market days when lots of colourful stalls fill the Buttermarket. The Market Cross building in the Cornhill originally had an open marketplace below. Now it houses shops and a tearoom, with a vibrant art gallery above.
DON’T MISS • A back stage tour of the Theatre Royal • A visit to the Suffolk Regiment Museum. IP33 3RN • A visit to Wyken Vineyard IP31 2DW
GET YOUR BEARINGS Bury (as it is known locally) is a great place to explore by foot, with surprises around every corner. Among other gems, it can boast one of the oldest working theatres in the country and the smallest pub. Once you’ve fully explored the town centre, visit one of several attractions worth a detour from Bury, the pick of which are: Ickworth House, a neoclassical building set in parkland, Wyken Estate, Pakenham Mill, and the recreated Anglo Saxon village at West Stow.
THINGS TO DO AND SEE The shopping is good, as Bury offers a broad mix of well-known high street names and smaller independents. Wednesdays and Saturdays are
There are plenty of restaurants, pubs, hotels, wine and coffee bars dotted in and around the town centre where you can find refreshment and take the weight off your feet. Squeeze into the nearby Nutshell if you want to say you have visited the pub that the Guinness Book of Records lists as the smallest in Britain. Some of the region’s bestknown and best-loved ales are brewed in Bury and beer lovers will want to make a beeline for the Greene King Brewery Visitor Centre. Those searching for cultural highlights should check out the wonderful Theatre Royal, one of the few surviving Georgian playhouses in England. It reopened in 2007 after undergoing extensive development and renovation. Moyse’s Hall is also among the most ancient of the region’s town houses, first serving the local community as a tavern, then a ‘gaol’ and finally as the museum that it is today. The Bury St Edmunds Festival always offers a rich and varied feast of cultural activity and takes place in May
ON TRAIN HOME NOW AND SAD AS SUFFOLK SLIPS AWAY BEHIND ME. THERE IS NO LOVELIER COUNTY. @ANTHONYHOROWITZ So while you’re here, find a wealth of places to go and things to do visitsuffolk.com
74 the best of SUFFOLK
• Whitsun Fayre 25 – 26 May
SHOWS, FESTIVALS AND EVENTS 25 – 26 MAY Whitsun Fayre 16 – 25 MAY Bury St Edmunds Festival 24 – 25 AUGUST Food and Drink Festival 27 – 30 NOVEMBER Christmas Fayre
HOTSPOT The Angel Hotel IP33 1LT The Dog and Partridge IP33 1QU