Places to visit and things of interest in the East of England. The East of England comprises the coastal counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, together with Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. On the coast are intriguing seaside towns and salt marsh – where you’ll find some of the best bird and seal watching in Britain. There is the Broads National Park, a unique area of waterways and windmills. Inland, are delightful old market towns and pretty villages – flint is a feature of Norfolk and decorative plastering – pargeting – is a feature in Essex. In the west of the region are rolling hills – though Norfolk barely makes it above sea level in places. The East of England is rich in heritage, from the treasures of Sutton Hoo through the colleges of Cambridge to the power of the enormous aircraft museum at Duxford.
The Scallop sits on the beach at Aldeburgh, in Suffolk. It is a 13 foot-ish (4 metre) high monument, by local-born artist Maggi Hambling, to the late Benjamin Britten, composer and past Aldeburgh resident, who used to take his afternoon walks along the beach. The sculpture consists of two, broken, interlocking scallop shells. Cut into […]
ABAB’s regular reader (thank you – the cheque’s in the post) will know that my knowledge of art could be sketched on the back of very small postage stamp. Nevertheless, in the endless pursuit of intriguing stories and occasionally stimulating bits of Britain, which may attract and amuse, the intrepid Bit About Britain team set
A bit about Constable Country Read More »
East of England
Before England existed, the lonely Isle of Ely lay in the territory of the Gyrwas. Around the year 652AD, Tondbert, a prince of the South Gyrwas, married the Princess Etheldreda, a descendent of the mighty Wuffingas who had united the North-folk with the South-folk. Tondbert died and Etheldreda, whose father was Anna (or Onna), King
Oliver Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in British history, reviled by some, admired by others. For a short time, he was the most powerful man in the land. He ruled Britain as Lord Protector for almost five years from 1653–1658, during the interregnum (1649-1660) when the English Parliament had disposed of its
Oliver Cromwell’s House Read More »
East of England
Scattered about Britain (and, presumably, the world) are a number of sites, some open to the public, which had a role in the Cold War. The “secret nuclear bunker” at Kelvedon Hatch in Essex was built in the early 1950s as an operations centre for a huge radar and command/control project known as ROTOR. It
Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker Read More »
East of England
Blakeney Point in north Norfolk is a 4 mile spit of shingle, sand dunes, salt marsh and mud flat, sticking out into the sea. It is part of a national nature reserve, much beloved of wildlife watchers of all shapes and sizes, and is an internationally important habitat for species holidaying in Britain from faraway
I’m always a little wary of claims to be “the oldest” this or that. There are probably at least a dozen pubs that are the oldest in Britain and, clearly, only one of them is. But the good folk at St Andrews, Greensted, Essex, claim theirs is the oldest wooden church in the world, as
Greensted Log Church Read More »
East of England
Good question. You can see for yourself that there’s very little of it left. True, there’s a fine motte, traces of a few fireplaces, site of a kitchen, with an attractive gap-toothed inner curtain wall built mainly of local flint – and a well. But that’s about it – and the massive moats, which would
Why visit Berkhamsted Castle? Read More »
East of England
Toki lost his lands when the Normans came. The new foreign aristocracy following Harold’s defeat at Hastings in 1066 swept aside Anglo-Saxon landowners, and poor Toki was one of the casualties. He was a thegn – which could mean a variety of things – but in any event a man of property in the settlement
The Castle at Castle Acre Read More »
East of England
We all know what a national park is. Although definitions vary, they are usually rural areas of natural (or naturalised) beauty designated as ‘special’ in some way by their national governments. Normally, the environment within a national park, including its flora and fauna, are protected and there are particular rules about what you can, and
Britain’s National Parks Read More »
All East Midlands East of England North East England North West England Scotland South East South West Wales Yorkshire and the Humber
Including the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. A radio disc jockey once did a dedication for someone living in Bury Street, Edmunds. Without wishing to offend the delightful town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, perhaps this illustrates the fact that England’s eastern extremity is a little cut-off; you don’t go
A bit about the East of England Read More »
All East of England