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Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk. It's former reputation of being a depressing, crime-ridden industrial backwater is slowly disappearing with new developments such as the Waterfront entertainment district, the University Campus Suffolk and new shopping developments are under construction.

[edit] Understand

Ipswich was one of the most prosperous cities in the UK since Saxon times. During it's heyday it was a major trading port, being located on the estuary of the Orwell River on the East Coast. Ipswich fell into rapid decline after the opening of the new ports at Felixstowe and Harwich and stayed that way until the 1970s when much of London's financial services industry used Ipswich as a hub for their secondary offices with names such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Willis & Faber, Norwich Union and AXA opening shiny new skyscrapers in a new CBD development just north of the river. Most recently, the brand new University Campus Soffolk brought on rapid development along the waterfront area with lots of trendy new bars, restaurants and apartments lining the east bank of the river.

Anyone expecting a typical, small provincial town will get a little culture shock when stepping out of the train station as 1960s tower blocks, Saxon half-timber cottages, Victorian townhouses and shiny new high-rise developments sit side-by-side.

[edit] Get in

By Air Ipswich has good connections to both London Stansted and Norwich International airports. From Stansted, there is an express bus service (X5) which runs between Ipswich Old Cattle Market Bus Station and Stansted Airport Coach Station every 2 hours, 24 hours a day; taking approx. 90 minutes. Expect to pay around GBP75 for a prebooked minicab and over GBP100 for a metered taxi.

Norwich Airport can be reached in approx. 1-1.5 hours. From the airport, take a local bus or a taxi to Norwich Railway Station and from there it's about 40 minutes by train to Ipswich. A taxi will be about GBP50-60.

By Train Ipswich Station is located on the West Bank of the Orwell River on the intersection between Princes St, Burrell Rd and Ranelagh Rd, about 1 mile from the town centre. There are frequent (every 20 min) services towards London Liverpool Street (1hr20min), Norwich (every 30 mins - 40min journey time), Cambridge (every hour - 1hr15min journey time), as well as infrequent services to Lowestoft and Peterborough, and an hourly railbus shuttle to Felixstowe. Tickets must be purchased from the vending machines (credit cards accepted) or the customer service windows in the entrance hall of the station. Taxis and local buses depart from the station's forecourt.

There is also a smaller station called Derby Rd. Ipswich, located on Derby Rd in the eastern suburb of Rose Hill. It is unstaffed and has an hourly service between Ipswich and Felixstowe. It's not recommended to take a train from here at night as there are no staff and very little lighting or CCTV.

By Bus and Coach Old Cattle Market bus station on Falcon Street serves all regional and long-distance bus services. Frequent regional buses run to Stowmarket, Sudbury, Woodbridge, Felixstowe, Colchester, Framlingham etc, while National Express services run to London (3 times per day), Liverpool (1 per day), and Stansted Airport (every 2 hours). Rural bus and minibus services run to surrounding villages, although some are very infrequent. There is no ticket office at the station, so tickets should be bought on board (change is usually available but drivers will be reluctant to change large bills), except for National Express services, which must be prebooked by phone or over the internet. Electronic signboards display the next 20 or so departures and which gate they will depart from. Schedules are displayed at each departure gate.

By Car Ipswich is conveniently located on the intersections of the A12 (London - Great Yarmouth) and A14 (Felixstowe - Birmingham) highways with several exits along both routes. Driving into the city can be slow as traffic congestion is heavy, and the local drivers have a tendancy to be more aggressive than in other similar-sized towns. Also, a very confusing one-way system runs around the edge of the city centre, feeding drivers into the rabbit-warren of small streets. Maps and sat-navs are a bit useless once you're past the inner ring-road so allow plenty of time. Parking is very limited and expensive (in an underground or multi-storey city centre car park expect to pay about GBP9.00 for 3 hours) although some parking areas close to the inner ring-road will charge around GBP2.50 for one day, although they are not as secure. Alternatively, Park & Ride bus services run from 3 parking sites on the edge of the city close to the A14, costing GBP2.80 per day including free bus travel to the city centre. Look out for the blue Park & Ride signs (displaying a letter 'P' alongside a bus) when approaching Ipswich on the highway.

[edit] Get around

By Bus Ipswich's green and white local buses run from the Tower Ramparts Bus Station (often still referred to as Electric House by locals) runs frequent services to most suburbs as well as major out-of-town retail centres from about 5:30am to 11:30pm. Services are reknowned for being unreliable and reckless driving is the norm, so if you're standing hold on tight! It's considered to be one of the most user-unfriendly bus systems in the UK as schedules are very confusing to understand, many drivers are migrant workers from other countries and speak limited English, the drivers that do speak English are rude and unhelpful, and the idiosyncratic payment system will almost always cause problems. There are two zones - separated by the inner ring-road. Fares within the inner zone are GBP1.10 and to the outer zone are GBP1.70. The fare collection machines (next to the front door) only accept coins and do not give change, although if you pay too much you'll be issued with a credit voucher that can be refunded at the bus information centre in Tower Ramparts bus station or can be used as part-payment of the next bus journey. If you're staying in Ipswich for a while, it's worth buying a 10-journey ticket for GBP11.00 or a prepay smart-card. Weekly and Monthly passes as well as the above can be purchased at the bus information centre.

[edit][add listing] See

• Christchurch Mansion and Park.

• The Ancient House on Buttermarket. Now a branch of the Lakelands chain of stores, its pargetting is definitely worth the walk.

• Also, for architecture enthusiasts, the Willis Building. The first commercial construction by Norman, now Lord Foster, this building has won numerous awards and was in 1991 made into a Grade I listed building - the youngest building ever to receive such a status.

Note however that the building is in commercial use and so is not as such open to the public.

• A walk by the docks can be of interest, especially as most of the old former grain store buildings on the dockside are being demolished.

• The Ipswich Museum. Now merged with the Colchester Museum, first opened in 1847 and though small compared to any of the London museums, entrance is free and there are some interesting exhibits (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipswich_Museum)

[edit][add listing] Do

• Ipswich is home to Ipswich Town Football Club, a team currently residing in the second league of UK football ("The Championship") and its ground, Portman Road, is close to the centre of Ipswich. The ground has been extended to seat 30,000 people, and if you visit Ipswich and are yourself, or with someone, keen on football, it's worth a visit - a friendly ground, with large amounts of family spectators.

• Ipswich has two cinemas, Cineworld and Corn Exchange arts cinema, plus the Regent Theatre, which in 2006 has featured appearances from, amongst others, Jethro Tull, Craig David and the Buena Vista Social Club.

[edit][add listing] Buy

Tower Rampart shopping centre, the Buttermarket shopping centre and the high street. Mainly the same chains as in any UK town, but the amount of immigrant labour coming into the area has brought with it Portuguese and Polish shops.

[edit][add listing] Eat

St Nicholas Street in Ipswich has several restaurants. You can eat Greek, Italian, French, Thai, Chinese and Indian food in Ipswich. Besides the large number of restaurants you may also want to opt for a takeaway in Ipswich. For those on a budget it's an attractive way to try some of the food Ipswich has to offer. Typical meals range from £8-£16 for a meal for two.

• Loch Fyne at Mortimers on the Quay, [1]. Average, overpriced, seafood restaurant that has very very few vegetarian options (most parties have someone that needs to be catered for).

• Il Punto's, on the dockside, [2]. Despite its name, a good French restaurant on a boat permanently moored on the Quay. Probably the best restaurant in town, though a bit expensive.

• Trongs, Tel: +44 (0) 1473 256833. Ipswich's best Chinese restaurant (though the proprietor is Vietnamese); the main problem is booking is required at least a week in advance if you wish to dine on a Friday or Saturday evening.

• My Keralam, Tel: +44 (0) 1473 288599. Ipswich's only real Indian (South Indian) restaurant (there are other Bangladeshi restaurants in town). Superb food, a bit of a small restaurant and the lighting could be better. Good vegetarian, fish and a few meat dishes. Very efficient service, reasonable prices. Diagonally opposite the Regent Theater.

• Vanilla Pod, Tacket St. Steaks, French/British dishes and a few other bits and bobs from other parts of the world thrown in. Would-be trendy interior. Good value set lunch/dinner menu. Friendly service.

[edit][add listing] Drink

• Great White Horse Hotel in the pedestrianised area of Ipswich. A good place for a drink in the day, with lots of sofas to recline in, without having a TV blaring at you from the corner of the room. This venue is currently for sale and, as a result, the facilities are closed (confirmed as at 17 August 2007).

• The Greyhound. About ten minute's walk from the town centre, is a pub serving a good range of food and again is TV-free.

• Fat Cat, Spring Road. About 15 minutes walk from the centre, is worth a visit. Formerly Suffolk Pub of the Year, again it's TV-free, but more importantly has a range of around 20 beers on draught at any one time - a beer drinker's paradise. There is an excellent beer garden and the pub has an arrangement with local take-away restaurants who will deliver food + plates and collect these from the pub direct.

• The Milestone, Which offers a wide range of beers and live music of the traditional R & B type - i.e. played by middle-aged men who have real jobs in the day. The Railway is probably the best "live music" pub in Ipswich, featuring "indie" style bands on Thursdays, and mostly cover bands at the weekend. Mostly free admission.

• The Dove, St. Helen's Street and nearer to the centre of Ipswich, was voted Suffolk Pub of the Year and East Anglian Pub of the Year 2006 by CAMRA.

[edit] Clubs

• Liquid is a haven for the barely-legal drinker - avoid if you're over 25.
• Fire and Ice is a favorite, playing old school as well as more recent dance music, as well as a popular indie/alternative night on Mondays with cheap cover fee and even cheaper drinks.
• Pals is full of the office worker crowd, lots of handbag dancing and really poor music. Reports of the sight of a male bouncer dragging a female patron out and being far too physical with her.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

• Swallow Belstead Brook Hotel, ☎ 01473 684241 (res.belstead@crerarmgmt.com), [3]. Situated in 9 acres of gardens and offering heated pool, gym & therapeutic spa as well as restaurant facilities.  edit

• Salthouse Harbour hotel on the Ipswich docks has been highly recommended as an up market alternative to the many Novotel / Holiday Inns available in the town.

• Lattice Lodge, Woodbridge Road. Top rated at Tripadvisor. A great B & B, very comfortable accommodation, also features free wireless broadband. Tel +44(0)1473 712474, email=info@latticelodge.co.uk url=http://www.latticelodge.co.uk Online booking available.

[edit] Get out

Ipswich sits in a beautiful area of East Anglia - "Constable Country". In fact, the setting of Constable's most famous painting, "The Haywain", is only a few miles down the A12 road (heading towards London) in nearby Flatford - click here to see how the site looks today. There is a National Trust centre in Flatford that is worth a visit, if only for the good home-made cakes on sale. Dedham nearby is worth driving onto.

About the same distance - i.e. less than ten miles - out of Ipswich is the attractive market town of Woodbridge (located on the A12, heading out towards Lowestoft). Woodbridge was once a major port, in Tudor times, and the town is still popular today amongst sailors, with a high population of retired City types who have settled in this part of the world to "mess around on boats". You can also reach Woodbridge via train from Ipswich, although the service is far from frequent. Woodbridge has many antique shops, tea shops and old pubs, and is mainly pedestrianised. Worth a visit, especially if you are, or are travelling with, someone elderly. On the outskirts is a mill (clearly signposted from the A12), the only survivor of the 10 or more which used to feed the soldiers barracked in the area during the Napoleonic wars. Places to eat: "Spice" on the main street "the Thoroughfare" or the Captains Table. To drink: the Kings Head on the town square.

Just outside of Woodbridge is Sutton Hoo, an Anglo Saxon burial ground of royal princes, buried alongside priceless treasures in ship graves. The National Trust exhibitor centre can be found here: website. In all honesty, although the site is doubtless of great historical interest, the exhibition itself is somewhat thinly stretched. (If you want to see any of the treasures found here, you'll have to go to the British Museum in London.) Worth going to if you are in the area, anyone travelling some distance to the site could be disappointed.

On the way to Woodbridge, the villages of Waldringfield and Newbourne, both off the A12, have pubs offering good food and, in the case of Waldringfield, an attractive view over the River Deben.

Five miles outside of Woodbridge is Rendlesham Forest, site of possibly the only authenticated UFO landing in the UK (!) but also good for cycling round, with bikes available to hire in the Easter / Summer school holiday periods.

Levington - between Ipswich and Felixstowe - sits on a river estuary, and features preserved wetlands which house many migratory birds. The pub there ("The Ship") does wonderful food - liver and bacon and any of the seafood especially recommended - no bookings taken. Their wine's pretty poor though. Have a quick walk before or after visiting the pub down to the river - footpath just opposite the pub, which is the only place to park in the village.

Further out of Ipswich, Orford Castle (12 miles outside Woodbridge, on the B1084) is worth a visit in good weather - the castle is over 800 years old, in good condition for a building of that age, and Orford itself is an attractive village, with good fish and chips available from pubs and restaurants at the far end of the village.

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