Bordered by sea to the east and south, and by rivers to the north and west, Suffolk is almost an island. Independent in spirit, it's a county that's as ancient as the stones on its beaches.
Suffolk occupies 3,000 square kilometres of East Anglia, an agricultural land of early settlement. People lived here in the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. It was settled by the Romans during their occupation of Britain, and after them by the Iceni tribe (British Celts, whose warrior queen was Boudicca). In the mid-fifth to early seventh centuries came the Anglo-Saxons (Germanic peoples), who ruled England until the Norman Conquest in 1066. In fact, the county gets its name from the Anglo-Saxons who lived in the south of East Anglia: they called themselves the "Sudfolc" (South Folk).
Suffolk isn't dramatic: the only mountains here are the tall clouds piled high in the sky above fields, marshes, woods and water. This is a countryside dotted by church towers and villages, large and small, and criss-crossed by ancient paths. Still, it offers visitors many glorious scenic and historic highlights. Here are seven special villages to enjoy.
Dunwich
Fronted by a low, crumbling cliff and a shingle and sand beach, Dunwich is surrounded by heath and marsh, with Minsmere, a nature reserve, a short drive away.
This small coastal village is famous mostly for what it has lost over the centuries. If its natural beauty seems haunted, that's unsurprising: the sea brought fortune to Dunwich but then took everything back. In the 13th century, with its 18 churches and monasteries, this East Anglian town was second in size only to Norwich. By the beginning of the 18th century, however, most of the once-wealthy port had disappeared back into the rising ocean.
Today, aside from a welcoming fish and chip shop and pub, you can go birdwatching and do the long "Sandlings" walk across heathland and beach.
To the south of Dunwich, the dome of the Sizewell B nuclear reactor shines in the distance. From under the waves, so legend says, the bells of the lost churches continue to chime. This is, without doubt, a place of the imagination.
Thorpeness
Balanced on the edge of the coast, this is probably Suffolk's most unusual village. Its perfectly kept facade appears to be centuries old, but a closer look at the timbered buildings and exotic architecture shows them to be rather more recent.
Indeed, Thorpeness was planned and created in the early 20th century as an exclusive holiday resort - the vision of the landowner Stuart Ogilvie. He used an army of skilled workers to transform a tiny fishing village called Thorpe, by building mock-Tudor and Jacobean houses, a boathouse, waterfront homes, a golf course and country club. A shallow boating lake, the Meare, was created with a Peter Pan theme (author J. M. Barrie was a family friend). When a former water tower became self-catering accommodation called The House in the Clouds, the transformation was complete. Besides boating and regattas, there are ice creams and cream teas, antiques, tennis, cycling and a pleasant three-kilometre walk to Aldeburgh, famous as the home of composer Benjamin Britten.
Orford
Full of charm, stories and secrets, Orford lies on the coast south of Aldeburgh. It offers fine dining, cosy pubs and some of the tastiest seafood, bread and chocolate in Suffolk. This unprotected coast has a history of trade and strategic defence, as shown by the red-brick warehouses, coastguard's cottage, old customs house and, rising high above everything, Orford Castle. Built by Henry II in the 12th century, the castle overlooked enemies, near and far.
The greatest threat to this busy port was the shingle spit (or "ness") that separated it from the North Sea. As the spit spread, access to the quay became more difficult and the town fell into decline. With legal trade decreasing, smuggling increased, and legend tells of secret tunnels beneath the village. Secrets of a more modern era were guarded closely on Orford Ness, where the Ministry of Defence carried out testing of military technology for 70 years, from 1913 on. Now it's a peaceful nature reserve, and a ferry or boat trip along the rivers Ore and Alde is the best way to explore this beautiful and mysterious area.
Flatford
On the southern border of Suffolk, Flatford, and its small collection of historic riverside buildings, make a perfect picture - literally. For while the gentle flow of the River Stour marks the boundary with Essex, the area's timeless waters, bridges, trees and fields form a scene that most art lovers will immediately recognize: this is Constable country.
Born in East Bergholt in 1776, John Constable is regarded as one of Britain's most famous landscape artists. Suffolk landscapes, especially the Stour Valley and Dedham Vale of his "careless boyhood", were firm favourites. "They made me a painter (& I am grateful)," he wrote in 1821.
The Hay Wain, perhaps his best-known work, was painted at Flatford Mill. Willy Lott's Cottage, shown in the painting, and the mill are now run by the National Trust; they include a study centre, Constable exhibition, guided walks and riverside tearooms. You can best enjoy Constable's landscapes, however, by hiring a rowing boat or walking along the riverside path between Flatford and Dedham.
Lavenham
Wandering around historic Lavenham is like taking a time machine back to the 16th century, when the village was an East Anglian centre for the wool trade.
Lavenham is considered to be Britain's best preserved medieval village. With an unrivalled collection of timbered and half-timbered medieval buildings, it also has independent shops, fine dining, and cosy pubs and cafes. The triangular Market Square is a delight, with a market cross from 1501 and housing the beautifully proportioned Little Hall and Corpus Christi Guildhall, complete with exhibition, walled garden and tearoom.
This is not a place to rush through. To get a feel for what Lavenham is about, it's well worth walking the length of the village, all the way up the hill to the 14th-century Church of St Peter and St Paul. It can make you feel a bit dizzy, though, as there's hardly a straight house or shopfront along the way. Among the more than 300 listed buildings are many painted in traditional Suffolk Pink, a pastel, rose-pink coloured limewash used on many homes across the county.
Long Melford
True to its name, Long Melford stretches four kilometres along its tree-lined high street, which is home to timber-framed houses, historic tearooms, shops and pubs.
Its north end accommodates a large village green, 16th-century almshouses, and one of the country's most impressive churches, dating from the 15th century, when this was a very wealthy wool town.
The attractions don't end there, though. Long Melford has not one but two historic Tudor halls, close by to one another. Hidden behind a red-brick wall, Melford Hall is an impressive turreted mansion with a neoclassical interior and extensive parkland.
Nearby, Kentwell Hall has a moat, gardens, dairy, bakery, brewhouse and still room. It offers "living-history" recreations of the sights, sounds and smells of Kentwell's past.
Somerleyton
Located close to the curves of the River Waveney, Broads National Park and the Norfolk border, Somerleyton is more than the sum of its parts. With thatched houses around a village green, a railway with links to Lowestoft and Norwich, marina, pub, hall and gardens, this north Suffolk village has character, charm and community.
Largely redesigned as a planned village in the 19th century, the architecture certainly catches the eye. The hovercraft was invented here in the 1950s by Sir Christopher Cockerell, who owned and worked at the boatyard.
Somerleyton Hall, often used as a film set, most recently for The Crown, is a Jacobean-style stately home and architectural gem. The hall itself is closed to the public, but you can happily lose yourself in five hectares of garden dating back to 1846.
Part of the Wild East movement, Somerleyton is rewilding its land, using a range of animals such as Exmoor ponies, cattle and deer, which graze among 300-year-old oaks and ancient limes. You can even stay in one of the hall's eco log cabins or glamping sites.