Dunwich Museum

The coast around Saxmundham has a strange, haunting quality - and Dunwich Museum sits right at the heart of why. This small museum tells the story of a medieval town that's now almost entirely underwater, claimed by the North Sea over centuries of relentless erosion. You'll find displays of salvaged artefacts, old maps showing where streets and buildings once stood, and photographs documenting the slow disappearance of what was once a thriving port. It's genuinely sobering stuff.

The museum itself is modest - you won't need more than an hour here - but the narrative it presents is compelling. Local historians run it with obvious passion, and you get the sense they're fighting to keep the memory of Dunwich alive. Kids can find it a bit abstract unless they're already interested in local history, but adults who like coastal geology and medieval England will find it properly absorbing.

Admission details are a bit vague (worth ringing ahead), but it's the kind of operation that usually charges a few quid or runs on donations. The real draw, though, is combining this with a coastal walk - you can actually see the cliff erosion happening, and on clear days spot what's left of the medieval town's remains in the shallows.

It pairs well with a base at Cliff House Holiday Park, just over a mile away, or any of the caravan spots dotted round the area. Use it as a rainy-day anchor point, but don't expect flashy displays. What you get instead is authenticity and a proper sense of place.