Suffolk Glamping Trip

Last week my husband and I decided to book a very last minute glamping trip and we found a really good deal with Dawn Chorus Luxury Glamping Holidays in Suffolk. We usually tend to stay in the UK during the warmest months and for the past 3 years we have enjoyed small glamping mini breaks at this time of year. I guess you could say that we've become pro glampers having stayed in a yurt and a cargo pod in the past. Lets just say I am much more of a glamper than I am a camper!

We knew straight away that we wanted to explore the Suffolk coastal area and it's something which has been on our hit list ever since we moved closer to the Suffolk border. After my friend and fellow blogger Claire from Claireabelle Makes recently posted a new blog post about her Glamping in Southwold experience it sealed the deal in my mind that this was somewhere I really wanted to visit. I really liked the look of the glamping pods Claire stayed at but sadly they weren't dog friendly. 

It can be quite hard at times to find accommodation which allows dogs so I was really pleased to find that Dawn Chorus is dog friendly when staying in their safari tents, and one of the shepherds huts is too. I really loved the look of the shepherds huts as they looked so cute and romantic but after looking at them a bit closer I thought that space wise we would struggle as we are both pretty tall and with three small dogs too it was going to be a pretty tight squeeze. 

As it turned out the safari tent was perfect for our needs and we could have easily fit in a few more people but we were able to enjoy the space all to ourselves which was great! We were impressed to find the tent fully equipped with a BBQ, a log burning stove, kitchen, private shower and toilet cubicle. They even provided us with bedding and towels which is pretty uncommon at other glamping sites and it certainly made packing easier for us. The glamping site itself was pretty large in size and we had plenty of space to enjoy without feeling overlooked by other glampers. In total there are 2 large safari tents and 3 shepherds huts on site and I couldln't help thinking that it would be perfect for a hen doo or group holiday. 

Once we had unpacked everything we decided to explore the area outside of our tent and we were pleased to find a number of different farm animals including pigs, chickens, sheep and cows! For a moment it kind of felt like I was living my dream as it's been a long term ambition of mine to have some land on which I can offer a home to some rescue farm animals. It really made our trip even more special to live so close to these animals, and the dogs were pretty intrigued too! 

On our first day we spent some time exploring the coastal town of Southwold which was really beautiful. It's quite a small and quaint resort which I for one tend to prefer over the large and loud seaside resorts. I was impressed to see a vast stretch of sandy beach and cute little beach huts dotted all the way along the promenade. It did remind me a little bit of Frinton in Essex which is another seaside we love to visit. 

The first section of the beach in front of the beach huts is sadly not dog friendly during the Summer months but there is a large section of beach at the end where dogs can enjoy a good run about. Our dogs absolutely loved playing in the sand together but unfortunately the fun was soon cut short by a thunder storm!

Once the rain had passed we explored the main high street in Southwold which was such a nice area and somewhere I would definitely like to visit again. It was lined with bunting and full of nice little shops, cafes and pubs. It was the perfect place for picking up some souvenirs and getting some lunch. We had heard that The Little Fish & Chip shop on the corner was a great choice so we decided to pick up a bag of chips each to walk along with and we were right to believe the hype, they were delicious. Even though we were only an hour and half away from where we live, it really did feel like we were away somewhere totally different. 

The next day we went back to Southward to explore the pier which is well worth a visit. Here you can take in some beautiful views of the coast and pick up some rock from the pier shop which sold a whole host of lovely things. I also stopped to have a look at the pier restaurant menu and was pleased to find what looked like a vegan veggie curry on the menu so definitely check it out if you're ever in the area. It was also an opportunity for my husband to visit a memorial bench for his Grandma which he'd never been to before. 

On our last day I really wanted to drive down to Aldeburgh, another Suffolk coastal town, which again I had heard some really good things about. Unfortunately our whole mini break was tainted with some pretty horrendous thunder storms and it felt like every time we stepped outside it started to rain on us. This sadly limited the time we had to enjoy Aldeburgh but we did manage to walk along the seafront and the high street before getting completely soaked and everything I saw I loved! 

Aldeburgh is home to an amazing little high street boasting an array of cute shops, eateries and bakeries. It's also a colourful town with a number of brightly coloured cottages dotted along the main road. It's the kind of place you visit and say "oh wow imagine living here" a number of times. Idyllic in every way. 

This mini break was by no means an opportunity to hunt out vegan eateries and i'm almost ashamed to say that we ate chips 2 nights running! I am sure if we had looked a bit harder we could have found better places to eat vegan but as we had the dogs with us it felt like the easiest option for us (they were also pretty tasty so no regrets!). In any case, we did manage to stumble across one of my greatest vegan friendly finds of this year - Delphine's Diner in Aldeburgh. 

As we approached the diner to check out the menu I felt like I almost knew it was just going to be full of beef burgers and hot dogs, so you can imagine our surprise when we saw the vast selection of veggie and vegan options! I was completely blown away that somewhere like this in such a small little town had such impressive and innovative choices. There was no hesitation in deciding to order something but sadly we had to get a takeaway so we couldn't enjoy the wonderful retro setting and booth tables. 

This may not look like much but it was incredible!! A vegan hotdog which tasted so much like a regular hotdog it was a little bit freaky but nonetheless very enjoyable. I loved everything about this meal, including the retro packaging! As soon as we finished eating we said that we were going to plan a return trip asap without the dogs for a date night. I am prepared to drive a 3 hour round trip for this food again! I can't wait to go back. 

All in all, and despite the weather, we had a fantastic time away exploring the Suffolk coastline. I can't recommend Dawn Chorus Luxury Glamping enough. It was a great find and one that we'd all be happy to return to again. My only regret is that we didn't explore Suffolk sooner, especially as it's pretty much on our doorstep! The beaches are stunning and the countryside is beautiful. It's the perfect destination for a UK getaway.

Have you been to the Suffolk coast before? 

Where's your favourite place to visit?