To anyone interested in exploring East Anglia, we can heartily recommend Watermill Cottages - Great Britain & Ireland

To anyone interested in exploring East Anglia, we can heartily recommend Watermill Cottages (Watermill House, Kettleburgh, Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K., 1P137JS; phone 01728 621121 or fax 0172862118).

The cottages are a delight--thatched, wonderfully restored and very well furnished. They are the most comfortable, warm and best-equipped of any self-catering accommodation we've rented in Europe.

There are three cottages. Prices vary based on the size of the cottage and the time of year. The smallest has one bedroom with a king-sized bed and a single room; we spent two weeks there at $700 per week in June '02. The others have two double rooms and three bedrooms with a connecting door joining the living rooms--ideal for a bigger family vacation. We spent one week in the 3-bedroom cottage at $900 per week that same month.

The cottages are owned by David and Kate Harris and ably supported by their secretary, Ann Young, and all three are most friendly and helpful. (The Harrises also own a wonderful-looking property on the River Vire in Normandy.)

Kettleburgh is about 30 minutes west of Ipswich, 10 minutes west of Wickham Market and near Woodbridge, a lovely little country town on the estuary of the river Deben.

The sea can be reached in half an hour at Aldeburgh, which is the home of the Aldeburgh Festival (for information, phone 0178687100 or e-mail [email protected]). This internationally known festival was in its 55th season and offered opera, symphonies, chamber music and lectures. The concert we attended was excellent. There are good restaurants in Aldeburgh, too.

There's plenty of history in East Anglia. Oxford and Framlingham castles are well preserved, have good free audio guides and are about five miles from Kettleburgh. Sandringham (the Queen's Norfolk residence) and coastal towns such as Lowestoft, Cromer and Blakeney (which has great seal-watching) are all easy day trips. There's good birding and walking on the coast and inland, several golf courses close by and a number of good pub restaurants.

In Kettleburgh there's the village shop with newspapers and groceries, and at the B&B Church Farm (phone 01728 723 532) Ann and John will serve you a fine farmhouse dinner at a reasonable price. We paid 15 [pounds sterling] (near $25) each for a 3-course meal of soup, lamb (really nice), veggies, dessert and coffee.

At Wickham Market in town you can find a great butcher's, bakery and wine shop as well as a good, not-too-small supermarket if you want to cook in the cottage's well-equipped kitchen. Quilter's Haven was another interesting local shop.

We feel East Anglia is underrated n terms of its historical interest (see the Saxon museum at Sutton Hoo) and natural beauty, and we left after three weeks of quite active sightseeing with plenty still left to do.

JOHN & PAULINE CLARK, Johns Island, SC

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