It’s Easter week and once again I’ve found myself down in Suffolk happily visiting my gran. This time I’m here for her 90th birthday! I’m delighted to be down here for this reason and this time I’m here for longer than our usual long weekend.

So what’s a trip to Suffolk without a day tip to the seaside?! Time to head to Southwold.

It was Easter weekend only 2 years ago that I last visited Southwold. I blogged about my time visiting as a new mum here:

Luckily this time around we’ve been blessed with some sunshine.

It was Easter Monday and we nabbed a spot in the charity car park located right in the centre of Southwold. You’ve got to be lucky (or early) to park here but thankfully there are a number of charity car parks in Southwold located on Station Road or York road. You can’t miss the signs!

After we’d parked up we headed into Southwold with my sleepy toddler nestled in her pram. Despite the sunshine the weather was very chilly with a sneaky wind!

We’d planned to meet up with my family who were also down from Yorkshire to visit my gran. Once we reached Southwold we soon found this wouldn’t be an easy task. Southwold has got to have the worst mobile phone service I’ve ever encountered! Not only could I not pick up data in any part of the town but I couldn’t even get a signal to make or receive calls. It was like stepping in to Outback Australia only speaking from experience I think I got better coverage out there!

Sadly this meant we weren’t able to have the beach day we’d hoped for but we had fun all the same.

We started by visiting Serenity Ceramics who were hosting an Egg trail for Easter. Using their trail map we’d follow the list of local shops and businesses locating the little ceramic eggs in the windows. What a lovely idea.

We absolutely loved taking part in this trail and my 2 year old was especially excited to point out all the eggs everytime she spotted one!

Thanks to the bank holiday and the sun making an appearance the streets were incredibly busy. We’d decided to bring our dog along for her first visit to Suffolk and this proved very tricky on the narrow paths. In my last blog post I mentioned about Southwold not being pram friendly, if I’d have taken note of this we wouldn’t have found ourselves heading back to the car to dump our pram part way through the day!

After spotting a few eggs we abandoned the hunt for the day and headed down to the beach for our first glimpse of the ocean.

Nothing beats that sea breeze, sunshine, sand and cool wind. It’s been months since we visited the beach and years since we visited this coast. I never forget how pretty it looks with the Southwold beach huts.

So we walked down to the front and enjoyed the super sandy beach. We noticed dogs on the beach so were even able to take our pooch down. She loves being in the sand! Admittedly we later noticed dogs are not allowed on the beach from April 1st on certain parts so hopefully we didn’t go anywhere we shouldn’t. Important to note if you plan to visit with your four legged friend.

I like seeing the lighthouse in Southwold, I think it adds to the charm of the town.

We didn’t walk as far as the pier this time or even on it. I remember from last time that there isn’t loads to see on the pier and whilst it’s still worth a visit, it felt a little too windy for us to risk this time.

So after a stroll through the sand we decided to venture back into the town. This time we finally spotted Adnams brewery. A real iconic spot for us since my husband is an IPA drinker and we frequently buy Adnams drinks back up in Yorkshire. Nice to put a memory to the name.

To end our day we stopped by The Little Fish for the tastiest portion of chips! Great value too with only one regular portion filling three of us.

We perched on a lonely bench right in the sun facing down Southwold high street. The perfect little spot in my opinion.

We never did get chance to finish that egg hunt but one thing’s for sure, we left Southwold with a desire to come back…

..So we did!

2 days later we hopped in the car and did the 20 minute drive from our caravan at Kessingland Parkdean and visited again! This time it was still the Easter holidays but not a bank holiday Monday. We chose to visit later in the day and parked in the same spot easily.

We thought we might have a chance to finish the egg hunt but the weather was much warmer this time and our priority shifted to finding ice cream!

First stop, back to the beach.

After a busy week seeing all my family together for the first time in decades, it felt sad knowing it was over. Being back in Southwold made me reflect on how fast time was flying by and how soon I’d be back up in Yorkshire again.

We enjoyed the view from the seats that overlook the shore and stayed here for a while enjoying the peace.

I’d love to know what my 2 year old was thinking as she lingered admiring the view with us. Perhaps she enjoys the ocean as much as we do?

We got a chance to walk along the seafront again but this time aware of the signs, we didn’t take the dog on the sand. I had some lovely time with my daughter strolling along the beach whilst she hid from the waves.

After a long day with lots of walking we ended our search for ice cream and started to head towards the car.

We had spent the morning in Halesworth where the only shop selling ice cream had a broken machine and it started to feel like a lost cause at this point.

Suddenly a couple walked by with what can only be described as mountains of deliciousness and I had to stop them to find out where they got it! Turns out we were moments away from what would be the highlight of our toddlers week.

Here we found H & J – Harris & James Chocolate Makers. Probably the largest dollop I’ve ever received for only one scoop! We enjoyed an interesting Jaffa Cake cone. Turns out it was gelato not ice cream but just the treat we were looking for.

You can bet we headed back to that perfect bench spot to enjoy our gelato before heading home.

Two days of visits to Southwold and both filled with sunshine and smiles.

Returning to Southwold with my husband, toddler and dog too felt really special. Everytime I come here my family have got a little bigger and we get to enjoy it in a different way. Previously it was big walks, trips to restaurants and pier strolls. Now it’s egg spotting, sand strolling and ice cream!

The perfect Easter by the sea.

~ Visited Southwold, Suffolk in April 2026 ~