Beccles is the largest town in the Waveney area at the southernmost point of the Broads, just six miles east of Bungay, on the buff of the Suffolk bank of the River Waveney. Beccles, meaning river pasture, is an ancient market town once home to Saxons and Vikings. Beccles houses an excellent museum, the Beccles and District Museum (a beautiful Dutch-style gabled building)with a fine collection of 19th century toys and costumes and memorabilia from the sailing wherries. There is a very good shopping area where you will find fine local produce and market.

The market was once the major supplier of herring (up to 60,000 a year) to the Abbey at Bury St Edmunds. The streets and lanes are peppered with fine Georgian town houses; many of the older buildings were destroyed by fire in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Down by the river is the quay and a series of landing stages – a wonderful place for a walk or a boat trip. Yachts and pleasure boats line the river bank where once, at the height of Beccles's trading importance stood wherries which transported goods from seaports to inland towns.

The parish church of St Michael was built in the second half of the 14th century by the Abbot of Bury. Its tower stands separate, built in the 16th century, rising almost 100 feet and containing a peal of bells. An unusual feature of the north facade is an outside pulpit taking the form of a small balcony. The priest could enter the pulpit from inside the church and preach to lepers, who were not allowed inside.

Just outside the town lie two fine old houses, Roos Hall, a lofty Elizabethan fragment where Queen Elizabeth I stayed when she visited Beccles to present the town's charter (depicted in the town sign). One of the Hall's owners was Sir John Suckling (later to become Controller of the Household to James I), his descendants included Lord Nelson. Like any great hall, Roos has its own ghost - a headless coachman who is said to appear on Christmas Eve.

Worlingham Hall is a late 18th century mansion, its rich interior by Francis Sandys.

Cottages for self catering close to Bungay and Beccles include The Gallery and Black Barn at Brampton and The Homestead near Southwold.