Tuesday 28 June 2011

Holidays in East Anglia

Windmill Lodges are a log cabin holiday company who offer holidays in East Anglia.
Located in Suffolk, our luxurious and award winning 4 and 5 star holiday log cabins, can be rented for week-long breaks, mid week breaks and weekend breaks. This rental term flexibility allows you book a short relaxing holiday of a length to suit you and we welcome families, couples and groups of friends.

So, whether you would like to get away from the office for a few days during the week or enjoy a romantic weekend break, Windmill Lodges for a holiday in East Anglia, is on hand to provide that perfect, get away tonic, to refresh and recharge your batteries.

Where is East Anglia?

The region known as East Anglia can be found to the East, South East of the country. It is made up of the following counties; Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk but is most easily recognised as being that part of the UK, that bulges out on the right hand side as you look at a map, between The Wash to the North and Southend-on-Sea, to the South. As a region, it is among the most fertile in the country and is a famous producer of fresh fruit and veg, cereals, all kinds of meats and fish, tasty preserves and honey and of course, wines and beers.

At just under an hour away from London, Windmill Lodges offer holidays in East Anglia, which are the ideal getaway for the stressed executive couple or the busy family who just fancy a change of scenery.

What is there to do here?

A holiday in Suffolk East Anglia may offer a slower pace of life, but that does not mean there’s nothing to do here, far from it. Suffolk allows you to escape the crowded trains and traffic jams and spend time feeding the soul instead. Getting out into the fresh air, visiting the Suffolk coast, enjoying sunsets and dawn choruses! These are all waiting for you at our peaceful countryside location.

Natural wonders aside, there is sailing off the coast, mountain biking on the heaths and long walks that take in some quite beautiful, chocolate box type market towns and villages and there is history at every turn. This part of the world is home to many an ancient castle and to the unusual Martello Towers. The Martello Towers were the result of an early nineteenth century construction project, designed to shore up our land defences and protect mainland Britain from an attack from the French or any other nation that dared try their luck. They were constructed all along the Suffolk, Essex and Sussex coast to act as look out towers and defences just in case our ships failed to halt an attack.

These towers, in their various states of repair and the many, far older castles in the area make for interesting and memorable excursions and great photo opportunities. Check out the curtain walled, 12th century castle at Framlingham or the remarkably well-preserved castle keep from the same era at Orford. From there, it’s not far to Orford Ness. A short boat trip brings you to this wild and remote shingle spit, the largest of its kind in Europe. Here, you can follow trails through picturesque landscapes and discover a history, both natural and man-made, that will delight and intrigue you, whatever your age..

There is also bird watching at Minsmere, crabbing (which the kids will love) at Walberswick and art galleries and boutique shops to browse at Aldeburgh. Whatever your interests, be it pottering around old towns or walking in nature, the stunning county of Suffolk with its quaint character and friendly laid back locals has plenty to do for all ages.

How to get here
By road, the area in well served by the A12 and the A14. If you are coming from London by car you will almost certainly use the A12. Running from London to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk it passes through Bow and Hackney Wick before heading North East and passing through Leytonstone, Redbridge and Romford. Once in Essex it runs by Brentwood, Chelmsford and Colchester before entering the county of Suffolk whereupon it passes Ipswich and Woodbridge. Windmill Lodges is approximately 13 miles from Woodbridge.
A similar route is followed by rail with the Great Eastern Main Line railway serving London Liverpool St, Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich. You should change at Ipswich and take the East Suffolk Line to Woodbridge. Take a taxi from there and within a short time you’ll be checking in.
Coming to us from the Midlands and the North, you will doubtless use the A14. This links the Port of Felixstowe to Newmarket and Cambridge where it meets the M11 and from there it goes on to pick up the A1 and M1 for connections further North and to the North West.

Click here to view our log cabin accommodation with hot tub for relaxing holidays in East Anglia

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Log Cabin Holidays - Bring the family to Suffolk this summer for a luxury log cabin break

Bring the family to Suffolk this summer for a luxury log cabin break

Windmill Lodges offer log cabin holidays in Suffolk UK. The luxury log cabin holidays on offer here are ideal for families looking for that week-long break in the summer holidays with the kids or for couples seeking to grab a shorter mid week or weekend break just to give the two of you, a well earned break from work.

Why stay in a log cabin?

Staying in one of our luxury log cabins is similar in many ways, to staying in a country cottage in that they are fully equipped with comfortable bedrooms, heating, TV and music and great cooking facilities. But they also have some additional benefits to the standard holiday cottage.

Our beautifully appointed and well-equipped log cabins all come with their own private hot tubs where you can sit and relax for hours. We also have on site, a heated, indoor swimming pool which is available for use from Easter – October and a private, catch and release fishing lake which is kept well stocked with fish. Some of these are daft and keep getting caught, but there are others that are getting a bit canny these days, making for an interesting and challenging afternoon’s fishing!

Why stay at Windmill Lodges?

Exterior attractions aside, our log cabins are extremely comfortable, keeping you warm in the winter, through coal effect fires and underfloor heating and cool in the summer, by virtue of their energy efficient design. They are also very well decorated and furnished to a high standard, they had to be to qualify for our 4 and 5 star awards from The English Tourism Council!

Windmill Lodges is a small and friendly site with just 7, luxuriously appointed log cabins, all of which have been thoughtfully arranged to provide the best views over the fishing lake and the surrounding countryside. Each log cabin has been given a generous plot so you’ll never feel that your privacy is being invaded or, that you are invading anybody else’s.

Your time is your own at Windmill Lodges; there’s only an alarm, if you choose to bring one. There’s no set time for anything, you can eat when you want to and sleep in for as long as you like! You can enjoy alfresco lunches or barbecues on the veranda and if you tire of cooking for yourselves, you can always pop into the local village, it’s a stones throw away and features a lovely old pub called The Old Mill House which has made it into the Good Pub Guide.

This spacious dining pub located just across the green from the windmill that gave our site its name, boasts a beamed and carpeted bar area with a flag stoned restaurant extension, wooden tables and chairs, a wide choice of good value fresh food with generous portion sizes. There is a daily carvery and the service is excellent, as is the beer. Children are very welcome and there’s an attractive and sizeable garden with a terrace and a good-sized play area too.

Why holiday in Suffolk?

Of all the places you could go, why come to Suffolk?

Suffolk is a lot more local than you’d think. At just over the hour from London, many people commute into town from here and many more make the short journey up the A12 or along the Great Eastern Railway line from London Liverpool St to spend a relaxing weekend break in the country.

Much of the area is protected and officially registered as either, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a site of special scientific interest and on that basis, it cannot and will not be built on. The villages and old market towns of Suffolk are a pleasure to wander around. Within the immediate vicinity are the ancient market towns of Framlingham and Woodbridge, both with fascinating histories that are crying out to be discovered and slightly further afield, but still within easy reach of your lodge, are the towns of Lavenham and Aldeburgh. These, among many other chocolate box towns and villages are photo opportunities not be missed.

The pace of life in Suffolk lends itself ideally, to lovely long, leisurely walks in the countryside and to cycle rides. Suffolk is quite flat, with gentle undulations, making it ideal for the part time cyclist. With a cycle hire shop just half an hour or so from your lodge, you can enjoy all the pleasures of countryside touring without even having to bring your own bikes.

Suffolk is also known for its abundance of locally grown produce. Farmers' markets abound in this part of the country and every weekend you’ll find markets selling fresh, locally produced foods ranging from fruit and vegetables to locally reared meats and freshly caught fish. Suffolk’s big on bread and honey too with locally produced and organic preserves on sale everywhere, as well as beers and wines. All of this is great for eating well while you are here and then filling up the car for going home!

Click here to view our family friendly holiday letting accommodation in Suffolk for UK holidays in East Anglia

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Log cabin holidays - All the benefits of a country cottage with loads of extras