Move over Southwold – there's a new jewel in Suffolk's coastal crown

“Lowestoft’s beach is outrageous,” says local admirer Lyn Tupper. It’s Suffolk’s best-kept secret, too. On a sizzling hot day, the soft golden sand – a mile long and almost 300ft wide from promenade to water – is utterly glorious, and feels a million miles from its more popular neighbours, Southwold and Aldeburgh, down the coast. 

But Lowestoft’s day in the sun is dawning: every summer, a free, 24-hour festival now hits the beach, while historic fishing vessels race on the sea, new designer beach huts fill up with happy beachgoers on sunny days, cottage boltholes and award-winning hotels welcome weekend visitors, and creative foodie, arty and culture spots breathe new life into this historic former fishing village.

Like Banksy, JMW Turner and Joseph Conrad before you, it’s time to enjoy a summer break in Britain’s most easterly town – after all, it’s where the sun always shines first. 

Head for the beach

Just 20 minutes’ walk from the train station, on the town’s South Beach, you’ll find the Eastern Edge designer beach huts (hirebeachhuts.co.uk) – 72 beautiful new huts in which to while away a sunny afternoon by the sea. 

When you get peckish, stroll north up the beach, recently home to First Light, the UK’s only free, 24-hour festival (firstlightlowestoft.com), which took over the sands last month with live music, Luke Wright-curated poetry and comedy, graffiti, sculpture and kites. When you reach the base of South Pier, you’ll discover East Point Pavilion (eastpointpavilion.com), a Victorian-style glasshouse recently opened as a spectacular foodie hub – after a makeover led by urban gurus Hemingway Design (those behind Margate’s Dreamland theme park) – and now home to market-style kiosks, long tables, a bar, garden seating and DJ sets to enjoy while you tuck into your food. 

Running the pavilion bar is Sir Toby’s Beers (try their new craft brew, East Point Pale, a four per cent hazy, hoppy IPA made in collaboration with the much-loved Ampersand Brew Co), while nearby Tres Hermanas serves Mexican street food (otherworldly burritos); pizzas and tempting desserts are sold by Black Dog Pizza, and Asian street food – including some rocking burgers – are made by Oishii Kitchen. Pop-up maker events and DJ sets ensure the party fizzes throughout the summer, and year-round events are planned to keep the vibe alive after the sun sets on the season.

Get out on the water

After lazing about Lowestoft’s stellar beach and the promenade – a delightful mix of ice cream vendors, bacon baps from the excellent Sunrise at Zak’s, plus a children’s playground and tourist train – head for the water. Take a coastal sightseeing tour with new Jet Adventures (jetadventures.co.uk), or wander down to Heritage Quay to climb aboard the ancient fishing smack, the Excelsior. The 1921-built Lowestoft boat is available for trips all summer (theexcelsiortrust.co.uk) and is a key player in the Associated British Ports Smack Race on July 30, when a flotilla of 25 historic vessels will sail out of the harbour for a race not held in the town for decades. Explore the Vessels Festival on the quayside, too, with live music, food and art stalls. 

“Fishing was the gold rush in Lowestoft,” explains Excelsior trustee Laurence Vulliamy. “The turn of the century was Lowestoft’s heyday. It was said you could walk across all the boats in the harbour, and eat fish in London that had been caught in Lowestoft.”

Look no further for inspiration: Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, which smashed the Atlantic crossing world record in 1986, was built in Lowestoft. Budding boat builders can book a tour at the International Boat Building Training College (ibtc.co.uk), while those in search of an adrenaline kick should check out the Oulton Broad motorboat racing, just west of the town centre, at the oldest motorboat racing venue in the world (lobmbc.online).

Explore the town

Landlubbers can stroll the historic high street, which is vibrant with new openings, including Paper-works Books & Prints, The Art Gallery (the only place to get postcards of Banksy’s 2021 A Great British Spraycation), and Lowestoft Studio Ceramics. Here you’ll also find the old Scores still in use. These steep narrow paths were cut into the cliff by locals toing and froing from the fishing village up to the town. Historian Ivan Bunn tells you more on guided visits through the high street lined with Tudor and Victorian buildings (ivanawbunn@aol.com for details). Or you could get thoroughly familiar with the hundreds of steps in the annual Scores Race this August bank holiday (waveneyvalley.org/scores-race). 

Tuck into the fruits of the land – and the sea – at new Mark G on the high street, with its al fresco drinking spot next to an old herring store. Mark serves dishes rooted in local produce – Cromer crab, Norfolk lobster, Suffolk asparagus, fish smoked in Lowestoft, and Sunday Charcuterie, a new Suffolk-based small batch, single pig charcuterie. 

Buying to take home? Waveney Valley Smokehouse serves out of an ancient smokehouse down by the sea. It’s one of a handful still firing up the kilns from a peak of nearly 300 that hung herring from tenterhooks across town. Celebrate the town’s herring legacy at the Herring & Ale Maritime Fayre on September 11. 

Enjoy the arts

Lowestoft’s long-gone fishing village was known as the Grit – and now adopting the moniker is a new bar, music and cultural centre in the town’s ex-magistrates’ court, home to live performances, talks and drinks’ demos, and a boutique cinema in the untouched, high-security court room.

“Everyone thought Lowestoft was a dump,” says Grit co-founder Piers Colby, “but the ball is rolling now.”

The revival is everywhere. Toby Westgarth of Sir Toby’s Beers has revitalised the Stanford Arms with live music, and chef Johnny Spillings – who baked at Raymond Blanc’s two Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons – will revive the Penny Bun Bakehouse live music sessions with pies and drinks amid the ovens and workstations at his Lowestoft base (thepennybunbakehouse.co.uk). 

Award-winning sculptor Alexander Costello has also opened the not-for-profit Project 303 (303projects.com), where sculptor Alice Wilson’s One hundred and eighty-nine show launched earlier this month, and will be followed by an exhibition from Barbados-born artist Paul Dash. 

Spend the night

After the music, art, beach and beer, you’ll need a sweet stay – and Airbnb is a good place to start. With huge windows facing the sea, there’s a beautifully decorated home sleeping eight on Marina Parade (from £332 per night, minimum five nights, airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48861630); not to mention a smart studio and double in a transformed Grade II-listed theatre, where Michael Caine married in 1954 (from £60 per night, minimum two nights, airbnb.co.uk/rooms/39422302); and two handsomely decorated rooms in the arty, late-Victorian home of printmakers (from £47 per night, airbnb.co.uk/rooms/28459851).

Find further idyllic seaside boltholes at suffolkcoastalescapes.co.uk, or opt for the new, award-winning Hog Hotel, where you’ll find a contemporary vibe and delicious seasonal dinners (doubles from £140 B&B; thehoghotel.co.uk). More amazing places to stay can be found in our guide to the best hotels in Suffolk.