The Alfred Corry was Southwold's most famous lifeboat. Built in 1893, she was launched 41 times saving 47 lives, before finally being condemned in 1918. She is now being restored and visitors can see this process at first hand. Other...

This is the only amber museum in Britain, receiving over 70,000 visitors a year. Exhibits include artifacts, carvings, jewellery and objets d’art, both antique and modern, as well as large pieces of Amber found on the English coast. The heaviest...

St Edmund’s is known as the grandest church in Suffolk. Unusually, it was designed and built quickly - between 1430 and 1490 - rather than being added to and modified haphazardly over centuries as are most churches. Outstanding features are...

Nine metres long and equipped with two 2500cc V6 engines, Southwold's Coastal Voyager offers trips ranging from short high-speed Sea Blasts around Sole Bay to peaceful cruises up the Blythe Estuary or to the seals at Scroby Sands. Trip highlights...

Run by the Southwold Film Society, this cinema offers a programme of classic films, old and new. It's named after Southwold’s first cinema, which used to stand near here in York Road. This cinema follows the design of the original,...

Before the great Southwold fire of 1659, there were buildings on gun hill. Later, probably in 1746, the six 18 pound Tudor guns seen today were put in place. The Royal Armouries apparently gave the guns to the town to...

Fans of maritime history can get their fill of it here with model ships, pictures, photographs and other nautical exhibits. Model ships include HMS Sole Bay, the Bittern, which was a beach yawl, and a large schooner. The Reading Room...

Southwold's famous greens bring light and fine views to every corner of the town. South Green is probably the best. It rolls gently down to the seafront past some of the town's most impressive period houses. The greens have been...

Southwold is probably more famous for its beach huts than for anything else. Much photographed and much sought after, these glorified sheds can cost almost as much as a full-sized house. Most of today’s colourful huts date from between the...

This traditional seaside boating lake has paddleboats and rowing boats for hire. A 1940s-style tea hut serves light lunches, cream teas, ice cream and made-to-order sandwiches, with roast beef and horseradish being a firm favourite on Sundays. Fresh flowers, Lloyd...

Southwold Harbour probably isn't quite as busy today as it was in the 11th Century when, according to the Domesday Book, it was a prosperous port. The area is very popular in the summer though, and visitors can still eat...

Southwold Lifeboat Station was built in 1993 right next to the Harbour entrance. Here, the lifeboat, Leslie Tranmer, is housed. This new Atlantic-75 lifeboat was put into service in 1998, but Southwold’s first lifeboat was launched in 1841 from Southwold’s...

Southwold Lighthouse has been guiding ships since 1890. Before that, three local lighthouses did the job, until they were threatened by coastal erosion. In 1887, building began on their replacement. Today’s lighthouse is 30.8 metres high and was originally paraffin-powered....

Market Place is enclosed by some of Southwold's oldest buildings. Among them, the Swan Hotel, which has been here since the 14th century, and “the oldest shop in town”, a butcher’s shop, which claims to have been in business for...

This Grade II listed building houses unique local and natural history collections. Exhibits trace the town's eventful past from small fishing community to fashionable seaside resort. Fossils, flints, medals, coins, paintings, photographs and costumes are all here. For nature lovers,...

Opened in 1900, Southwold Pier was built by the Coast Development Company as an embarkation point for its coastal steamers. The pier was partly destroyed on several occasions, both by the elements and also by a drifting sea mine,...

Southwold's golden sand and shingle beach is a frequent Blue Flag winner, which means it has met the highest standards for safety, cleanliness and sustainability. Besides swimming in the unpolluted sea; picnicking on the clean sand; and walking along the...

After Norfolk, Suffolk has more town signs than any other county in England. This one at Southwold represents the Battle of Sole Bay, fought just off the coast here in 1672. Southwold goes back even further though. The town's charter...

One of Southwold's many seaside greens, St James' Green used to be the home of Southwold’s Coastguard Station. The original rigged mast here was used for signalling. A two-gun battery also stood here until 1811 when it was removed. The...

This award-winning rural beach is clean, quiet and secluded. To the south is the mouth of the River Blyth, to the north, Southwold itself and to the west, The Denes. Popular with walkers, these sand dunes are a rare habitat...

By road, the seaside village of Walberswick is about 20 minutes from Southwold Harbour. By foot-ferry, the journey takes just a few. The road route has to go all the way around the Blythe Estuary, while the foot ferry, really...