From guided walks and competitions to live broadcasts and bell ringing there’s going to be a host of events and something for everyone to enjoy and get involved with on Suffolk Day in west Suffolk.
Organisers from Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Sudbury, Lackford, Lavenham, Long Melford, Ickworth and villages from Barrow to Great Barton and Thurston to Woolpit are urging everyone to get out and about on the longest day of the year and make the most of the area with a variety of events being held to show off everything Suffolk has to offer.
One of the highlights of the day will be an exclusive walk and talk tour of St Edmundsbury Cathedral by the man responsible for its iconic Millennium Tower.
Horry Parsons, the former project manager for the construction of the Millennium Tower project and the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling, will be returning to the cathedral in Bury St Edmunds to talk about their construction.
Three, free “Building the Tower” walk and talks at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm, will take place on Suffolk Day and last 45 minutes.
Hannah Ratcliffe, visits and communications manager, said: “Horry had a key role in these two major works which are now the crowning glory for Suffolk’s only cathedral here in Bury St Edmunds. We are proud to be a beacon of faith, hope and love in Suffolk and would love for our visitors to join in with this special series on Suffolk Day.”
And at the Abbeygate Cinema, in Hatter Street, there will be screening of Sir Peter Hall’s Akenfield at 1pm, which was filmed in and around Charsfield in Suffolk.
Pat Church, the part time manager at the cinema, said: “I have been elected to introduce and explain the reason this film has for the past 43 years held a special place in my heart and I shall be presenting what I consider something special to all my friends in the cinema that afternoon.”
Local radio station RWSFM will be celebrating Suffolk Day and broadcasting live for its Ian Norris Show from Bury St Edmunds’ newest attraction, the Guildhall, ahead of its official opening on July 14.
Moyse’s Hall Museum will be unveiling a special display as part of the Gershom-Parkington collection ... one of the finest compilations of antique clocks in the country. It features a piece to run alongside the collection and is a Parker and Pace piece featuring a crossbow and pistol.
Teams across the county will also be offering free health checks to those at risk of heart disease, in an effort to highlight health concerns before they have an impact on people’s quality of life.
The health checks, run by lifestyle service OneLife Suffolk, will be offered at events in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket.
Two Suffolk Day walks will take place at 8am and 8pm walking around the perimeter of award winning Nowton Park.
Sudbury has expanded on its activities from last year with lots going on.
Mark Murphy will be hosting his BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show from Old Market Place, from 7am to 10am, where he be interviewing the Mayor of Sudbury Sue Ayres who will lead a Suffolk Day Ceremony with the Mayors of Suffolk coming together and reading a Suffolk Day proclamation on the steps of the Town Hall.
There will also be a mini market in St Peter’s Church and the Tourist Information Centre will be
showcasing information about everything going on in and around Sudbury throughout the year.
One Life Suffolk will be offering free NHS Health checks to those above 40.
As this year’s event is on a Thursday it will coincide with Sudbury’s twice weekly market on Market Hill and Old Market Place.
Outside there will also be local artists whom will be displaying their artwork for sale and will be painting throughout the day.
Both the school band and the school choir of Woodhall Primary School will be performing at 1.45 pm outside the Town Hall.
Staff from the Ipswich Building Society will be in St Peter’s Church with games, giveaways and the chance to meet the companie’s mascot, Pound the Hound, and inside the branch on Market Hill, visitors will be served coffee and cake made with ingredients from local produce.
Children can have a go at the society’s three-hole mini crazy golf and bean bag throwing game.
At Newmarket the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art will be marking the day with entrance tickets only £5.
And visitors to the town can discover one of Europe’s largest commercial stud farms ... the National Stud Farm to learn about the history and heritage of the 500-acre site.
There’s a 50% discount off tickets to the site which includes meeting the resident stallions, mares and their foals as they frolic in the summer sunshine.
The team at Lackford Lakes Nature Reserve will be offering free guided walks to celebrate Suffolk Day from 10am to 2pm.
The walks will last around 45 minutes and take in many of the reserve’s features.
At Stansfield Village Hall, from 11am to 12.15pm, there’s a Coffee Morning with the Rural Coffee Caravan, from 11am to 12.15pm, while in Clare the town is going to be “dressed” for Suffolk Day with Suffolk-themed shop windows and Suffolk menus in the restaurants and runs throughout the weekend.
And churches in the area are marking the day with a series of bell ringing taking place.
They are at St Mary the Virgin, in Lakenheath; St Andrew and St Patrick’s, Elveden; St Peter and St Paul, Bardwell; All Saints, Barrow; Great Barton Church; St Peter’s, Thurston; and St Mary’s, Woolpit.
Ickworth House, park and gardens, in Horringer, will be offering free house entry throughout the day with a full range of free tours, both indoor and outdoor, on offer to visitors and if the weather is good visitors will be invited to picnic.
Ickworth’s chef James Stockham will also be baking a special Suffolk Apple Cake and BBC Radio Suffolk’s Lesley Dolphin mid-morning show will be broadcast live from the North Lawn.
The stunning Tudor mansion Kentwell Hall, in Long Melford, will be opening longer on summer’s longest day to enable people to enjoy the house, gardens and farm until 8pm and offering half price admission from 5pm to 8pm.
While at the 15th century Swan, at Lavenham Hotel and Spa, head chef Justin Kett has created a new lunch menu celebrating Suffolk Day and the county’s excellent local food and drink.
Sue Warren, brand and marketing manager for Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, said: “Suffolk Day is a great opportunity to shout about all the wonderful places to see, stay, eat and drink, shop and explore in the county and there are so many of them in Bury St Edmunds and surrounding area.”
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