Thursford Christmas Spectacular

We depart Sussex and make our way to the Dartford Crossing. Having made a suitable comfort stop we continue our journey arriving in the charming Suffolk town of Sudbury birthplace to the notable artist Thomas Gainsborough. We have an extended break in Sudbury over the lunch period for you to explore the town, there are many places to get refreshments. The Town Hall houses a super heritage centre detailing much of the town’s history including the Americans WWII connections and the night the town was raided by a German Zeppelin in 1916. Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury in 1727 and the house he was born underwent a transformational change in 2022 and has become The International Centre for Thomas Gainsborough and the largest Art Gallery in Suffolk showcasing many of his famous works. The Centre is scheduled to be open when we visit. Early afternoon we continue to our hotel on the outskirts of Kings Lynn arriving late  afternoon.

You may like to enjoy a leisurely start to the day after which you could make use of the swimming pool or spa facilities. For those that would like to see Kings Lynn the coach will make a run into the town for a short visit before returning in time for our included lunch at the hotel. After lunch we depart for a drive ending up in the charming town of Holt before the shops and cafes shut. Visit Bakers and Larners, often referred to as The Harrods of Norfolk and a favourite with the Royals when staying at Sandringham. Time to grab a snack if you wish before we make the drive to Thursford where refreshments are also available. Time to explore the shops and browse the superb collection of steam engines before tonight’s amazing performance which begins at 19.00. After the show we return to our hotel.

After a leisurely breakfast we depart our hotel and make our way to Saffron Walden a picturesque, medieval town, in north-west Essex. It has a rich heritage of old buildings reflecting its wealth as a rural market town. There are many interesting historic buildings in the town. At the heart lies St Mary’s Church, the largest parish church in Essex. Fine examples of elaborate moulded plasterwork (pargetting), can be seen on the Old Sun Inn and the houses in Castle Street & Bridge Street. Also of note are the Eight Bells, the timber-framed Cross Keys, and the medieval building located at 1 Myddylton Place. Time for a wander around the town trail and to get a sandwich.   Early afternoon we head back to Sussex, having made a suitable comfort stop we aim to arrive back in the Maresfield area by approximately 17.30