East of England

Kings Chapel College, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Click on the image for larger version

The East of England region is based around the ancient kingdom of East Anglia and is within easy reach from London, with two major airports (London Luton and London Stansted) and the port of Harwich.

There are so many places to go and things to see in the East of England you'll find it hard to fit it all in! Each of the region's counties has its very own unique character and all of them have a wealth of places to explore and treasures to discover. Step into the East of England and you step into a subtly different world. Senses are somehow heightened beneath the great wide skies that arch above the area due to its flat landscape.

It's England as you like it - the perfect mix of soft and gentle countryside, ancient cities, stately homes and gardens, charming towns, storybook villages, bird-reserved beaches and old-fashioned seaside fun. And all with that special additive - so very unique to the East of England - a very quirky individuality. In Stilton, Cambridgeshire, they roll cheeses down the street. At Grimston, Norfolk, they race snails on the cricket pitch for prizes. And at Great Dunmow, Essex, they have a mock trial, complete with a bewigged judge, to find a couple who 'haven't had a brawl for the last 12 months and a day'. Delightfully different!

Ickworth House, Suffolk Click on the image for larger version

There are ghosts galore throughout the region. At Blickling Hall, Norfolk, it's not just the horseman that is headless - but the horses, too, along with poor Ann Boleyn who sits with her head on her lap. On the Norfolk Broads there's a phantom skater and a ghost wherry. And at Dunwich, Suffolk, now lost beneath the waves, you can listen for the church bells of a huge and prosperous town.

Follies are a favourite in the eccentric East. You'll find all shapes and sizes from the giant rotunda of 18th century Ickworth House to the House in the Clouds on the Suffolk Coast - a former water tower converted into a unique holiday home. And then there are those other oddities - like the huge Tudor Dovecote at Willington in Bedfordshire, where there are also remains of a Viking harbour down by the river. And to get really confused - try and puzzle out the ancient earth maze at Saffron Walden, Essex. Or how they built the Mathematical Bridge in Cambridge without any nails.