ALDEBURGH

Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk Heritage coast, has a particular charm that has attracted visitors from all over the world. Some have stayed, adding their own stories to the long history of the town. The composer Benjamin Britten settled here, his opera Peter Grimes was inspired by local poet George Crabbe and the town itself. The annual Aldeburgh Festival at nearby Snape Maltings was developed by Britten, the site being transformed from disused malthouses into a concert venue of international acclaim that now hosts a year-round programme of musical events.

Fishing and boat building are the foundations of the town and both trades still thrive. The sailing boats dotted along the river at one end of the town, the fishing huts, sheds and working boats scattered about the beach at the other all carry on as they have throughout the years and provide endless subject matter for painter and photographer alike.

Take a walk along the unspoilt sea front, little changed since Victorian times, its uneven row of individual houses each seeming to have a character of their own. The wide atmospheric East Anglian sky, the shelved shingle beach, the rugged North sea, the wildness of the marshes and the stillness of the wide, winding river Alde, separated from the sea by a single path and some fortuitously placed shingle.

Why not visit on carnival day when the whole town works together to provide a variety of entertaining events, the highlight being an exciting procession of decorated floats and characters. The evening lantern procession, everyone joining in, makes its way slowly to the beach for the firework display - the finale of the day's entertainment.

Visit the High street with its mix of traditional shops and galleries, a fish and chip shop of some fame and a small but perfectly formed cinema showing blockbuster films as well as those for the more discerning palate.

For a meal out, why not try one of the restaurants in the town? All serve excellent food and are reasonably priced.

What a choice of things to see and do. We can be found just along the East coast from Woodbridge, on the A12, less than 100 miles from London. Rail services run from Liverpool Street to Saxmundham, approx 6 miles from Aldeburgh.