Beccles

Standing on the banks of the River Waveney, this Suffolk market town has quietly kept its head down while the Norfolk Broads tourist circus whirls around it. Beccles feels properly lived-in rather than dressed up for visitors - which is exactly its charm.

The town centre clusters around the elegant Georgian Montague House and the Victorian grandeur of The Public Hall, where local drama groups still put on their winter pantomimes. Wander down to the river and you'll find proper working boatyards alongside the pleasure craft. The Quaker Cottage tells a different story entirely - this corner of East Anglia has always attracted those seeking something quieter.

From here, the Waveney Valley opens up in both directions. Cycle west towards Bungay and you're in serious countryside within minutes. Head east and you'll hit the Norfolk Broads proper, though honestly, the stretch around Beccles feels more authentic than the main tourist drags further north.

The town's well connected - Beccles station puts you in Norwich in under an hour, and the A146 means Great Yarmouth's only 40 minutes by car. But the real draw is staying put. This is walking country, with footpaths threading through water meadows and past half-hidden villages like Aldeby with its fine village sign.

Camping nearby makes perfect sense. You get the best of both worlds - proper countryside quiet at night, but a real market town within easy reach for supplies, a decent pub meal, or just to remember what normal life feels like. The surrounding holiday parks put you right in the thick of this lovely, unshowy bit of the Waveney Valley.