'''Felixstowe''' is a major port and 'garden resort' on the east coast of England, in the county of Suffolk.

Get in

Felixstowe is about 90 minutes - 2hrs drive from Central London. It is easily reached by road from the Midlands via the A14. There is a regular train service from Ipswich.

Get around

Buses do run within Felixstowe, but service is infrequent. The town is best explored on foot or bicycle.

See

Felixstowe is long past its heyday as a tourist resort, and is best visited now as a place to enjoy some seaside calm.

'''Felixstowe Ferry''' is perhaps the most charming part of the town. It's in the far north, beyond the golf club, at the mouth of the River Deben. It's a popular place for sailing and walks. It has two good pubs (see below).

The promenade stretches two miles North and South of the pier. North is generally quite pleasant, with landscaped gardens and quiet shingle beaches.

In the centre of tourist area, by the sea, there are some excellent arcades, including the famous Mannings Amusement Park (including crazy golf).

Further South the beach gives way to a very industrialised dock area. In the middle of this is a little wildlife haven, around Landguard Fort. It's popular with bird watchers.

The fort is the site of the last opposed invasion of England in 1667 and the first land battle of the Royal Marines. The current fort was built in the 18th century, modified in 19th century with substantial additional 19th / 20th century outside batteries. The fort is open every day from April to October.

The nearby submarine mining building houses Felixstowe museum_fs collections of local interest and is open Sundays & Wednesdays in summer.

Between the promenade and Felixstowe Ferry there's about a mile of beaches known as "The Dip". It's dominated by beach huts but not a bad place to enjoy the beach in the summer.

There are a vairety of pleasant country walks around Felixstowe, particularly in the Orwell and Deben estuaries. However, you need a car to get to these areas from the town.

Do

The fantastic amusement parks are a great day out and for those looking to party away the night, don't forget the uber-cool bandbox nightclub.

Buy

The best thing that Felixstowe has to offer on the shopping front are two exceptional second-hand bookstores. '''The Treasure Chest''' and '''Poor Richard's''' are both in the town centre. The former in particular is remarkably well-stocked and both are reasonably priced. The presence of two such shops in close proximity is justification in itself for a visit to Felixstowe for any book affecionado.

Eat

There are no restaurants of note but a few very good '''Fish & Chip''' shops and a decent Indian and Chinese on the lower Hamilton Road. "The feathers" at Walton also does home cooked food of good quality, in a relaxing atmosphere.

Drink

Pubs in Felixstowe tend to be either full of elderly domino-players nursing a half-pint or underage Burberry-wearing chavs downing alcopops. The two exceptions are at Felixstowe Ferry: '''The Ferry Boat Inn''' and '''The Victoria''' both offer decent real ale and excellent pub grub. The Ferry Boat Inn is also very snug and charming. "

THE FEATHERS at Walton has a new landord NEIL ,there are times when change is not a good thing but in this insatnce the change of landlord has been very welcome.Neil has given the pub a great face lift,a superb range of REAL ALES have been introduced ,Neils passion for his ale is obvious the changing selection and quality of the ales is superb.With a fine food menu cooked by JANE ,NEILS wife you will have a superb evening in this old traditional pub.A very nice beer garden that welcomes familys and entertainment planed for the future.AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY JOIN IN THE FAMILY FUN DAY AND WIN __100!!! SUNDAY 21st SEPTEMBER and than 3rd Sunday of each month FOLK MUSIC ancient and modern , be early to get a seat! High street-Walton

Sleep

Felixstowe being an English seaside resort, there is no shortage of overpriced, poor-quality B&B accommodation. There is nowhere in town worth singling out.

Get out

Ipswich, the Orwell and Deben estuaries are all easily visited from Felixstowe. The town makes a good base for all of Suffolk and North Essex.