Queens Head, the sole survivor of the 20 pubs which once existed in Eye.
The History of Eye, Clive Paine ISBN 095225090X
http://www.onesuffolk.co.uk/EyeTC/ Town Web Site
http://www.midsuffolk.gov.uk/ Mid-Suffolk District Council
http://usaaf.com/8thaf/bomber/490bg.HTM 490th Bomb Group
http://www.455th.ukpc.net/tomfeise/tomeye.htm Map - Eye and its airfield
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Felixstowe
Review of Felixstowe by JOHN POTTER on July 13th, 2008
FELIXSTOWE BEACH CARAVAN PARK IS WELL WORTH STAYING AT THE STAFF ARE REALY HELPFUL FELIXSTOWE ITS SELF IS PRETTY GOOD CHEAP FOOD, SUNDAY MARKET AND THERES ENOUGH ENTERTAINMENT TO KEEP THE KIDS HAPPY IF NOT YOU HAVE IPSWICH DOWN THE ROAD STOCK CAR RACING AND SO ON ANYONE READING GO AND ENJOY YOURSELF!!!
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Haverhill
Review of Haverhill by Adam Lord on July 15th, 2006
Haverhill is... well not the best town in the world but has a reputation that degrades it a lot more than is deserved.
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Honey Tye
Review of Honey Tye by Clare Cook on October 28th, 2009
Very poor food , starter still partialy frozen and both main dishes where poorly cooked and tasteless ...
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Icklingham
Review of Icklingham by Geoff Styche on July 25th, 2006
'The Plough at Icklingham.'
Excellent venue for a 'gastro' pub meal in a pleasantly renovated environment. Extensive and varied menu selection on a huge blackboard. Well managed with attentive and polite staff.Have a pre supper drink on the patio and soak up the countryside!
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Ipswich
Review of Ipswich by Roy Waylett on October 8th, 2007
I had the misfortune to visit this council on a recent holiday.
I am disabled, I was told and saw adverts for the market'in excess of 250 stalls,I went to the centre of Ipswich Town Centre but could find NO SIGNS relating to the (orany market for that matter)people I asked knew something about the 'market' but could not direct me.
I telephoned the council (after 2 hours of driving around)(not the switch board operaters fault)but he said they had been sent a recent email from the Government commenting on the large amount of signage being used in the town centre,This I agree was 'over the top' but still NO SIGNS' regarding markets of any kind(the switchboard operater knew what I was Talking about but could not give me directions)needless to say Iwill not bother to try and find the 'market again' if I bother with Ipswich again.
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Leiston
Review of Leiston by DIANNE MANN on March 24th, 2007
Having lived here over five years now and renovating two large houses in the town and my partner having a business in the town - I would like to say 'give the town a chance' I do beleive that with some support the town can grow and become a smaller version of the posher surrounding towns given time.......I believe in this town to the point that I will be opening guest house in the town come this summer 2007.....
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Lowestoft
Review of Lowestoft by Paul Gallagher on March 4th, 2007
I lived in Lowestoft from 1950 to 1966. My parents still live there. I lived on the Whitton Estate.
Lowestoft holds so many happy memories of growing up, from child to adult. As children we
visited Normanston park to play games with bat and ball, kite flying.
If we went to the beach it was always in front
of the putting green.
When we were about 8 - 10yrs we used to push an old pram [ no longer used by our baby sister] to ask for old newspapers by door knocking then we would push the pram to a collector on waveny road and get 2s 6p for our effort thats 12-13p in todays conversion. Between 3 - 4 of us we were rich.
In Summer holidays especially we would walk along Blackheath road to Love lane as a group of young boys. This would bring you out on Stradbroke Road turn right follow the road for a while then turn right on to Long Road and back home.
Once I got to about 10yrs I learnt to ride a bike.Then i started taking Dads racing pigeons
in a box or basket for pigeons and ride several miles, and release them, usualy about 8 - 10 miles northwest direction a few sandwiches and some pop in a bottle.
Several of us would go over to Oulton Broad swimming Baths for a couple of hours.
There are many more wonderful memories of life in the 50`s and 60`s around Lowestoft. I have travelled back there many times, the pedestrianised area of the town centre is wonderful and so much more accessable to shoppers, making it much safer and far less traffic pollution. Sadly the docks area has lost its character of the Trawlers at home. I use to be able to walk around the docks watching fish being landed. My Dad was a fisherman for many years on the `` Antigua, Bermuda, several of the Boston boats ``.
I still find Lowestoft a magical place to visit
and the Sunrise`s are out of this world.
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Mildenhall
Review of Mildenhall by Steve Warren on September 11th, 2009
Great little town with plenty to see - much as the surrounding villages. Try this site for proper details: www . VisitMildenhall . co . uk
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Newmarket
Review of Newmarket by Jane on July 8th, 2007
New market has one of the best hospitals in the country to help animals.
Such a shame there is no help in finding accommodation; for people that live out of the area I find this has left me feeling totally lost.
I suppose great for the race course and useless for the everyday person needed guidance.
There are many people needing to get to this hospital that will have to search for a more accommodating area.
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Southwold
Review of Southwold by Joe on March 29th, 2007
Simply fantastic!
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Sudbury
Review of Sudbury by n.carpenter on October 25th, 2007
on a recent visit to sudbury myself and my father visited the anchor and found the staff and landlord very friendly and made us feel very welcome . however a local lad i believe his name is kevin and a regular to the anchor approached me and father outside and subjected my father to a barrage of insults.my father who is 80 years old believed was because we were irish felt very intimidated left straight away.we have being regular visitors to sudbury and find the people of sudbury very friendly and hope to return again soon despite this isolated incident
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Wattisfield
Review of Wattisfield by David on September 9th, 2006
Only had time to visit pottery -twice actually- it was so lovely and the staff so friendly that we over extended our budget, but it was well worth the beautiful crocky etc.
Keep up the good work.
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Woodbridge
Review of Woodbridge by Emma Green on August 22nd, 2006
Spent a weekend there visiting friends very nice picturesque town. Unfortunately we were unable to find accomodation. You either need to book in advance or be a non-smoker. As we come from Scotland were smoking is banned everywhere we do have respect this disicsion. But the arrogance from the boarders was unbeliveable I will not return.....