Haw Wood Caravan Park

Whatever your preference, you’ll find it on the doorstep of Haw Wood Caravan Park or within half an hour’s drive, whether it’s walking through the forest, strolling on the beach, visiting a historical building or sampling – yet again – a local Adnams ale or home-cooked pub meal. The Adnams brewery with regular tours is at Southwold fifteen minutes away: it would be rude, after all, not to sample the local produce. Outdoors, the wildlife to see in this area is first-class: wild deer in the local fields, a string of Dartmoor ponies in Dunwich Forest and the must-do birdwatching at the RSPB reserve at Minsmere ten minutes’ drive from Haw Wood, where there are also guided walks, safaris and nature trails for walking and cycling through woodland, heathland and reed beds (bike hire is available near the campsite if you’re not bringing your own). The Suffolk Wildlife Trust has dozens of wildlife areas along the coast and inland, including several near Southwold, Aldeburgh and Framlingham. It also co-manages the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve between Walberswick and Southwold, where there are over 500 species of butterfly and moth fluttering about the marshes and meadows. After sampling the Adnams, stroll around the seaside town of Southwold to see its beach huts, award-winning pier and thriving harbour. Head towards the fish and chip shop on the High Street to see the blue plaque as a homage to George Orwell whose parents’ house was in the town. Also within fifteen minutes is Dunwich, now a tiny village but once a populous port city with a population half the size of London before most of it was lost to the sea; the free museum telling the tale of the town is open from March to October. Fourteenth century Leiston Abbey and twelfth century Framlingham Castle are 15 to 20 minutes away, and one of the best historical highlights in the country – Anglo-Saxon burial centre Sutton Hoo – is within half an hour. We’d also recommend just getting into the car, switching off the satnav and seeing where you end up: there are plenty of pretty villages within easy reach, or go further afield to the Norfolk coast and Great Yarmouth, and shopping in Norwich and Ipswich. This area is one of the clearest in the UK for stargazing too; there’s an observatory at Seething twenty minutes away.