Bury St Edmunds

From Wikitravel

Jump to: navigation, search

Bury St Edmunds [1] is a historic market town in the county of Suffolk, in England. The Tourist Information Centre is on Angel Hill.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By rail

Regular train services from London Liverpool Street (2hr), Ipswich (30min), Cambridge (45min) and Peterborough (1hr). The station is on Station Hill. To get to the center walk down Northgate Street. Taxis are available sometimes.

[edit] By coach

  • National Express [2] NX497 to/from London (Stratford) and London (Victoria) (2hr 30min).
  • National Express NX350 to/from Cambridge, Peterborough, Liverpool (journey time approximately 10 hours) and some other cities and towns.

[edit] Get around

[edit] On foot

[edit] By bus

[edit][add listing] See

  • Abbey Gardens, Angel Hill. Daily dawn-dusk. Boasts wonderful flower displays and excellent lawns providing a beautiful relaxed environment to spend a sunny afternoon in summer. The gardens also contain a children's playground and a bridge from which the many ducks and geese may be fed. Don't miss the sensory garden designed for people with visual impairments and focusing on sound and scent rather than colorful flower arrangements as the rest of the gardens. Free.  edit

  • St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Angel Hill, ☎ +44 (0)1284 748720 (), [5]. Daily 8AM-6PM. Visitors are welcome to look around the Cathedral on their own. It's a lovely building and has just had a new tower added. Free.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

With the leisure centre, Cinema and bowling alley just on the edge of town there's entertainment for all the family. If you are without children, walk aroyund the historic town, visit the abbey gardens for a walk and picnic or go a little further out of town and find many well kept parks with wildlife and gorgeous long walks.

  • Cineworld Multiplex Cinema, Parkway, [6].  edit

[edit][add listing] Buy

Bury has most of the larger chains of shops such as Woolworths, Next, Dorothy Perkins, Burton etc. But a few local places include:

  • Market. W and Sa. The town fills with stalls selling coffee, fruit & veg, pictures, flowers, hardware etc. Worth a visit, but sometimes the fruit & veg can be a little over ripe. Some good bargains. edit

  • Barwells, 39 Abbeygate Street, ☎ +44 (0)1284 754084 (), [8]. Mo-Sa. An award winning food and wine shop. They sell a wide range of game, venison, meats, delicious sweet and savoury pies, wines and gourmet food products. Their Christmas pudding is second to none and popular all year round. On a Saturday there is a hot-dog stand outside the shop selling hot-dogs and steak burgers. Delicious! On Saturdays Barwell's often give out free tasters of their food and their shop keeper will pick out a dessert wine just for you to try. Apparently, he only has to look at someone to know what wine to choose. edit

  • Bury Chocolate Shop, 77a St John's Street. A small local business which sells, unsurprisingly, chocolates and other confectionery. Whether a bar of gourmet chocolate, a traditional sugar mouse or some of their fine range of selected chocolates, the Bury chocolate shop will sell you the best. edit

  • Lilyo, 77b St John's Street, ☎ (01284) 766 330 (), [10]. Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM. Another local business selling handmade modern pearl jewelery. You can buy a beautiful piece from the extensive collection in the shop or ask the owner to make a unique one to your particular taste. Prices vary depending on the complexity of the piece but overall it is very reasonable. They also sell gloves, scarves, bags, photo albums and cards. edit

[edit][add listing] Eat

In many varied restaurants from noodle bars to a quiet coffee bar.

  • Baileys 2, Whiting Street. A local coffee shop serving tasty homemade meals such as soup, pasta, a wide range of sandwiches, toasties, salads and delicious homemade cakes. Excellent coffees. The perfect spot to lunch. Generous portions and a good price. edit

  • The Grid, 34 Abbeygate Street. A friendly local restaurant serving delicious contemporary takes on traditional cuisine using local and seasonal produce. Staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful and the food is carefully prepared and delicious. There is also an extensive wine list featuring local wines as well as international favorites. The Grid is very reasonably priced, especially the lunch time and early evening fixed price menus. edit

  • Harriets Tearoom, 57 Cornhill. A great traditional afternoon tea - wide range of teas, coffees, scones, cakes, sandwiches and other food. Can be very busy, especially around lunchtime on a Saturday and occasionally service is slow, but it is worth waiting for, especially if you want to really feel like you're back in the 1940s. Occasionally they have a live pianist. edit

[edit][add listing] Drink

There are lots of bars, clubs and pubs in Bury; it certainly punches above its weight given its size. Many premises have late licences with some bars, clubs and pubs serving until 1am on weekdays and until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. Bar 3,Benson Blakes, the Hide bar, karooze, bar ambition and so-bar provide a fairly relaxed night out and are a welcome alternative to the two main nightclubs (Brazilias and Extreme) which are over-priced and tacky by comparison. The cheapest pub in and around the town centre is certainly The Grapes, which is open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

  • The Nutshell, 17 The Traverse. One of the smallest pubs in Britain, and worth a visit if you can fit in. More than five people, and it's impossible to sit down. They also sell tshirts with a woodcarving style picture of the pub on them. A friendly and welcoming pub - step inside and feel like a regular. edit

  • The Dog and Partridge. Recently having shaken off it's reputation for underage drinkers, provides a warm, comfortable environment. edit

  • The Grapes. One of the best pubs in Bury with great people and bands providing a lively, if sometimes accentric, atmosphere. The vibe is fantastic though. edit

  • The King's Arms. A dive which has Strongbow at £2.85, so is perhaps only worth the one visit. edit

[edit] Stay Safe

Bury is one of the safest towns in the country and you are unlikely to be a victim of crime; however as with anywhere don't allow yourself to become too complacent.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

If its quality you are after then try one of the many highly rated hotels, if a more local feel is wanted then try some fo the local B&B's.

[edit] Get out

  • Cambridge - a university city.
  • Lavenham - one of the finest examples of a medieval wool town.
This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!

Retrieved from "http://wikitravel.org/en/Bury_St_Edmunds"