Ipswich

Ipswich. . Welcome to Suffolk's county town, a superb starting place to explore the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)., Hop on a bus or stroll to the town centre. You can shop, visit historic alleyways and enjoy the Waterfront and marina. At some times of year you can take a cruise on the River Orwell, Ipswich has more than 600 historic listed buildings, including 12 medieval churches. Christchurch Mansion houses nationally important art collections., The Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is one of Britain's finest landscapes Located on the coast of East Anglia, it covers 155 square miles (403 square kilometres) and includes wildlife-rich wetlands, ancient heaths windswept shingle beaches and historic towns and villages., Take the train , Melton and Woodbridge stations deliver you within easy reach of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial Saxmundham, Halesworth, Woodbridge and Beccles are thriving market towns well worth exploring The larger towns of Felixstowe and Lowestoft lie just outside the AONB and can be reached by rail., What to see in the AONB , Along the coast you'll find five amazing estuaries and internationally important wetland and wood and feasting precious heathlands, home to some of Britain's rarest wildlife such as the silver-studded blue butterfly and the Dartford warbler., Beneath your feet , Ipswich sits on London Clay, in places 70 metres thick, left behind when the glaciers melted. The surface soils have also developed mainly from material moved and laid down by ice sheets during the Anglican Ice Age (about 500,000 years ago)., Links ancient and modern , Ancient 'Gipeswic' flourished, with trade links inland and to the continent. The town became internationally important the centre of an early pottery industry in and around Ipswich industry has long had a strong agricultural bias Today the Waterfront area remains a hive of activity with shops, pubs, a marina, the Dance East centre and the University Campus Suffolk.