Ipswich, the county town of East Suffolk is a thriving port and important farming centre, situated at the head of the Orwell estuary. The town is made up of a cluster of narrow streets with many 16th and 17th century buildings, one of which is the timber framed, Great White Horse Inn, which features in Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. Sparrowes House, Wolsey’s Gate and the Cardinal College of Saint Mary founded in 1527 by Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, are other picturesque buildings of historical interest.

Recording it’s Anglo-Saxon origins is the Ipswich Museum of Natural History and Arachaeology in the High Street which exhibits replicas of treasures found at a local Anglo Saxon cemetery, as well as an impressive animal and bird collection. Alternative attractions in the area include wine tasting and tours, walks in the countryside and country-parks including Clare Castle Country Park, which features a spiral pathway to the top of the castle, a motte and nature trail.

The development of Ipswich accelerated in the 19th Century, transforming it into the town we know today, particularly on the west side of town, where there is an area of modern flats and office blocks which lie in stark contrast to the medieval centre of the town.

Ipswich is a popular place for visitors and has a wide range of restaurants, hotels and art galleries to cater for those passing by.