Log Cabin Holidays in East Anglia – Why Holiday in the East of England?

If you need a holiday and have a young family in tow or simply want to take a few days break with some friends, you’ll know it's not always practical to go abroad and this is where local breaks come into their own. Log cabin holidays in East Anglia present you with the ideal opportunity to take a family break or to meet up with friends for a few days relaxation and recreation.

Away from home, for that much needed change of scenery but sufficiently close so as not to present you with a travel headache, log cabin holidays in East Anglia offer the perfect solution.

Located close to the lovely market town of Woodbridge, Windmill Lodges offer log cabin holidays just 15 miles from Suffolk’s heritage coast and within easy reach of the picturesque towns of Aldeburgh, Dunwich, Southwold, Thorpeness and Walberswick. Their four and five star log cabins come with great facilities such as electric heating, modern fully equipped fitted kitchens and bathrooms, stylish interior décor, private hot tub and veranda, swimming pool (Open Easter to October) and a private and well stocked catch and release fishing lake; everything you’ll need for a peaceful and relaxing, home away from home vacation.

We have listed below some of the delights of Suffolk and East Anglia, just some of the reasons why holidaying in this part of the world is such a joy.

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The Benefits of Spending Your Holidays in East Anglia

Great Weather

The weather in this part of the world is reliably good for most of the year, or at least as good as it gets in England. With the exception of the cold snap at the beginning of 2013, which bought local temperatures plummeting to well below average, East Anglia tends to do very well in the good weather tables and markedly better than most other parts of the country. Look at pretty much any weather map for most of the year and you’ll see our little corner of the country bathed in sunlight or, at the very least, enjoying higher temperatures than most, if not all, of the rest of the UK.

Lovely Coastline

The Suffolk coastline features a mix of sand, shingle and pebbled beaches and heath land. With such a diverse terrain, it’s little wonder that locals and visitors alike opt for pedal or foot over horsepower. There are walks and cycle paths aplenty in this part of the world allowing you to get up close and personal with Mother Nature. This is the land of the back pack and mountain bike, not for its mountains, we haven’t got any, but for its beautiful natural coastal environs which draw you in, forcing you to leave any kind of busy city or hectic work schedule behind. And, by the way, if you are interested in horse power, there are plenty of bridle paths too.

Tasty Local Food and Drink

Suffolk is a foodie’s paradise. It has been described as “The British Larder” and there is even a restaurant of that exact name not far from Windmill Lodges, at Bromeswell, just outside Woodbridge. Fine foods have been produced locally for centuries and there are many mouth-watering specialities to choose from including Suffolk Dry Cure, free range ham and bacon, Suffolk Gold and Blue cheeses, honey from one of Suffolk’s 400 bee keepers, pickled Quail eggs from Akenfield and real ale chutney from Adnams, Suffolk’s famous brewery.

Fascinating History

Fans of architecture will love it here. Among the must-sees are Aldeburgh's Moot Hall Museum (1520) and the Saxtead Green Post Mill (1860), just round the corner from Windmill Lodges. The archaeologists among you will be interested in Sutton Hoo, the site of 6th and 7th-century ship burial in which was found a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts. The artists Constable and Gainsborough spent many years here and were inspired to create some of their best known works. The composer Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft and spent much of his time in Suffolk; head to Snape Maltings and the Aldeburgh Music Festival to see and hear examples of his work performed live.

Back to Nature

Suffolk boasts 5 estuaries: The Blyth, The Alde and Ore, The Deben, The Orwell and The Stour. The Blyth pours into Southwold harbour and feeds Minsmere and Walberswick National Nature Reserves. The Alde and Ore, Suffolk’s longest estuary, features Orford Ness with its nesting birds and seals (yes, Seals). The Deben features moving islands of shingle called Knolls, which change direction and size with the weather and tides. The Orwell supplies water to the nature reserves at Trimley, Levington and Nacton and the iconic Orwell Bridge is the preferred nesting site for Peregrine Falcons.

Sporting Facilities

Aside from the myriad of watersports that go on in the area, the hiking and cycling, Suffolk is well known for its football – with Ipswich Town FC – and for its rugby – with Ipswich Rugby Club. Football and rugby aside, there isn't a game you can't play in Suffolk; you can even go skiing (albeit on a dry slope). Squash, tennis, cricket, basketball, even roller blading, they're all here just waiting for you to get involved. Advice, as if it were needed: if you bought your kids Ipads last year, make sure you leave them at home, they won’t need them.

Family Holidays in Suffolk – Click here to view our luxurious log cabin  accommodation in the heart of the East Anglian countryside.

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How to make the most of the beautiful region of Suffolk during your log cabin holidays with Windmill Lodges

Holidays in Suffolk – An Ideal Base to Explore the Waters Nearby

While you are enjoying your stay in Suffolk, why not use the time to try out something new? The holidays are a great time to relax and enjoy yourself and also, perhaps, to be that little bit more adventurous. Holidays in Suffolk provide the perfect opportunity to go boating, swimming, crabbing, yachting, diving, dinghy sailing and even windsurfing; all things that you may not get the chance to do at home.

Windmill Lodges log cabin holidays provide the perfect base from which to explore this most beautiful of counties. From here, you can visit the area's picturesque heritage coastline, its marinas, its rivers and lakes, many of which provide the opportunity to mess about either on, or in, the water.

For a truly relaxing holiday, take a break at Windmill Lodges. Our beautiful 4 star lodges come fully equipped with modern kitchens and bathrooms, stylish bedrooms and very comfortable, well-appointed and sizeable living spaces. There is under floor heating and coal effect gas stoves and, outside, a spacious veranda perfect for al-fresco dining and a good sized private hot tub for your own personal use. Add to this a heated enclosed swimming pool open from Easter to October and a well stocked, catch and release fishing lake and you’ll see there’s plenty to keep you occupied, even if you were to stay on site for the duration of your holiday. Venture outside of the complex though and just look at the possibilities.

Click here to find out more about our log cabins with hot tub - the perfect choice for an activity holiday in Suffolk.


Water Based Activities

Boating

The Meare at Thorpeness is a large man-made boating lake covering more than forty acres. It's a Mecca for families who love all the splish-splashing of water-based activity without the safety risks. Here you can hire dinghies, kayaks, large family rowing boats, canoes, punts and shallow hulled sailing craft and splash about in the water to your heart’s content. Fans of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan will love it here, as scenes from the book about a boy who could fly and who never aged, appear everywhere.  You’ll see the pirate’s lair and Wendy’s house among many others and children are encouraged to relive the story, although any attempts at flying ought really to be discouraged.

Swimming

Suffolk’s heritage coast provides numerous beaches and its coastal waters are some of the safest and cleanest around the country. Here, swimming in the sea is fun as there is little danger of heavy swells or dangerous undercurrents – not like you get in other parts of the country – and the coastal towns are quite beautiful too. Visits to Southwold, Walberswick, Aldeburgh and Orford cannot be recommended highly enough. These Suffolk gems are picturesque in the extreme. The Suffolk coastline offers a mix of sand, shingle and pebble beaches, many of which have received the coveted blue flag for cleanliness, water quality and safety.

Crabbing

Crabbing in Walberswick makes for a hugely entertaining day out, especially for the kids. Arguably, you could go crabbing anywhere there are crabs but the pretty little seaside town of Walberswick has been perfecting the art for over 30 years now. Up until 2010, a yearly event was held here to find the British Open Crabbing Champion but this competition became so popular that the organisers were forced to stop holding the one-day event. That doesn’t make crabbing any the less fun though and now you are free to do it all year round without fear of being descended upon by 1000+ eager crabbers.

Riverboat Cruising

A lot has been written about the Suffolk coast: of its towns, villages and landscape. Some of the views from land out to sea or river are quite splendid but, arguably, the best views are those seen from the deck of a boat. Five estuaries slice up the coastline making for interesting, ever-changing natural scenes. The Ipswich Marina is the place to head for if you fancy a cruise on the river. You can book a cruise on a barge, a boat trip to Harwich and even charter a sailing boat. What better way to mark a special occasion than with a romantic tour of Suffolk waters?

Diving

Suffolk is awash with diving schools and sub-aqua clubs, some of them a fair way from the coast too. This can only be a reflection of the high regard that seafarers and local landlubbers alike have for the water. Hardly surprising when you consider that Suffolk is blessed with 45 miles of some of the UK’s finest and most diverse coastline. Stretching from Felixstowe (yes, there is an ‘S’ in it) to Lowestoft, you’ll find diving schools, snorkelling and scuba centres up and down the coast giving you plenty of opportunity to learn more about the water and its inhabitants.

Windsurfing

For the best in local windsurfing, head to Alton Water or to one of the many coastal windsurfing arenas. Alton Water is the largest area of inland water in Suffolk. Set in 400 acres of the most beautiful Suffolk countryside, it offers sailing, windsurfing and canoeing to members and visitors alike.  Alton Water is a reservoir owned by Anglian Water, it’s the main source of drinking water for Ipswich and south Suffolk. The company have authorised all forms of water sport activity as long as it does not affect the quality of the water. This means that no motorboats of any kind are allowed on the water.

Dinghy Sailing

You can of course, take a dinghy to anywhere you’ll find water; Alton Water is great for that but we’d also recommend Bawdsey. The difference here is that, if you get tired of paddling, you can fire up the out-board motor. You can also have a go at power boating. This means one thing and one thing only: Water-skiing! Probably the most fun you can have on the water. Head for the north bank of the River Deben estuary where you’ll find both river and sea sailing areas offering safe learning environments to beginners and more challenging offshore waters for those with experience.

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