Log Cabin Holidays - Suffolk is Steeped in History

Whether you are a couple, vacationing with family, or groups of friends, Windmill Lodges is a great place to spend a break at any time of year. We provide luxury four and five star accommodation and, if you plan to spend your break sight-seeing and visiting Suffolk’s many attractions, our log cabin holidays with hot tub offer comfortable surroundings to rest and unwind in.

If you want UK self-catering holidays in sumptuous surroundings, Windmill Lodges provides the ideal retreat. Facilities include a shared swimming pool (summer months only), private hot tub, four poster bed, en-suite bathroom facilities, leather sofas, log effect fires, under floor heating (some cabins only) and a fully equipped kitchen. We ensure your cabins provide a cosy home from home environment where you have access to all the latest technology including TVs in all of the rooms, free Wi-Fi, Freeview, DVD player and CD player.

Windmill Lodges offers total relaxation in beautiful and tranquil surroundings, as each cabin overlooks a private catch and release fishing lake. You can be at one with nature as you are right in the heart of the Suffolk countryside. However, Suffolk is not only known for its countryside, it is also steeped in history and if you enjoy visiting museums, ancient sites and historic buildings, there are plenty of places to visit. Here is our log cabin holidays at-a-glance guide to some of the ancient attractions in the area.

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Ancient Buildings in Suffolk

If you want your log cabin holidays this summer to have an historic slant, the Suffolk Coastal District alone has some 2,700 listed buildings and 59 of these are grade I listed, so there is so much to see in this area. Listed buildings can include farmhouses, town houses, churches, bridges, windmills, water mills ­- even letter boxes!

You certainly won’t have to travel far to see the Post Mill at Saxtead Green. This was built in 1860 on the site of a former mill which dated from the early 14th century but stopped operating as a working mill in 1947 and was restored ten years later.

A little further afield, Moot Hall (16.5 miles) is another fascinating attraction and can be found on the sea front at Aldeburgh. The 16th century timber framed building has been used for parish council meetings for 400 years and the town clerk’s building is still there today.  

If you enjoy art, you will love to take a visit to Flatford and see the buildings and scenery that inspired one of the country’s most famous artists, John Constable. Flatford Cottage is a 16th century building that houses an exhibition of Constable’s life and works. Take a stroll around the village and marvel at the scenery and timber framed buildings and take a boat trip on the river.

If you simply love historic castles, Framlingham Castle (3 miles) and Orford Castle (16 miles) were both built in the 12th century and are just a short drive from Windmill Lodges.  It was built by the Bigod family, a name thought to have inspired the word ‘bigot’. Roger Bigod accompanied William the Conqueror in his invasion party.  Orford Castle has the best preserved keep in Britain.

Historic Sites in Suffolk

As well as ancient buildings, Suffolk is teaming with historic sites and Windmill Lodges is a great base to start from. Arguably one of the most famous is Sutton Hoo: an ancient Anglo Saxon burial site unearthed thanks to the visions of Edith May Pretty in the 1930’s who, having had dreams about a funeral procession and seeing the spirit of an armed warrior on the mounds, decided to investigate. She presented the ship-burial treasure to the nation.

Coastal erosion is something that has happened throughout history - but in some places it occurs more than others. Dunwich is an attractive seaside village just 17 miles from Windmill Lodges and, if you are spending your log cabin holidays with us, it is well worth a visit. Some 1500 years ago, it was the capital of East Anglia but now most of the town, harbour and the ancient churches have fallen into the sea.  Dunwich Museum explains more about the history of the village.

Further afield (38 miles) is the Anglo Saxon village of West Stow near Bury St Edmunds. It is a reconstruction of the early Anglo Saxon village and you can find out just what it was like to live in those times. Here you can see the houses, try out the furniture and smell the wood smoke! You can also take a stroll in the country park.

Museums and Country Houses in Suffolk

The Long Shop is a former factory in Leiston, 15 miles from Windmill Lodges, and offers a fascinating trip back in time. Did you know that they had purpose built factory production lines here even before the Ford factory in the US? These were introduced by Richard Garrett III, grandson of the company’s founder who built a new workshop for this in 1852.

Ickworth House, Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds, (32 miles) is Suffolk’s most popular attraction and is where you can explore acres of parkland and find out about the history of the country house. Ickworth Lives is a newly restored servant’s basement where you can discover just what ‘upstairs downstairs’ life was like in the 1930’s. There are also living history days where you can find servants doing their duty about the house.

If you are interested in war history, Bentwaters Museum is well worth a visit where - not to be missed - there is the fully restored War Operations Room and Battle Cabin. The museum reveals the history of RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge from the Second World War right up to more recent times when the US Air Force withdrew in 1993.

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