Saxmundham guide

An historic market town of which its residents are justifiably proud

Saxmundham is an historic Market Town close to the Suffolk Coast, on the old Coach & horses route from London to the Continent. Many of the charming shops and houses in the town are of Georgian or Victorian appearance, and some are older dating back to Elizabethan times - such as Monks Cottages and Angel Yard in the Market Place.

Today it has a busy high street and offers great access by rail and road to many of the nearby 'must see' places to visit, providing an excellent touring base to explore the Suffolk Coast. The town boasts a number of cafés, pubs and restaurants along with a diverse selection of independent shops, plus the area’s only Waitrose supermarket!

Did you know?

Set in the valley of the River Fromas - a tributary of the Alde, Saxmundham has possessed a market charter since 1272 AD right up to the present day, with a market held every Wednesday.

There are a wide variety of buildings to be seen in the town including many from the Victorian and Georgian eras and even a few which date back to Tudor times. When the BBC House Detectives visited Monks Cottages they uncovered many original Tudor features including stud work, plaster and horsehair reinforced walls as well as inglenook fireplaces, ornate carved oak beams and large oak floor boards.

The Sister Fidelma mysteries by Peter Tremayne feature a character called Brother Eadulf who the story details as hailing from Saxmundham, and Tremayne has used Saxmundham as the setting for several of his stories, describing it as “Seaxmund's Ham in the land of the South Folk”. NBA basketball player Ray Allen also spent some of his childhood in Saxmundham as a result of his father’s military career.

things to do in saxmundham where to stay saxmundham where to eat Saxmundham

Location

Things to do in Saxmundham

1. Learn about Suffolk's years gone by

Towns & Villages - Saxmundham - sign

Saxmundham Museum is located on the High Street and open from Easter through to October. It provides a charming insight into the thriving market town of years gone by, when Saxmundham played host to the Suffolk Show and was an important staging post between London and Great Yarmouth.

2. Stock up on fresh, local produce

Towns & villages - Saxmundham - Butchers

Stop off at The Market Place, just off the main High Street on a Wednesday and explore a range of stalls including, fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, flowers and garden plants, sweets and preserves. The town has a traditional butchers 'KB Stannard & Sons' for all those BBQ and Sunday Roast experiences! An added bonus is the free car parking in the town for 2 hours!

3. Explore the specialist shops, restaurants & galleries

The Bell Hotel - Restaurant

Saxmundham has a diverse selection of independent shops for more unique purchases, including great art materials at 'Crisps the Stationers' for all those budding artists heading for the coast and countryside, and a handy cycle shop, 'Sax Velo' - plus the area’s only Waitrose supermarket.

It offers great places to eat and drink too, be sure to pay a visit to The Bell Hotel; The contemporary hotel and restaurant serves freshly caught sea bass and lobster from the coast, locally grown seasonal vegetables, wild game, Suffolk pasture fed beef, and of course top-notch wines…

4. A Great Base for Exploring

Towns & Villages - Saxmundham - snape

With its great access by rail and road, Saxmundham acts as a gateway to visiting many of the nearby fabulous spots along the coast such as Snape Maltings, Thorpeness, Aldeburgh and RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve to name but a few. The Saxmundham Town Trail is the ideal way to find out more!

Useful Information

Have a look at this neat little pocket guide to Saxmundham to help plan your trip and look out for printed copies in town.

Saxmundham Pocket Guide

Public Conveniences and Baby Changing Facilties

Market Place Car Park, IP17 1AH- Disabled toilet and baby changing facilities.

Accessibility

Check out AccessAble's detailed access guides to Suffolk and work out if a place is going to be accessible to you.

The access guides cover multiple locations and venues across Suffolk, including places to stay, attractions, places to eat, stations, shops, trails and more.

The access guides are 100% facts, figures and photographs, checked by AccessAble's trained surveyors in person, people who know everyone's accessibility needs are different and understand how important it is for information to be detailed and accurate.

Free town wifi

Free WiFi is available within the town's WiFi zone, making it easy for you to get online during your visit.

See maps of where it is available in eleven East Suffolk towns, as well as instructions on how to access the free WiFi here.

How to Get to Saxmundham - Public Transport

With Suffolk on Board you can plan journeys using public transport from and to a town or village, named station or stop, or point of interest.

As many destinations along the Suffolk coast are rural there can be limited public transport services on many routes, but there are journey solutions through various local community transport services that will get you to where you want to go/your final destination. These tend to need to be booked in advance but you can find out more and plan your journey at Suffolk on Board.

By Bus:

Local services to Framlingham, Woodbridge, Martlesham, Halesworth and Leiston. Further information and timetables can be found at www.suffolkonboard.com

By Train:

The town's station is located at Station Approach, Saxmundham, IP17 1BW.

Greater Anglia offers direct services to Ipswich and Lowestoft with on-going connections to London, Cambridge and Norwich. All train tickets can be purchased via the Greater Anglia Website

Car Parks in Saxmundham

The most convenient ways to find parking places in East Suffolk are either via Find My Nearest, and where parking fees apply the council’s RingGo parking service .

The free RingGo app allows drivers to locate a parking place before starting their journey, receive navigation to it, see how busy car parks are within an area, pay for your parking session and extend it if you need to. Signing up to RingGo is as easy as entering your car’s registration and your payment details. Find out more about registering and using the service on the RingGo how it works page.

Saxmundham Rail Station, Station Approach, IP17 1BW

Market Place, IP17 1AG Tesco Superstore, IP17 2HL – customers

Church Street, IP17 1EP – short stay Pay & Display

Walking in Saxmundham

Walking in East Suffolk has just become easier. In partnership with East Suffolk Council, walking app Go Jauntly has launched a collection of East Suffolk walks.

Go Jauntly is a free community-based app to promote walking, wayfinding and nature connection. You can find local walks created by people who know and love them, discover the greenest walking routes from A to B, create your own jaunts and enjoy outdoor adventures with friends and family.

Go Jauntly is available to download, for free, on the App Store and the Play Store.