Suffolk

The county of Suffolk is one of the most beautiful in the country. With a wealth of green countryside and rolling hills, small unique towns and villages with individual quirks and plenty of history, booking a hotel in Suffolk is the ideal get away break.

Swynford Paddocks Hotel, part of Thoroughbred Hotels is located in the uniquely named village of Six Mile Bottom just outside Newmarket, a lively bustling market town, with its main focus revolving around the world of horseracing. Many of the stable yards and gallops are located amongst rolling and attractive chalk heath land within the beautiful Suffolk countryside. 

When staying at the hotel and visiting both Newmarket and Cambridge, why not visit some of the smaller villages in Suffolk where the old buildings and traditions have remained the same over the years. The area certainly has more than it’s fair share of churches, museums and festivals. Suffolk is fortunate enough to have some of the best preserved and still in working order watermill and windmills to be found to this day.

 
Fresh Suffolk Produce

Staying in the hotel and exploring the local area provides the perfect excuse to travel around the Suffolk countryside and visit the smaller villages in the county where the emphasis is always on fresh wholesome produce. With Farmers markets occurring every weekend through the summer months, there has never been a more apt time to purchase some of the finest ingredients.

Swynford Paddocks Hotel prides itself on sourcing as many of the ingredients incorporated within the dishes on the Silks Restaurant menu from local suppliers within the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk borders. The menu changes to represent the flavours and produce available throughout the changing seasons of the year. We also firmly believe in supporting fellow Suffolk small businesses and the service and quality with which they provide the hotel is unequalled.      

If you enjoy a nice glass of wine, why not visit Wyken Hall Vineyard and Gardens, and experience Suffolk grown grapes. Take a leisurely walk around the gardens before getting stuck into some wine tasting sitting in the sunshine imagining you were abroad in a French vineyard! If the wine doesn’t take your fancy Brigadiers Bar happily serves ‘Brigadiers Brew’ a smooth locally brewed beer exclusive to Swynford Paddocks, either way your hotel bed will be even more appealing!

 

Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill

With so much Suffolk countryside to explore and see you could almost get lost!!

A National Trust property Anglesey Abbey is a Jacobean-style country house set in fine gardens with a working watermill. The house dating from 1600 is built on the site of a 12th-century Augustinian priory. As with all National Trust properties there are many paintings including

notable works by Claude Lorraine, there are fine examples of furniture, silver and tapestries and one of the Trust's largest collections of clocks. It is surrounded by 98 acres of landscaped gardens. The garden provides year-round floral interest with the Winter Garden, extensive snowdrop collection in January and February, hyacinth displays in the spring, herbaceous borders and dahlia gardens in the summer and magnificent autumn foliage. The watermill has milling days on the first and third Saturday of each month – subject to water levels.

Saxtead Green Post Mill

This corn mill, whose whole body revolves on its base, was one of many built in Suffolk from the late 13th century. Though milling ceased in 1947, it is still in working order. Climb the wooden stairs to the various floors, which are full of fascinating mill machinery. The mechanism still turns on its post to face the wind. Why not combine a visit to Framlingham Castle just 3 miles from the mill.

 

Framlingham Castle
  
Framlingham is a magnificent example of a late 12th-century castle. The castle fulfilled a number of roles. It was at the centre of the struggle between the Bigod barons and the Crown, and Mary Tudor mustered her supporters here in 1553, before being crowned Queen. At the end of the 16th century it was a prison; later still a poorhouse and school were built in the grounds. Today the imposing stone walls and crenellated towers with their ornate Tudor chimneys dominate, while the grassy earthworks around the castle are subdued reminders of busier times.

While visiting, why not take a walk around the magnificent Framlingham Mere and the castle’s outer courts and moats? Or perhaps negotiate the impressive wall-walk and take in the beautiful views of the surrounding Suffolk countryside, or enjoy one of Framlingham’s many pubs or tearooms.


Go Ape

Go Ape is an award-winning high wire forest adventure course of rope bridges, Tarzan swings and zip slides up to 40 feet up in the trees.

Appealing to a wide age range, customers are fitted with a climbing harness, given instructions, and then trek from tree to tree high above the forest floor. This one is in rural Suffolk in Thetford Forest and is well worth a family trip.  

 

Africa Alive – Suffolk Wildlife Park

Voted Suffolk Family Attraction in the Year 2006. One of the UK's largest and most exciting wildlife attractions set in 100 acres of dramatic parkland home to many different animals from the African continent, rhino, lions, giraffe, buffalo and zebra. Plan you day around animal feeding times, bird of prey displays and take a tour on the safari train taking you closer to the animals.

 

 

Lavenham

Most people are drawn to this attractive Suffolk town by the profusion of half-timbered medieval cottages. Lavenham has been called "the most complete medieval town in Britain", a tribute to its fine collection of medieval and Tudor architecture.

Despite its bustling past, Lavenham has remained small, with few of the distractions of modern growth. The population of the town has never exceeded 2000, even in the medieval period, when it was among the 20 wealthiest towns in England.

Ely Cathedral

Thousands of visitors come to Suffolk each year and many of them visit Ely Cathedral. Few are ever disappointed, for there is something here for everyone. Lovers of architecture will rejoice in the many different styles, blending to make the whole. History abounds around every corner, and the beauty created by artists in wood, stone and glass is everywhere to see.