Southwold

Southwold is the most perfectly English seaside town — a genteel, pretty town on the Suffolk coast with a lighthouse in the middle of the high street, colourful beach huts on the promenade, a working pier with eccentric Tim Hunkin automata, and Adnams brewery perfuming the whole town with the smell of hops. The beach is clean, the architecture is Georgian and Victorian, and the atmosphere is civilised without being snooty. The Southwold Pier is unique — instead of the usual seaside tat, it has wonderfully eccentric coin-operated machines designed by Tim Hunkin, an inventor and cartoonist. 'The Bathyscape' and 'Autofrisk' are particular favourites. The Under the Pier Show in the amusement arcade is genuinely one of the most charming attractions in Suffolk. Adnams has a shop and brewery tours — the Sole Bay bitter is excellent. The Gun Hill cannons have views across the coast. The town greens between the old streets are the result of a devastating fire in 1659 that was never rebuilt. Walberswick across the harbour (reached by a rowing-boat ferry or the footbridge) is equally charming. The Harbour Inn does excellent fish and chips. Southwold gets busy in summer but remains resolutely tasteful — no arcades, no chains, just a beautifully preserved English seaside town.