Get Swept Away on the English Coast

TRAVELERS IN SEARCH of England's classic seaside towns often head to Devon and Cornwall, southwest of London.

- Kate Maxwell

But the popularity of those counties-particularly since more Brits snapped up second homes there during COVID-means bumper-to-bumper traffic in summer and restaurants booked out weeks in advance. Many are now turning their attention to Suffolk, about two hours northeast of the capital, for its quiet beaches, meandering river walks, and elevated pubs and restaurants. Here's how I spent a long weekend there recently.

FRIDAY

For a wild stretch of golden sand framed by crumbling cliffs, rather than the more popular Southwold Beach, I went to Covehithe, on the north coast of Suffolk. When I arrived mid-morning, it was nearly empty, except for a few families building sandcastles. I lingered for a while, watching a glossy black ibis tiptoeing toward the ocean, then drove to Walberswick, a seaside village on the river Blyth. After a lunch of crab linguine and an Adnams IPA at the Anchor (entrées $17-$24), a pub with 10 guest rooms, I headed down the road to Thorington Theatre, a wooden amphitheater built inside a World War II bomb crater. Its popular summer calendar includes child-friendly Shakespeare and comedy acts.

From there, it was a short drive to Wilderness Reserve (doubles from $544), an 8,000-acre estate with 27 individual lodgings, including cottages with one to six bedrooms and two sprawling manors, one with 13 bedrooms and one with 17. My one-bedroom thatched-roof cottage had its own swimming lake and hot tub, plus a sauna and a steam room. The sitting area had a dramatic brick chimney that corkscrewed from floor to ceiling. It was a chilly evening, so I ate my fish pie-freshly made and delivered to my door-in front of a crackling fire.

SATURDAY