Sutton Hoo and Woodbridge May 2012

We combined a visit to the famous museum of the ship burials at Sutton Hoo with a stop at the old riverside town of Woodbridge.

We went first to Woodbridge, a beautiful market town and one of the jewels of the East Suffolk coastal area. The town sits on the picturesque River Deben estuary.

It has many historic buildings along with a wide range of shops, restaurants and other businesses.

The information centre is near the railway station  and provided a map and brochure. The small harbour is separated from the town by the railway. It holds a variety of boats and gives a stunning view of the river.

Woodbridge Tide Mill has recently been restored to full working order, grinding corn again – only the second such mill in the country to do so.

The town rises up from the river towards the market place which holds the Suffolk Punch horse museum in the Shire Hall. The Woodbridge museum is housed in one of the houses on Market Hill.

St Mary’s church is situated behind the houses in the market place and has a beautiful and peaceful setting. It is one of the great English churches with one of the best 15^th century fonts. The tower is one of Suffolk’s biggest, bold and dramatic, particularly when seen from the quayside. The church is recorded in the Domesday book. The present building dates from the beginning of the fifteenth century.

There was plenty of time to explore the town and take tea and cake in one of the charming tearooms before we rejoined our coach for Sutton Hoo which is just on the other side of the river.

After lunch in the cafe a visit to the exhibition hall showed the story of Sutton Hoo through a mixture of original and high quality replica objects. There is a full size reconstructed burial chamber with all the king’s treasures laid out around him. Visitors can dress up as an Anglo-Saxon and wear a replica of the famous helmet.

A guided walk to the burial ground shows the burial mounds where it is thought Raedwald, King of East Anglia was buried in his ship.

Tranmer House is open to the public and is furnished as it was pre-war when Mrs Pretty lived there and organised the excavation.

So many things to see and never enough time.