A family staycation in Suffolk

This summer we based our family break around a friend’s wedding in Suffolk and had a ball. So, I am very much with the Guardian’s Hadley Freeman in offering some travel advice to families during this holiday period: “stay at home”. A ‘staycation’ in the UK has much to offer. Freeman also offers sage advice in the form of a checklist for holiday planning which I would have been grateful for when I booked our holiday rental. Her checklist for holiday planning implores: check, is the house near a building site? If you thought those sorts of things only happen abroad: wrong!

Luckily for us, the build was largely on-hold and in fact there was a hidden benefit too: when we locked ourselves out of the house the builder’s ladder helped us creep back in, our deposit intact. But I urge you now: save yourself the drama and book Milden Hall and Tudor barn. Or, if you fancy staying nearer the coast, try Hinton, Walbersick or Southwold campsites.

Top tips: Activities

Children visiting RSPB Minsmere being shown how to ring a Green Woodpecker © Alison Thompson, 2010Family-friendly activities abound within the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The internationally renowned RSPB nature reserve at Minsmere is helping to foster habitats for threatened populations of avocet, marsh harrier and bittern.

Every Thursday in summer family fun days are laid on. The day we visited we were treated to a lesson in bird ringing.

My family walking the board walk at Westwood Marshes © Alison Thompson, 2010.From Minsmere, you can take the coastal footpath a short distance to Dunwich Heath National Trust site.

From Dunwich, stroll the Suffolk Coast Path to Natural England's Walberwick National Nature Reserve. We were fortunate to hear the 'pinging' call of bearded tits as we walked the board walk into Westwood Marshes, one of the largest reedbeds in Britain.

Later, we happened on children enjoying some crabbing, the sight was not lost on us when we subsequently learnt Walberswick is home to the British Open Crabbing Championships now in its 30th year!

Photo: Here are possible contenders for next year’s crabbing championship at Waberswick © Alison Thompson, 2010.

If the beach beckons, Southwold, home of the Latitude Festival, offers picture-perfect sand for the little ones to enjoy. When hunger strikes there are brilliant delis in town with local fayre but for weary parents, the recommended final stop? Adnams Brewery’s Café! The café is an environmentalist’s dream. Think living sedum roof, rainwater recycling system and seating snugs made from salvaged local materials. And lest us forget the Broadside Real Ale!

Travel

Londoners can board with their bike at Liverpool Street and take the 3 hour National Express East Anglia service towards Lowestoft. Please note there is a limit of 4 cycles on rural services so to reserve a free place call 0845 600 7245. Local conservation organisations have collaborated to offer Coast Link, an excellent demand-responsive bus to a host of natural attractions listed here. For bookings: 01728 833526. Further local public transport information is available here including places to hire bikes.