Come Hungry for your fresh air fix

Right on your doorstep in the East of England, you can find your own path in Suffolk and Norfolk with trails, beaches, nature, waterways, views and spaces to explore and discover. This is the place to get your fresh air fix and rejuvenate yourselves.

Escape to Suffolk and Norfolk for unexplored natural landscapes and wildlife.

If you live in a conurbation, big city or town, then you probably can’t wait to escape the fumes and head out into the great big outdoors, discover unspoilt green spaces and stunning coast. If so, then the East of England is the place for you.

Here are some of our favourites to walk and cycle, all accessible from the nearby railway station, and we've got recommendations for where to stay.

Norfolk Coast National Landscape

Walks on the Norfolk coast  are on the most exhilarating things to in the East of England, where you can be on soaring cliffs, by tidal saltmarshes and on beaches by seal colonies.

Norfolk coast’s protected status provides long-term care for this incredibly diverse landscape. The coastline includes tidal creeks and salt marshes, from which we get amazing oysters and mussels, shingle and sandy beaches, marram-tufted dunes and soaring cliffs. Highlights include Blakeney Point, a longshore drift spit that is home to the country’s largest seal colony from Autumn to the New Year when pupping takes place.

Quiet country lanes take you through chalk stream valleys, woodlands, heathland and you’re never too far from a characterful country pub or quaint village to take a breather. Head to Roman Camp and you’ll be at the highest point in East Anglia with a sea view.

The area has a number of nationally renowned nature reserves, not least Cley Marshes, named by Sir David Attenborough as ‘one of the great places in Britain to see wildlife’ and RSPB Titchwell.

A great way to enjoy the Norfolk coast is to walk and use the excellent Coasthopper bus service to return to your accommodation.

Nearest railway stations: Sheringham and Cromer, plus buses to the coast from King's Lynn

Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Landscape

155 square miles of tranquil coastal and countryside low-lying landscape includes ancient heathland, woodland, crumbling cliffs, shingle and sand beaches and stunning estuaries, all rich in wildlife.

Use coastal towns Lowestoft, Felixstowe, Southwold, Aldeburgh or inland Woodbridge on the River Deben as your base and then head out to explore. Visit Woodbridge Tide Mill or take a boat trip.

Highlights include the Alde estuary at Snape Maltings, Orford with its Norman Castle and National Nature Reserve, RSPB Minsmere, home for many years to BBC’s Springwatch and National Trust Sutton Hoo, home of the Anglo Saxon boat burial site of King Raedwald.

Supported by Sir David Attenborough, Carlton Marshes, on the River Waveney in Suffolk close to Oulton Broad, is becoming one of the largest wetland nature reserves in the country under a plan by Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Nearest railway stations: Woodbridge, Darsham, Halesworth, Saxmundham, Lowestoft, Oulton Broad

The Broads National Park

The country’s latest National Park and uniquely the only one that is largely man-made, the result of medieval peat diggings, the Broads are 125 miles of navigable, lock-free waterways that are home to a huge range of wildlife. Will you get to see the elusive bittern?

Cycling and walking are good options here, but the best way to see the Broads is by boat – they can be hired for the day or longer at many riverside towns and villages, not least Wroxham, Beccles and Potter Heigham.

The Broads is also the only National Park in England with a city in it, Norwich.

To learn more about the National Park, visit the Museum of the Broads.

Hire day boats and canoes, take boat trips, learn to sail with Nancy Oldfield Trust, Three Rivers, Hippersons, Barnes Brinkcraft, Canoe Man, Sutton Staithe Boatyard, Paddle Adventure, Martham Ferry.

For sailing: Eastwood Whelpton, Oliver's Sailing Holidays, Wherry Yacht Charter.

Nearest railway station: Hoveton & Wroxham, Norwich, Salhouse

Places to stay: Norfolk Mead, Hall Farm Cottages, Hippersons Houseboats and Luxury Pods, Barnes Brinkcraft, Waveney River Centre.

Dedham Vale National Landscape

Made famous by landscape painter John Constable, Dedham Vale on the Essex-Suffolk border is traditional English lowland landscape, with rolling farmland, grasslands, hedgerows, meadows, woodlands and a rich variety of wildlife.

Essentially still a farming area, Dedham Vale is punctuated by charming villages and has the picturesque River Stour running through it to its estuary end at Harwich.

A highlight is the National Trust-run Flatford Mill, an 18th century Grade 1 listed mill with lovely views, made famous in some of John Constable’s most notable paintings like The Hay Wain.

This is a great base from which to strike out on the new Suffolk Wine Trail.

Nearest railway station: Manningtree

Places to stay: Talbooth House and Spa, Milsoms, The Crown in Stoke by Nayland, Gladwins Farm

Thetford Forest and Brecks

Thetford Forest, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, is the largest lowland pine forest in the country and has the best overall climate. The forest was only created in 1922, with thousands of Scots and Corsican Pines providing commercial fast-growing softwood for the Forestry Commission.

Before that, this area was just pebbles and sand – Charles Dickens wrote in David Copperfield that it was ‘barren’. Very different now, the forest is ideal for walking, orienteering, cycling and there are many bridle paths. Take a picnic and see if you can spot wild deer.

Thetford Forest is within the Brecks, an historic landscape of heaths that were formed thousands of years ago by the felling and burning of forests for grazing land.

Highlights are Grimes Graves, a Neolithic flint mine you can descend, moated Oxburgh Hall with its priest hole and secret doors, enjoy aerial adventure at Go Ape, and you can head out on the 8-mile Pingo Trail, circular lakes created in the last Ice Age.

Nearest railway stations: Thetford, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket

Places to stay: Bedford Lodge, The Angel, Guinness Arms, College Farm, Elveden Inn, Aqua Sana.

The Wash National Nature Reserve

One of Britain’s most untamed wild spots, The Wash estuary is home to myriad wildlife. It is estimated the sheltered bay is home to around 400,000 birds at any time, with around 2 million birds a year using the location for feeding and roosting during their annual migrations.

The bay is made up of saline lagoons, deep trenches, salt marsh and a vast expanse of shallow mudflats and sandbanks.

With its remote habitats and tidal flows that are perfect for shellfish to breed, this is a perfect location for wading birdlife, especially oystercatchers and common tern.

In late Autumn and Winter, huge flocks of pink-footed geese, dark-bellied brent geese and shelduck create a spectacular sight at dawn as they take off to feed inland. The best place to see this is at RSPB Snettisham, where you can also experience incredible murmurations on the foreshore.

Explore the area for Royal links such as Sandringham and visit historic King's Lynn port.

Nearest railway station: King’s Lynn

Places to stay: Near King's Lynn there's Congham Hall and Knights Hill. Closer to Hunstanton there's Heacham Manor, The Golden Lion, Le Strange Hotel, Caley Hall and The Lodge Hotel.

Orwell River and Shotley Peninsula

This is a stunning landscape next to Suffolk’s county town of Ipswich and can be enjoyed from river cruises out of Ipswich waterfront, by car or cycle.

The River Orwell is a beautiful deep-water river that meanders towards the port of Felixstowe and then out into the North Sea and it hasn’t changed much since the days when the Romans invaded. In fact, there’s the remains of a Roman fort at Walton near Trimley St Martin, an outreach of the large Roman garrison at Colchester, raised by Queen Boudicca.

Highlights include the Butt & Oyster pub at Pin Mill, the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, Suffolk Food Hall, and 16th century Freston Tower but the undeniable highlight is the magnificent Orwell Bridge, the longest pre-stressed concrete span when it was completed in 1982. The bridge is made of concrete box girders that allow for movement. Take a harbour boat trip at Harwich.

Nearest railway stations: Ipswich and Manningtree

Places to stay: In Ipswich, go for Salthouse Harbour Hotel by the waterfront or Milsoms Kesgrave Hall in the nearby countryside. If you want traditional seaside try The Fludyers at Felixstowe or The Pier at Harwich.