Self Catering in Suffolk

Mainly low-lying, its rivers draining into the North Sea, Suffolk is neither hilly or totally flat, and reaches a maximum height of 120 m (400 ft) in only a few places. The chalky heathlands of the west, known as Breckland, slope eastwards to an area largely covered in boulder clay, which long ago was forested, but is now rich farmland. The coastline is known for its shingle spits, and sand and gravel deposits running along coast are called Sandlings, and together with the Breckland, are planted with conifers. Part of the Norfolk Broads (NB) lie in the far north of the county.

Occupied during the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages by the Iceni Tribe, and later settled by the Romans, Suffolk greatly prospered from the 11th to the 18th century due to the wool trade. Traditionally an agricultural county with an economy based on sheep farming, Suffolk again prospered during the 20th century due to North Sea oil and gas exploration, the development of Felixstowe as an international container port, and the improvement of the railway line from Norwich to London, which calls at Ipswich.

The county still has a agricultural landscape that is dotted with many picturesque villages of half-timbered thatched cottages, with flint walls often painted peach. Suffolk also features many flint-decorated churches, town houses embellished with fine plasterwork, and a wealth of historic and stately homes that give the county a varied and visually attractive appearance.