Two kings dominate the story of the western side of Suffolk – Edmund and Charles II – and tours are the best way to learn more.
The Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds, in full flower.
A walking tour of Bury St Edmunds will take in all the main sights, and you’ll discover the story of the Anglo Saxon king for whom the town was named. St Edmund, the first patron saint of England, was martyred by Danish invaders and a great monastery was built around a shrine to him which for centuries was a point of pilgrimage for everyone from peasants to kings. The impressive abbey ruins and their adjoining gardens are what remains.
Nearby is St Edmundsbury Cathedral, the only cathedral in Suffolk, and The Angel Hotel, a Georgian coaching inn frequented by Charles Dickens when he spoke at the Athenaeum and the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, now run by the National Trust and the only surviving Regency-era playhouse in Britain. You can take a tour.
Farmers’ market, Bury St Edmunds – Suffolk’s foodie town.
Your tour might also include Moyse’s Hall museum, the Neoclassical Corn Exchange and the medieval Guildhall in which you can discover the only surviving Second World War Royal Observer Corps Operations Room in the country.
Bury St Edmunds is gaining a reputation for being Suffolk’s foodie town, with a burgeoning restaurant scene, many cafes and delis, a twice-weekly market and brewery tours at Greene King in the town centre. And that’s not to forget an enviable selection of boutique shops, independents and art galleries.
Official Tourism Site For Bury St Edmunds and Beyond