Southwold Lighthouse

The red and white striped tower dominates Southwold's seafront, impossible to miss as you wander into town. Built in 1890, it's a proper Victorian lighthouse - 86 feet of brick painted in those famous candy stripes that look like they've been holding the same colours for over a century. You can climb the 103 steps to the top most days, though hours vary seasonally, and the admission fee is modest. The view sweeps across the North Sea on one side and back across the town's clifftop gardens and beach huts on the other. It's genuinely worth the climb, even if your legs protest halfway up those spiral stairs.

Walkers will find it a natural endpoint for a coastal path amble from nearby Southwold Pier. History buffs appreciate its role guiding fishing boats and coastal traffic; families with kids aged six upwards usually manage the staircase without complaint, though under-fives might struggle. Plan twenty to thirty minutes including the climb and a proper look around from the gallery. The whole seafront area rewards a proper visit - grab fish and chips from one of the seafront shops and eat them with your back to the lighthouse, watching the water.

If you're camped at Pigs in Blankets just up the coast, or staying further afield at Parkdean Resorts Kessingland Beach Holiday Park, the lighthouse is an essential coastal landmark to tick off. Go late afternoon when the light's better for photographs and the crowds thin out. It's busy summer weekends, quieter in shoulder seasons. Worth absolutely worth the detour if you're on the Suffolk coast.