Cycling holiday East-Anglia

The first day of cycling is varied from the start. From the boat, you first cycle through Harwich, but soon you enter calmer waters. The town of Dedham on the River Stour, with its interesting history, is particularly worthwhile. You then cycle through rolling hedge country with many nostalgic country houses. The historic town of Lavenham is one of the prettiest towns in East Anglia. Here you will see many well-preserved medieval half-timbered houses, such as the 16th-century Guildhall (wool trading house) and the Little Hall museum. You stay overnight in the small town of Long Melford. where galleries and antique shops predominate.

On the next day of this cycling trip, you'll cycle amid rolling countryside to Bury St Edmunds. You cycle through the beautiful valley of the River Stour. and pass Ickworth Castle, built in Italian style, whose gardens and collected art treasures can be admired. Not much further, you reach the hotel in Bury St. Edmunds where the abbey with magnificent gardens are a sight to behold.

This cycling day heads north-east on quiet roads. After a diversion past some windmills, you will reach the inn where you will spend the night, a classic inn where locals come for a pint after work.

The next route takes you to Eye. From the hill with its castle ruins, you have beautiful views of this typically English country town. After visiting Debenham, you first follow the valley of the small river Deben to reach Framlingham with its cosy hotel and an impressive 12th-century castle via winding roads.

The round trip takes you to Dunwich on the North Sea coast and through a nature reserve for birdwatchers.

The next route first makes a loop to the sea and that is to the seaside town of Aldeburgh. Before you get there, you follow a beautiful path through a nature reserve. The little river port of a former malting works offers a lovely place to pause. You stay overnight inland near the town of Woodbridge in a hotel with golf course.

On your last day of cycling, it's off to the coast once more. An ancient breed of horse, the Suffolk Punch, is bred in Hollesley. A side trip also takes you to the hushed coastal village of Shingle Street before you cross the River Deben by foot ferry. You soon arrive in Felixstowe, port and seaside town all in one. Here you can clearly see the distinction between the English upper class, with large houses along the promenade and the small, simple terraced houses of the lower class. The sea fort on the wide mouth of the River Orwell was once besieged by Michiel de Ruyter and is now a museum. Here you can linger a little longer if you decide to take the last leg to Ipswich by train. Ipswich is the bustling capital of Suffolk. You will spend the night in a modern and pleasant hotel on the River Orwell. The 19th-century warehouses on the quays now house trendy pubs, restaurants, galleries, theatres.

You travel back to Harwich by train.