Sudbury

Ancient market town meets modern suburban sprawl in this corner of Suffolk, where medieval streets bump up against housing estates built for London commuters. The River Stour winds lazily past, creating a green corridor through what was once the heart of England's wool trade. These days it's a proper working town - not particularly pretty, but real in a way that chocolate-box villages aren't.

All Saints dominates the town centre, its 15th-century tower visible from miles around. The church is worth a look for its medieval stained glass, though the surrounding streets tell a more mixed story of faded Georgian elegance and uninspiring modern development. Better to head out into the surrounding countryside where Suffolk shows its gentler side.

Great Cornard Country Park offers decent walking along the Stour Valley, while Arger Fen & Spouse's Vale Nature Reserve is a proper treat for anyone interested in wetland wildlife. The reserve protects ancient water meadows that flood each winter, creating temporary lakes that draw huge flocks of wildfowl. Spring brings orchids and rare butterflies.

Villages like Edwardstone and Little Cornard cluster around medieval churches, their greens marked by those distinctive Suffolk village signs that seem to pop up everywhere. Each tells a local story in carved wood and paint - Edwardstone's celebrates its agricultural heritage, while Newton's features a rather splendid mill wheel.

Lavenham is 20 minutes north if you want proper medieval timber framing, while Colchester lies the same distance southeast. The A134 connects Sudbury to both, making this a sensible base for exploring the Suffolk-Essex border country without paying tourist prices.