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50 Things To Do This Summer in Bury St Edmunds
There's loads going on this summer in Bury St Edmunds - take a look at out top 50 picks below!
50 Things To Do This Summer in Bury St Edmunds and Beyond
Mutiny in Colour Exhibition at Moyse's Hall Museum
1. Visit the Mutiny in Colour exhibition at Moyse's Hall Museum. 'Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour' features over 100 works from some of the world’s most renowned artists including Banksy, Blek Le Rat, Pure Evil, My Dog Sighs, Kaws, the Connor Brothers, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sherlock, Swoon, Ben Eine, Bambi, Hush and Lamont White, to name a few.
2. Enjoy a summer walk at Nowton Park - the children will love the maze!
3. Savour one of Bury St Edmunds' gastronomic experiences in Suffolk's Foodie Town.
4. Enjoy a family day out at Motorsport East - This free event showcases competition cars in the Buttermarket and Cornhill, plus there's fun and exciting free activities for the family, including an F1 Stealth Racer Simulator, competition and prizes, Bumper Carz for the younger ones and a roundabout in the Arc Shopping Centre.
5. Listen to a Celebrity Organ Recital in the stunning and historic surroundings of St Edmundsbury Cathedral.
Willy Wonka Afternoon Tea at Queen's Bar & Grill
6. Enjoy an afternoon tea at one of Bury St Edmunds' foodie hotspots, including the incredible Willy Wonka inspired tea at Queen's Bar and Grill.
7. Discover Suffolk's smallest town on the self-guided Clare Town Trail.
8. Take in a show at The Apex! Among the shows at this summer are The Sound of Springsteen, ELO Experience and West End Workshops with Vicki Manser from Six the Musical.
9. Families will also enjoy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds this summer.
10. Have a go at axe and knife throwing at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village.
Cathedral LEGO
11. See Bury St Edmunds from above and walk up the 202 steps to the top of St Edmundsbury Cathedral tower!
12. Whilst there, visit St Edmundsbury Cathedral's ambitious project to recreate the Cathedral out of 200,000 LEGO bricks! Visitors can see the Lego Cathedral being built before their eyes and you can offer them a hand by placing your very own brick for just £1!
13. Creative thinking, problem solving and battling against the clock, are you ready to take on the escape room challenge at The Evidence Room? With three escape rooms on offer, each designed to test your logic, teamwork and patience, you’ll need to have your wits about you as nothing is quite as it seems.
14. Join in with the Summer of Play activities at National Trust Melford Hall and National Trust Ickworth Park, House & Gardens.
15. Pack your picnics, grab your wet weather gear or sun-cream (or both) and watch an open-air adaptation of David Walliam's 'Bad Dad' in the Abbey Gardens and at West Stow Anglo Saxon Village.
Our Bury St Edmunds Food and Drink Festival on August Bank Holiday!
16. There's something about eating outside in the summer which makes you feel instantly relaxed. There are lots of eateries that have beautiful outside spaces to eat in Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area, take a look at our Alfresco Dining Guide for some inspiration.
17. Discover the stories of the soldiers of the Suffolk Regiment through medals, uniforms, photographs, weapons, equipment and personal memorabilia at the Suffolk Regiment Museum.
18. Find out more about military history through the ages as it is brought to life by Kentwell Hall's expert living historians at their War and Peace event.
19. Enjoy a tour of the Royal Yard at National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket. Royal Trainers William Haggas, Sir Mark Prescott and John and Thady Gosden open their doors for three very special tours this summer in celebration of King Charles III’s Coronation.
20. See local chef demos and enjoy a wide range of food and drink stalls at Our Bury St Edmunds Food and Drink Festival.
Take a Greene King Brewery Tour this summer
21. A tour of Greene King Brewery is a must when you visit! The brewery has a fascinating history going all the way back to 1086, when monks would brew ale on the site of the Great Abbey using water from Bury’s chalk wells which are still used today by Greene King.
22. Take in a film at Abbeygate Cinema or Cineworld in the town. Abbeygate Cinema is a local independent cinema which dates back to the 1920s and shows the latest blockbusters alongside classics and special showings, while Cineworld has the latest releases.
23. Enjoy a day or two just shopping in Bury St Edmunds. It's the perfect place for retail therapy! While away a day exploring the 200 stores that line the picturesque medieval streets, and elegant Georgian squares. From clothes to kitchenware, shopping in Bury St Edmunds offers something for everyone - all within an easy walking distance in beautiful surroundings. As well as favourite High Street brands, Bury St Edmunds has a host of independent and individual shops that you won't find anywhere else.
24. If the children are getting restless this summer holiday then West Stow Country Park's Beowulf and Grendel Trail is a fantastic walk to keep them occupied while learning something of the area's history and tales. The trail is self-guided and free!
25. Peruse the exhibits in the Bury St Edmunds Art Society Art Exhibition at St Edmundsbury Cathedral Cloisters.
Fullers Mill Garden
26. Witness a high speed blur of colour as the Shetland ponies and their jockeys fly over the mini Steeplechase course at National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket.
27. Take a stroll around beautiful Lavenham. With its Tudor houses, crooked, half-timbered cottages and 15th Century Wool church, it’s easy to understand why the streets of Lavenham have been used as background for TV and films including Lovejoy and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
28. Enjoy a guided tour around Gifford's Hall Vineyard where their knowledgeable guides will talk you through the grapes they grow and the pruning and trellising techniques they use.
29. Take a walking tour of Bury St Edmunds with the Bury St Edmunds Tour Guides.
30. See the stunning Fullers Mill Garden at West Stow - the enchanting and tranquil waterside and woodland garden is truly magical.
Bury St Edmunds Farmers Market
31. Enjoy a morning wandering round over 70 wonderful stalls full of jewellery, candles, wood turning, bakery, bath products, upcycled fashion, eco products, ceramics and more at Bury St Edmunds Makers Market on the first Sunday of every month.
32. Catch a movie under the stars at the Bury St Edmunds Open Air Film Festival.
33. Described as “one of Britain’s finest ancient woodlands”, Bradfield Wood is home to 24 resident species of butterfly as well as birds and mammals too; the garden warbler and blackcap, stoats, yellow-necked mouse and badgers - the perfect place for a butterfly hunt and bird watching.
34. Visit Bury St Edmunds Farmers Market in August for some local produce!
35. Get your skates on and go roller skating at CurveMotion.
Bury St Edmunds Guildhall
36. Discover the Bury St Edmunds Ale Trail featuring 23 pubs and bars including Britain's smallest pub, The Nutshell.
37. Visit Suffolk's oldest working water mill. Pakenham Water Mill.,
38. Play tennis at the Abbey Gardens Tennis Courts!
39. Visit the only surviving WW2 Operations Room of the Royal Observer Corps at Bury St Edmunds Guildhall! – an unsung group of local heroes who were the ‘eyes and ears of the RAF’ during the Battle of Britain. Their story has been hidden behind a veil of secrecy for over 80 years, but now it’s all been declassified for you to explore.
40. Wander the seven rooms of treasures at Little Hall, Lavenham. One of the oldest buildings in the best preserved of the Suffolk wool towns, Little Hall is a 14th Century house built for the Causton family of clothiers and its subsequent development has mirrored the changing fortunes of Lavenham. Little Hall was restored by the Gayer-Anderson brothers in the 1920s and 30s and they filled the house with art and artefacts collected during their extensive global travels.
Picnic in the Abbey Gardens
41. Visit Kentwell Hall - one of England’s finest Tudor houses that stands within the most extensive moat in the county and nearly 30 acres of formal gardens and grounds. The house offers the visitor a journey through time from the Great Tudor Kitchen, the Gothic centre block to the State bedroom that was created by Thomas Hopper in the 1820s for a visit from the then Duke of York. The grounds during the summer are very special.
42. Take a tour of Middle Earth in West Stow!
43. Have a picnic in the Abbey Gardens, the 9th most visited free attraction in England!!
44. Explore Long Melford with its antiques shops, small boutiques and historic pubs and eateries.
45. Take a tour of Suffolk's smallest town Clare on a Clare Town Tour!
Kentwell Hall's Magic Weekend
46. Join Mole, Ratty and Badger on their mad-cap adventures in this heart-warming tale of friendship, new adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s family favourite - performed outside in the Abbey Gardens and West Stow Anglo Saxon Village.
47. Discover Bury St Edmunds' best cocktail bars on the Bury St Edmunds Cocktail Trail!
48. Come and see the Viking re-enactment group Wuffa as they occupy the Anglo-Saxon Village bringing a mix of crafts and weaponry displays.
49. See behind the scenes at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds on a Theatre Tour- a vibrant 200-year-old theatre and the last remaining working Regency playhouse in the country. Step on up and into the spotlight where the likes of Ian McKellan CBE, Dame Judi Dench DBE, Sir Peter Hall CBE and many more have gone before you. You’ll even get to tread the boards yourself!
50. Meet magicians, fairies, wizards, mystics, unicorns, Mad Hatters, gnomes, witches, Santa Claus & family on holiday and more at Kentwell Hall's Magic Weekend!
For more things to do this summer visit our What's On Guide!
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