A ROOM WITH A VIEW

Have you ever looked out at a beautiful view and felt noticeably better? Scientific studies have shown that a good view, especially one of nature and water, has a restorative effect on our minds, making us feel calmer and happier. Suffolk is a county full of beautiful views, but where should you stay to make sure you wake up to the best one every morning?

Lights shimmering on the water at night, the sun rising over Ipswich’s Neptune Marina, yachts and boats bobbing gently by the waterfront promenade: these are the kinds of views you can see from the Salthouse Harbour’s Sail Loft Marina rooms. If you’re feeling extravagant, why not book yourself the best view of all in the Penthouse Suite?

There’s something about a sea view that makes even the most stressed people feel more relaxed. Whether it’s the expanse of blue, a colour strongly associated with tranquility, the rare sight of the horizon or the sound of the waves crashing against the shore that you crave, The Brudenell on Aldeburgh beach has it all. Some of its sea-facing rooms even have balconies, allowing you to take in the panoramic view in all its glory while enjoying something tasty from room service.

If you like your views intricate and interesting, then Belle Grove Barns near Halesworth is the place for you. Each of the barns is exquisitely decorated in its own style, inspired by fairytales, myths and legends, India and the Far East. And in the centre of them all is the spectacle that is Dragon House: a unique, beautiful and bizarre farmhouse that offers up something new every time you look at it.

At The Great House, a hotel that just happens to house one of the best restaurants in the country, you can recline in a romantic four-poster bed, gaze up at the sloping beamed ceiling and imagine that you have slipped into a Chaucerian tale of courtly love. And the spell doesn’t break when you look out of the window, because magical Lavenham is otherwise known as England’s best-preserved medieval village.

The Maybush Inn near Woodbridge and the Butt and Oyster Inn on the Shotley Peninsula are without doubt two of the loveliest riverside pubs in Suffolk. Situated on the banks of the River Deben and the River Orwell respectively, both pubs allow you to while away the hours with a good meal and a pint of Adnams ale, watching the world drift by.

This Grade II listed country house is situated between the Wool Towns of Lavenham and Sudbury, in other words right in the heart of the glorious Suffolk countryside where Thomas Gainsborough roamed with his sketchbook, drawing the first lines of what would eventually become great landscape paintings. For a truly restorative holiday, book one of the Old Rectory’s five-star rooms and spend your days exploring this famous part of Suffolk.

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