SUFFOLK COAST

 The Suffolk coastline has plenty of sleepy, old-warm charm. Its shingle beaches, low cliffs and marshes fight a constant battle with the sea's eroding power. The 40-mile Suffolk Heritage Coast, which wanders northward from Felixstowe up to Kessingland, is one of the most unspoiled shorelines in the country. The lower part of the coast is the most impressive; however, some of the loveliest towns and villages, such as Dedham and the older part of Flatford, are inland.

OULTON BROAD *  FELIXSTOWE
LOWESTOFT * KESSINGLAND

  

The best way to experience the countryside around here is to be willing to get lost along its tiny, ancient back-roads. Try to avoid the coastal area between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth; it has little to offer but run-down beach resorts.

Sandy Lowestoft combines a mainstream seaside resort with a large, commercial fishing port. There are guided tours of the fish markets and docks in summer.

LINCOLN

 With little else of outstanding interest in Lincolnshire, you'll probably have to travel out of your way to reach the small, backwater city of Lincoln. But you'll be rewarded by one of England's most splendid cathedrals, its colossal towers soaring above the flat countryside. Historic Lincoln occupies the uphill part of the city, above and separate from the modern and commercial center. At the top of Steep Hill, on one side of the square called Castle Hill, stands the Norman castle. The other side of the square leads to the west front of the cathedral, breathtaking for its size and abundance of arcading. Though part of the facade is Norman, the bulk of the church is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture.

 

For those fancying some retail therapy, Lincoln offers a great selection of shops. The city has a mixture of high street favorites and independent boutiques. Uphill Lincoln and the Bailgate is home to several antiques shops and the quaint cobbled streets are ideal for a leisurely afternoon window shopping.

Visit Lincoln, the beautiful historic city full of heritage and culture.

NORWICH

 

City of Stories

Overlooked by most tourists, this compact city, made rich in the Middle Ages by the wool trade, has enough sightseeing to fill a long weekend, as well as interesting shopping (especially along St. Benedict's Street), excellent restaurants, and a vibrant arts scene due, in part, to the presence of the University of East Anglia. Exploration naturally starts at the Market Place, permanently covered by the striped awnings of a large, open-air market.

 THE GUILDHALL AND GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE

All around lie a host of flint-faced churches (32 medieval churches), as well as medieval streets such a cobbled Elm Hill, lined with overhanging and brightly plastered buildings. But the top sight has to be the cathedral, which features a magnificent display of over 1,000 multicolored roof bosses depicting dramatic scenes in miniature along its grand nave and around its cloisters. The large, serene cathedral close, with elegant Georgian houses, feels like a well-kept village.

ST JOHN'S CHURCH AND ST GILES STREET

Norwich has no shortage of museums. The largest, in the castle complex, excels in its enormous teapot collection and galleries of works by John Crome and John Sell Cotman, outstanding landscape artists of the well-respected Norwich School. Also enjoyable are the Bridewell Museum, a nostalgic look at Norwich's industries, and Stranger's Hall, a rambling, old merchant's house.

VisitNorwich: The City of Stories

SPALDING

Spalding is a bustling Georgian Market Town set around the picturesque River Welland and situated within the South Lincolnshire Fens, approximately 105 miles north of London. The settlement’s name is derived from an Anglian tribe, the Spaldingas, who settled in the area during the 6th century. Surrounded by dikes and streams and counting seven bridges in its town center, it has a Dutch feel, reinforced by tulip fields in Springfield Gardens and its Flower Parade in early May. The parade celebrated the region’s vast tulip production and the cultural links between the Fens and the landscape and people of South Holland. Spalding has a surplus of small but worthwhile attractions, like Britain’s tallest windmill, an authentic blacksmith’s forge and Medieval churches. It is quite a special part of Lincolnshire and most definitely worth visiting numerous times.

SPRINGFIELDS GARDENS

Received from Thomas, Northamptonshire

PETERBOROUGH

Peterborough is a rapidly-growing city based in the heart of rural east England and with a population of around 200,000, 38 miles north of Cambridge. Much of the pedestrianized city center is marred by a hideous modern shopping center, the Queensgate. This expanding town has a massive and remarkably complete Norman cathedral. The interior is powerfully simple, with a row of unadorned pillars under a superb ceiling painted with figures of saints, kings and monsters, while the glorious triple-arched Early English west front makes a successful break from the Norman cohesion. It was here that Henry VIII buried Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, after her death (by natural causes) in 1536.

 

 

Received from Thomas Goatherd

CAMBRIDGE

Cambridge is an extremely compact place. Cambridge University swamps the town. As one of the world's most famous and oldest universities, founded when students were driven out of Oxford by rioting in the early 13th century, its medieval colleges are simply superlative. 
The Backs (i.e. the backs of the colleges), where lawns reach down to the Cam River, is very picturesque and best experienced on a punt. At the front, the handsome facades of these same colleges dominate the layout of the town centre,  lining up along the main streets.

Many of the buildings are extraordinary beautiful, but the most famous is King's College, whose King's College Chapel is one of the great statements of late Gothic architecture. There are 31 university colleges in total, each an independent, self-governing body, proud of its achievements.
Nosing around the colleges' hidden courts and gardens, and searching out ancient libraries, refectories and chapels is the most pleasurable part of a visit.  

Read more:  
Cambridge City Council
University of Cambridge

Postcrossing Postcard: GB-376024