Shepherd's huts near Aldeburgh with surfing

Aldeburgh is perhaps the jewel in Suffolk's coastal crown, a long-standing resort, but one that has reinvented itself cleverly and successfully over the years, from its annual arts festival, the brainchild of local resident Benjamin Britten, to its current profile as Islington-on-Sea for Londoners who don't want to feel too far from home. It's a great place to do not much at all, with a handful of sights in itself, many of them Britten-related, including the church, where the composer is buried, the house where he lived during his final years and Maggi Hambling's controversial clam shell sculpture on the beach, whose charms have divided residents and visitors for years. When you've seen these, browsed the high street shops and strolled the seafront path, you've pretty much done Aldeburgh, but the countryside around is a fab place to go camping for a long weekend away, and the area is a great base for exploring this part of the Suffolk Coast – enjoying the fruits of its small fishing fleet which famously sells their catch from wooden shacks along the stony beach.