Woodbridge and the Area
Woodbridge is a delightful market town beside the River Deben in South Suffolk. It has an atmospheric quayside and a rich history of boat building (that’s why you’ll see a Windermere Skiff suspended above the bar at The Crown). It is also home to the Grade I listed white washed Tide Mill – one of the oldest of its type in the country, records dating it back to 1170.
The Deben rises in the Suffolk village of Debenham and passes through on the way to the North Sea at Felixstowe. It’s home to many yacht clubs and provides the perfect setting for enjoying the countryside and working up an appetite, whether hearty river walks or energetic days out boating.
Just a short trip across the River Deben is Sutton Hoo, where two Anglo-Saxon burial sites full of treasures and artefacts were discovered in the first half of the twentieth century. Sutton Hoo remains an important archaeological site for historians and its interactive exhibits make it a popular tourist destination.
Back in the town centre, Woodbridge’s main high street, The Thoroughfare with its lovely blend of the traditional and the contemporary has all the café culture and retail scene of an affluent and thriving town (well, more like a village atmosphere with attitude). Shopping is definitely a draw; besides the famed annual Christmas Fair, the wonderful bi-weekly farmers market was one of three East of England finalists in Country Life magazine's The Nation's Favourite Farmers Market contest in 2008. At the southern end of the bustling Thoroughfare, The Crown makes a relaxing retreat after a day of sightseeing or retail therapy.