When I think of British seaside resorts, I think of buckets and spades, striped parasols, beach huts and sticks of rock. My mind immediately goes to the often tacky towns made popular by the Victorians, like Weymouth or Blackpool. I had assumed that, being the first purpose-built seaside resort in Britain, Thorpeness would have a similarly kitsch vibe. But what I found was anything but – and it was all the better for it.
Thorpeness is set on the Suffolk coast, sandwiched between bougie Aldeburgh with its Maggi Hambling Scallop sculpture, and Sizewell, home of the gargantuan, synonymous nuclear power station. At first glance, Thorpeness is a pretty little village with large Tudor timber-framed houses, an old windmill and a boating lake.
Tiny, dusty lanes lined with ramshackle, wooden bungalows thread between the bigger homes, and two large water towers – one in brick and the other clad in black boarding like the fishing huts all along the coast – loom large over the village. The shingle beach stretches for miles in both directions along the coast, and there’s not a seafront funfair to be seen.
© Getty ImagesThe original holiday village
It is, on the surface, a charming, historic seaside village. But its appearance is deceiving, for in 1900, the vast majority of these houses did not yet exist, and those water towers were nowhere to be seen. Not even the lake was a feature on this flat coastal landscape. The Thorpeness you see today was, in fact, built in 1913 and was the vision of one man: Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie.
He dreamed of creating the perfect holiday village for the upper-middle classes of the early 20th century, and in Thorpeness it was finally realised. All those handsome Tudor beams? An architectural ruse. The lake? Entirely manmade. It’s like the original Centre Parcs, but without the Lazy River or exorbitant activities.
What to do in Thorpeness
Here, it’s all about slowing down. Taking your time. Reconnecting with nature. Which is why, on a Friday afternoon in September, I found myself on a rowing boat navigating the Meare with a friend and our two dogs. Battling against a strong breeze and a whippet determined to knock the oars into the lake, we paddled through a narrow channel between islands where Canada geese preened themselves on grassy banks, surrounding a small hut labelled Wendy’s House, a nod to JM Barrie’s Peter Pan. The 60-acre Meare was inspired by Barrie’s novel, and Ogilvie purposely made it shallow enough for children to safely sail, kayak or row between its overgrown islands.
© Getty ImagesLost boys and girls could adventure here for hours, but we had an important appointment with a swimming pool and a rooftop sundowner. While Thorpeness is all about good old-fashioned, family-friendly fun, it is by no means stuffy, and ARC Thorpeness, our majestic tower of a holiday home for the weekend, is testament to that.
Enough space to store water for an entire village
The 115-year-old water tower that sits just a few roads back from the beach is a regal, red-brick building with pointed arch windows and castle-like crenellations at its top. It’s five storeys high, sleeps up to 20 people, and has more stairs than I’ve ever climbed on a stairmaster in the gym. But the views from the top floor, where the village water supply was once held in a tank, are utterly arresting.
Through those handsome arched windows you can see out across the entire Meare, over the ocean, and inland to the greenery that sprawls beyond the village. At sunrise the room takes on a magical golden light, while at dusk you can watch the skies turn pink from the comfort of the sofas.
The tower is the product of an ambitious renovation by ARC, a company that creates design-led homes in historic buildings across the UK. Alongside this chic home with its outdoor plunge pool, wood-fired hot tub and al fresco kitchen, is the Lobby – a concierge service where you can book anything from walking tours of the village to yoga classes in the water tower or have a chef come and do the cooking for you so you can truly relax. It’s a modern testament to the holiday resort Thorpeness was built as.
Where to eat
It might have been tempting to spend our entire weekend ensconced in ARC’s polished interiors, but there’s much to explore on the Suffolk coast beyond the village – and plenty to eat. This region’s bountiful seafood and excellent seasonal produce features on the menus of many of its restaurants and cafes.
© Lottie GrossA 45-minute walk along the seafront south of Thorpeness lies Aldeburgh, the second home of Bill Nighy that’s famed for its fish and chip shops. We opted for something a little more refined at the Brudenell Hotel, whose roasted cod in cider sauce and whole lobster are menu highlights, served with a fine sea view overlooking the pebble beach.
© Getty ImagesIf we were feeling particularly adventurous, we might have nipped up to Snape Maltings just six miles up the road, where independent shops and galleries occupy a set of former industrial Victorian buildings, but the call of ARC’s top floor views beckoned, and a clear night’s sky held the promise of some excellent stargazing from the sofa.
How to book it: ARC Thorpeness costs from £625 per night (£31pp per night based on a group of 20 for four nights midweek).
Lottie was a guest of ARC. All hotels and experiences have been independently reviewed by our expert writers, who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis, but this never affects our review process.
