We are really fortunate that we live around 5 minutes from the sea and the seaside town of Felixstowe in Suffolk. This means that throughout the year we are able to visit the town and enjoy some of the things that Felixstowe has. Apart from the beach, amusement arcades there are some other fun things that your kids and you may enjoy so we've asked the kids and they've picked their 3 favourite things to do in Felixstowe.
We explored Felixstowe on behalf of The Suffolk Coast - all words, pictures, and recommendations are our own.
Felixstowe - Suffolk
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Felixstowe is a seaside town on the Suffolk coast and also the biggest container port in the UK. It has a long history of being a port and harbour as well as an Edwardian seaside destination.
Found at the end of the A14 you can easily get there and there is a wide range of places to stay from camp sites to B&B's, caravan parks and smaller hotels around.
You can't visit without trying Fish and Chips from the pier and an ice-cream too (we recommend the ice-cream shop on the pier as well - the selection of flavours is amazing and the single scoop is HUGE!)
If you've had enough of jumping the waves and want to do something a little different then we have recommendations of things that the kids love to do so read on.
Hire a Beach Hut
One of the things I have always loved about the British Sea Side are the beach huts that line the edge of the beach. Pretty colours, multicoloured and often with cute seaside themed names, they look to be a great place to spend the day and a great base to explore the beach and town from.
But, they often change hands for the price of a small apartment on popular beaches and once people "move" in they rarely leave. What I didn't realise is that there is a booming business in Beach Hut rentals - contact details here for how to rent your own Beach Hut at Felixstowe.
Organised through agencies and private hire you can rent a beach hut for the day to use as a base. Some like ours had easy access to a car park run by the council and others you can find off road parking. With a beach hut you have somewhere to store your stuff, return to and eat as well as relax in whilst the kids play on the beach and paddle in the waves.
Landguard Fort
If you want to learn a little about the people and the town of Felixstowe then head to Landguard Fort at the south end of Felixstowe near the port.
This English Heritage site is an around 450 years old and is one of the best coastal defence forts in the UK managed by the Landguard Fort Trust it's a fun experience for kids
The current fort that you can explore inside was built in the 18th and 19th century and was used as a fort up till the 1950s.
The site of the last seaborne invasion of the UK back in 1667 this fort is full of history to learn about England and how as an island we have been defended by forts at the coast.
We took the audio tour and the kids did the summer activity which when we visited was looking for rats around the fort.
Because of how well the fort has been kept you can easily walk through rooms and get a real feel for how life was for the military personnel that lived and worked in the fort.
Next door is Felixstowe museum you need to check the opening days for this as it isn't open daily but they often have specific exhibits and events on for kids.
Beach Combing ~ Fossil Finds & Natures Wonders
We are really fortunate that Felixstowe beach is one of the locations that the fabulous Kate from Beach Bonkers has set up her Beach Combing.
Combining a 2 minute litter pick-up and then a discovery experience if Kate is at the beach it's really worth booking onto one of her tours.
She leads you along one of the pebbly stretches of beach and from there shows you the nature finds. From shells and sea weed to if you are lucky the fossils that you can find amongst the stones.
Our finds were shells, sea glass and hag stones. But we went back and combed the beach ourselves and discovered a fossil sharks tooth.
The kids loved this and we hope to go again this summer. They each want to find their own shark's tooth now.
Crabbing at Felixstowe Ferry
Crabbing is one of our favourite sea side activities if there is a jetty or a peir that we can do this then we get out our kit and give it a try.
Felixstowe Ferry which is right at the end of Old Felixstowe past the golf course is fantastic.
You can't miss the families that congregate on the pier (leaving space for the ferry to dock) with lines into the water and buckets at their feet.
The fish shop has supplies if you don't have your own but we've found that bacon works the best.
When you've had your fill and your bucket is overflowing with crabs let them escape to the sea.
Then wave the paddle to get the ferry over to Bawdsey at the other side of the Deben and head out on the beach there for some more Beach Combing (it's the BEST place for shark's teeth!)
Felixstowe Beach
Of course, you could just spend the day at Felixstowe Beach - from the touristy area around the peir and amusements through to the wilder and less crowded Old Felixstowe it's the perfect British Sea Side experience. Why, not pick up a bucket and spade and build some castles, take a paddle.
Or if your kids are anything like mine have a go at making some sand angels.
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