Activities in Ipswich

Suffolk Leisure Park is less than half a mile from our Ipswich South hotel and offers a great active day out for the whole family. Perfect your skiing and snowboarding skills on the all-weather slope, or slip and slide your way down with a toboggan or inflatable ‘ringo’ doughnut. The high ropes course offers a challenge for the daredevils of the family, and an on-site restaurant will keep you all fully fuelled.

For those water babies, there are plenty of activities on offer at Alton Water Sports Centre – a peaceful lakeside location half an hour away from Ipswich town centre. Try your hand at sailing, windsurfing and various paddlesports, with courses and taster sessions available if you’d like some guidance. Or for a more leisurely day out on the water, join the Sailing Barge Victor to explore the River Orwell. Enjoy a piece of Ipswich’s maritime history on the sailing barge dating from 1895, with a variety of excursions scheduled including supper cruises or cream tea trips, as well as bird-spotting tours and folk music evenings.

If the children (and adults!) in your family have a need for speed, visit the Beacon Rally Karts centre in a rural location to the east of Ipswich. Three outdoor off-road tracks provide the perfect setting for a competitive (and muddy) karting challenge – and with four different-sized karts, it’s suitable for all ages from five upwards.

For a day out without the adrenaline, enjoy a relaxing nine holes at Bramford Golf Centre, or head to Baylham House Rare Breeds Farm, which is less than a 10-minute drive from our Ipswich North hotel. Remember to bring your wellies and enjoy getting stuck in brushing the pigs or cuddling the lambs. The kids will enjoy feeding the goats, bunnies and more, as well as clowning around on the tyre swing. Springtime is a great time to visit to catch all of the baby animals.

As the English weather doesn’t always play ball, it’s great that Ipswich offers plenty of indoor options for entertainment. Kids and adults alike can race around and compete at the covered track of Anglia Indoor Kart Racing – the multi-level circuit offers plenty of tight corners and tunnels for you to whiz through. Or if the kids are bouncing off the walls, let them expend some energy at Bounce Ipswich trampoline park. It’s an easy three-minute drive from our Ipswich North hotel, with plenty of sessions for all ages, from tiny tots to teens and above.

To get the creative juices flowing, head to Glass & Craft – a 15-minute drive into the Suffolk countryside from our Ipswich Chantry Park hotel. The workshop and studio offers everything from glass and pottery painting, to crafty decopatch and build-your-own bear. Friendly staff will keep you and your little ones entertained for hours, and you can pop to the gift shop while you’re there to pick up everything from organic soaps to handmade jewellery from local crafters.

It’s not difficult to get out of the town and explore the Suffolk countryside on two wheels. The Ipswich to Woodbridge Cycle Route connects the historic town centre with the riverside town of Woodbridge, close to the Anglo-Saxon burial ground of Sutton Hoo. Both Ipswich and Woodbridge train stations are easily accessed from each end of the cycle route, so you could pop on the train if you don’t fancy the return journey by bike! Or the Ipswich Holbrook Circular Cycle Route takes in the countryside to the south of Ipswich – make a loop around Alton Water lake and finish the pleasant 17-mile trip with a cycle next to the River Orwell.

Join the Ipswich Tourist Guides Association for walking tours with a variety of themes with different routes through the town centre. Find the group starting from the Tourist Information Centre, and of course finishing with tea and treats at a local café. Or for a spookier history of the oldest permanently settled town in England, join Ipswich Ghost Tours to explore the town’s top haunts on the first Thursday of every month.