Weekend In…The Shotley Peninsula

Immortalised in fiction for its timeless riverside pleasures, the Shotley Peninsula is resplendent in its natural beauty and bursting with first-class produce.

- Jessica Johnson

If you’re driving north over the Orwell Bridge in Suffolk, chances are you’re headed for the coastal gems of Southwold or Aldeburgh. Next time, take a simple diversion and begin a new adventure by exploring the lush countryside that stretches below – it will surprise and delight. Start your morning with coffee from the Suffolk Food Hall, nestled beneath the bridge’s arches, and soak up a vista of ancient river land in front of you, dotted with native Poll cattle the colour of conkers.

The Shotley Peninsula might well be one of the best weekend getaway destinations you’ve never heard of. With Ipswich at its peak, the peninsula is bounded by the Rivers Orwell and Stour and from its tip at Shotley Gate, views drink in the thriving ports of Felixstowe and Harwich. Water, water everywhere makes for much mucking about on rivers, best summed up by Arthur Ransome, who penned part of his Swallows and Amazons series of children’s books here in the 1930s. This year is the 50th anniversary of his death and the 80th since he wrote We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea; a tale of life in and around the marshy waterways as seen through the eyes of four adventure-hungry children who find themselves in a spot of trouble on the water…

Parts of Ransome’s peninsula fall under an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are practically untouched almost a century on. Boaty adventures abound, from gentle barge trips to full-on sailing courses. Mix in arts and crafts, guided walks and some fine ales and artisan produce and you’ve got a getaway pleasingly free from the madding crowds.

FRIDAY PM

6 PM HIDDEN RETREAT