Introduction to Woodbridge and Aldeburgh

Woodbridge: 130km (81 miles) NE of London, 76km (47 miles) S of Norwich, 29km (18 miles) NE of Dedham; Aldeburgh: 156km (97 miles) NE of London, 66km (41 miles) SE of Norwich

On the Deben River, the market town of Woodbridge is a yachting center. Its best-known resident was Edward Fitzgerald, Victorian poet and translator of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. You can base in Woodbridge and use it to explore Aldeburgh as well. Woodbridge is also a good base for exploring Framlingham Castle and Sutton Hoo.

Woodbridge is filled with riverside walks along quays, and you can stroll around the town in an hour or two, taking in the wide variety of architecture, including pink-washed Tudor cottages. There is also a vast array of antiques shops for browsing.

On the North Sea, 24km (15 miles) from Woodbridge, Aldeburgh is an exclusive resort, and it attracts many Dutch visitors, who make the sea crossing via Harwich and Felixstowe, both major entry ports for traffic from the Continent. Aldeburgh dates from Roman times and has long been known as a small port for North Sea fisheries. The Aldeburgh Festival, held every June, is the most important arts festival in East Anglia, and one of the best attended in England.