15 top things to do in East Anglia

19.07.2024 - 15:00 / lonelyplanet.com / Henry Viii VIII (Viii)

Jul 19, 2024 • 7 min read

Blessed with beautiful beaches, whispering wetlands, culture by the barn-load and more history than you can shake an Anglo-Saxon ship burial at, East Anglia should really be much better known than it is. Most corners of Essex, Suffolk, Norwich and Cambridgeshire can be reached from London in less than two hours, but the rolling wheatfields and wildflower-topped water meadows offer a trip back in time to a gentler, calmer England. Here’s our guide to the best things to do. 

The bulge on the east coast of England has beaches to suit all tastes – broad golden sands; pea-sized shingle strands; dignified strolling beaches; raucous beaches with amusement arcades, giddy funfairs and seagulls turned into apex predators by a diet of pilfered fish and chips. The most unspoiled sands are at Wells-Next-the-Sea, Brancaster and Holkham in Norfolk; for long, contemplative walks, try Aldeburgh in Suffolk. 

Local tip: With younger kids in tow, Wells-Next-the-Sea has shallow waters for paddling and a handy beach cafe behind the dunes.

It’s not the British seaside if you haven’t been given the opportunity to promenade along the pier. Southend in Essex has the world’s longest pier, with a toy train trundling along its 1.3-mile (2km) length, while genteel Southwold in Suffolk has the region’s most eccentric pier, home to an arcade of inventive, satirical slot machines created by former Pink Floyd stage-props-maker Tim Hunkin.

Sprawling across 117 sq miles (303 sq km) of waterlogged countryside, the Norfolk Broads were created by accident when floodwaters inundated channels excavated by peat-cutters, creating a new way of life amongst the swishing reedbeds. Eel-catchers and fishers once navigated these marshy channels in homemade coracles, but today you can cruise around in comfortable motorboats, stopping off at country pubs, historic churches and quirky museums.

Planning tip: Renting a "day boat" or overnight cruiser comes with basic tuition in Broads navigation. Pick up a vessel in the twin villages of Hoveton and Wrexham, or Stalham – all an easy drive from Norwich.

You don’t need faith to hike Walsingham’s pilgrim trail. The medieval path from London to Walsingham – where an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman had a vision of the Blessed Virgin in 1061 CE – meanders through 180 miles (290km) of green, serene English countryside – walkers with less time stick to the scenic final section from Saffron Walden or Bury St Edmunds. On arrival, pick up a bottle of holy water, nose around the historic Shirehall and wander the ruins of Walsingham Priory, destroyed during Henry VIII’s purge of the monasteries. 

Planning tip: For more walking, ride the miniature railway north from Walsingham to Wells-Next-the-Sea and pick up