What’s going for it? It sounds like an episode of The Vicar Of Dibley: a gang of savage peacocks terrorised the town of Beccles last month. “Peacock Blinders!” went the headline in the Daily Mail. See what they did there? “Melanie Goodwin, a retired librarian, said: ‘They are very big birds and they are naturally destructive. They trample over flowerbeds and I have seen them tearing up bedding plants.’” That’s how they roll in Beccles: it’s dog-eat-dog, peacock-eat peacock, peacock-eat-dog-bites-man – whatever. This is a town that, like most hugging the Broads, is used to nature, wild in tooth, claw and iridescent feather. The land is so low here, the sea so high, you have to make your peace with the elements. Land has long been a finite commodity, every foot above sea level fought over like a South Pacific island nation. For centuries Beccles has sat elegantly on its hummock, 18th-century Dutch gables peeking above the marsh and a beautifully restored lido. I do, though, fear for properties built, in our more reckless times, less loftily. Can peacocks swim?
The case against The usual Norfolk/Suffolk things (far from a motorway/fast trainline etc).
Well connected? Trains: hourly to Lowestoft (18 mins), Woodbridge (53 mins) and Ipswich (71 mins). Driving: 25 mins to Lowestoft or Southwold, 40 mins to Norwich.
Schools Primaries: Albert Pye Community, Worlingham C of E, nearby Gillingham St Michael’s C of E and Ringsfield C of E are all “good”, says Ofsted, with Ravensmere Infants “outstanding”. Secondaries: Sir John Leman High and Beccles Free are “good”.
Hang out at… Think old inns, like the King’s Head or the White Horse. Or American pancakes at MA’s Airfield Diner.
Where to buy A delightful old heart. Northgate, with bricky Georgian town houses and stuccoed cottages; Ballygate for seconds. A wonderful line in pantiles and Dutch gables. Yum. Hungate, Blyburgate have more terraces and town houses. And a light dusting of Victorian terraces around Denmark Road. Large detacheds and town houses, £400,000-£900,000. Detacheds, £220,000-£400,000. Semis, £180,000-£350,000. Terraces and cottages, £135,000-£300,000. Rentals: a one-bed flat, £450pcm; a three-bed house, £650pcm.
Bargain of the week Some might think £825,000 hardly a bargain. But when you get a seven-bed architectural treasure house, it is. With muskermcintyre.co.uk.
From the streets
Simon Bond “River Waveney is fantastic for canoeing, and half an hour’s walk from the town centre. You’ll see otters, kingfishers, marsh harriers, water voles, barn owls and more.”
Janette and Phil Smith “Close to the glorious Suffolk coast – Southwold, Dunwich, Aldeburgh, Thorpeness.”
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