The Art and Landscapes of Suffolk

Suffolk is a rural paradise filled with idyllic landscapes, Tudor towns, peaceful coastline and fascinating properties. The verdant Dedham Vale is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with scenery that remains mostly unchanged since the celebrated painter John Constable lived and painted there. Beyond the quaint cottages and scenic waterways, historic market towns burst with medieval charm and elegant and eclectic houses showcase the historic and cultural treasures of the region.

Date

09/08/2021 - 13/08/2021

Location

Ufford Park Hotel

The Art and Landscapes of Suffolk

About this excursion

£549 per person (National Trust Members)

£576 per person (Non -NT Members)

 Included in Your Tour

  • Executive Touring Coach at your disposal for the duration of the tour (within drivers hours)
  • 4 nights half board accommodation at the Ufford Park Hotel, Woodbridge
  • Porterage on arrival and departure
  • Welcome tea/coffee on arrival day
  • Breakfast each morning
  • 3 course / 3 choice dinner each evening which includes a vegetarian option, choice to be made on
  • arrival for the 1st night & then at breakfast for the 2nd night onwards.
  • Tables of 4, 6 & 8 in the main restaurant for dinner
  • Tea/coffee after dinner
  • Free use of the hotel’s swimming pool – use of the swimming pool maybe based on a 1 hour slot that will need pre-booking

Excursions

  • An en route visit to Flatford Mill – National Trust property, admission is included
  • Visits to the towns of Aldeburgh & Southwold.
  • Admission into Helmingham Hall Gardens for a free flow visit
  • Visit to Sudbury for time at leisure
  • Visit to Melford Hall – National Trust property, admission is included
  • Visit to Bury St Edmunds for time at leisure
  • Visit to Ickworth – National Trust property, admission is included
  • An en route visit to Ipswich for time at leisure

Extras

  • Single Supplement – twin/double for sole occupancy – First 9 singles – £112 per person, thereafter the supplement increases to £152pp
  • Gratuities

Booking

If you would like to join us no deposit is required for this trip but full payment to Success Tours is required before 24th June 2021.  Please ask for a booking form.

Our HotelUfford Park Hotal

Ufford Park is a modern, peaceful hotel located in 120 acres of historic parkland to the east of Ipswich. The contemporary bedrooms have been recently refurbished to a high standard. The large bar, terrace and restaurant overlook the golf course to the rear of the hotel. The hotel also has excellent leisure facilities, including an indoor swimming pool.

Hotel website: www.uffordpark.co.uk

Itinerary

Day 1

We depart Milton Keynes in the morning and we stop en route for a visit to Flatford (NT). Flatford lies in the rural heart of Constable Country, in the beautiful Dedham Vale. Flatford, with its picturesque mill by the River Stour, was the subject of many of Constable’s best-loved paintings and remains much the same as it was in his day. You can also see exhibitions by contemporary artists here. We then continue on to the hotel for check in. Dinner is included at the hotel each evening.

Day 2

Our first visit today is to Aldeburgh. Oozing with charm and lined with pastel-coloured holiday villas, thisAldebugh delightful seaside town on the Suffolk Heritage Coast has a pretty pebble beach and was once the home of composer Benjamin Britten. We then move on to Southwold. Genteel and upmarket, Southwold is pretty as a picture with its glorious stretch of golden sand and rainbow of beach huts. Lighthouses, cannons and cottages add to its charm, which has been wooing artists for centuries – from JMS Turner and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to Damien Hirst and Lucian Freud. Later, we visit Helmingham Hall Gardens. Grand and dramatic, the approach to the moated hall is nothing short of spectacular. The immaculate, tranquil, Grade-I listed gardens are mellow and serene. The varied sections of the grounds combine effortlessly to create this extraordinarily beautiful estate.

 Day 3

We spend this morning in Sudbury. Best known as the birthplace of the painter Thomas Gainsborough, thiHelmingham Hall Gardenss lovely market town is a cluster of Tudor houses and elegant church spires emerging from the verdant Stour Valley. A collection of works by Gainsborough is displayed in Gainsborough’s House, alongside a museum which presents the landscape artist’s life. This afternoon we head to Melford Hall (NT), a fine turreted Tudor manor house with an impressive collection of maritime paintings and Chinese porcelain. The eclectic property has been altered and added to over its centuries of history, and today presents a magnificent and unique façade.

 Day 4

This morning we visit Bury St Edmunds. With an ancient ruined abbey sitting amongst lovely gardens andIckworth Rotunda alongside fine Regency architecture, the ancient pilgrimage town is picturesque as well as rich with history. With local breweries and a foodie scene, it’s also a great place to sample local flavours. We spend this afternoon at the charmingly situated Ickworth (NT). This Georgian palace was commissioned to house the treasures collected by the 4th Earl of Bristol on his tours around Europe. The elegant Rotunda showcases an exquisite collection of artefacts accumulated by the Hervey family over 200 years, as well as portraits by Gainsborough, Hogarth and Reynolds. Within the tranquil grounds of the property is the earliest Italianate garden in England.

 Day 5

After breakfast we depart the hotel and make our way home. En route, we stop to explore Ipswich. It has many interesting attractions, including Christchurch Mansion, the Wolsley Art Gallery and the Ipswich Museum and Gallery.

The exact order of excursions may be subject to change.

 

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Book on this excursion

Bookings are closed for this event.