Thursday 18 January - Wednesday 25 April
Tourist Information Centre
Various
£8.00 (unless otherwise stated)
Guided Walks around Ipswich
Our entertaining and informative Ipswich guided walks are available throughout the summer, with occasional evening and weekend walks. Unless stated, walks will start from Ipswich Borough Council’s Tourist Information Centre at 2.15pm, last about an hour and a half and cost £4.00 per person. Tuesday and Thursday walks can be attended without booking, just bring your entry fee and your walking shoes!
Additional walks during special events, celebrations and for children during school holidays are available throughout the year.
Walks that require pre-booking have tickets available through the Tourist Information Centre or online via the Ipswich Regent website.
Contact the Tourist Information Centre for further details.
Horrible History for Families
This summer discover the horrible history of Ipswich!
Death and executions, dirt and diseases, grave robbers, cruelty, crime and poo. Discover the horrible history of Ipswich on a gruesome walking tour for all of the family exploring the astonishing history of our ancestors and the amazing buildings of our town.
Horrible History for Families is ideal for children aged 7 to 12 years and their well-behaved adults. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.
Walks cost £3, start at 10.30am and last 90 minutes.
Book online via the Ipswich Regent website.
Contact the Tourist Information Centre for further details.
Tuesday Walks
These afternoon walks will be a great chance to get out in the sunshine and discover the lesser know stories of Ipswich.- 7 August – Docks to Designer Developments Discover the changing face of Ipswich Waterfront, from its historic beginnings to the creation of the wet dock. Along the way we’ll explore Dance East, Isaacs on the Quay and The James Hehir Building.
- 14 August – Yes, We Can! One hundred years after the vote was first given to women come and hear about the Ipswich suffrage campaigners and many more daring and successful Ipswich women, including England’s first female pilot.
- 21 August – Friaries, Prioires, Churches and Chapels Ipswich was a major religious centre during the Middle Ages. Follow in the footsteps of pilgrims to visit some of the town’s magnificent medieval churches and other interesting sites, including the ruins of Blackfriars and a Grade One Listed Meeting House.
- 28 August – Wolsey: The Man Behind the King Was Ipswich’s most famous son the real power during Henry VIII’s early reign? Could he have become Pope? Come with us to find out more about Thomas Wolsey, including his clash with the ‘James Bond’ of the day.
- 4 September – A Waterfront Wander Discover medieval churches, a Victorian dock, a unique survival of a Tudor Merchant’s home and workplace and the continuing development of Ipswich Waterfront.
- 11 September – Barley, Beer & Brewing Ipswich has many links with the brewing trade. This walk explores some of the main sites connected with a trade that brought so much prosperity to the town.
- 18 September – Corn & Corpolite Discover what coprolite really is and how wheat and barley once made this town wealthy. Hear about the firms who milled, malted, brewed and made the machinery to produce our daily bread and a well-earned pot of beer.
- 25 September – Rags and Bones A walk to honour the memory of author Frank Grace and to explore the Fore Street area that he wrote about in his popular book ‘Rags and Bones’.
Thursday Walks
As the days get warmer and longer, discover the colourful history of our town with these regular walks.- 9 August – Northern Highlights See two of our historic churches and a 15th century Gatehouse whilst learning about engineer Robert Ransome, the legacies of Edmund Withipoll and the Fonnereau family.
- 16 August – Heart of Ipswich See some of the finest buildings in Ipswich, a Norman Foster masterpiece, the spectacular Ancient House and a beautiful early Meeting House. Discover the town’s connections with Charles Dickens and Lord Nelson.
- 23 August – Saints To Waterfront Discover the Saxon origins of Ipswich and Cardinal Wolsey’s College. Explore Henry Tooley’s tomb and find out how the Victorian dock made Ipswich nationally important.
- 30 August – West Side Story Follow in the footsteps of Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon to the Shrine of Our Lady of Ipswich, and on the way meet Charles Darwin, Professor Henslow and the Giles family.
- 6 September – Blackfrairs to Waterfront Visit the old commercial quarter of Ipswich with its fine medieval churches, Jewish Cemetery and merchants’ houses; See how the Waterfront has adapted becoming a bustling and modern centre of leisure and education.
- 13 September – Northern Highlights See two of our historic churches and a 15th century Gatehouse whilst learning about engineer Robert Ransome, the legacies of Edmund Withipoll and the Fonnereau family.
- 20 September – Heart of Ipswich See some of the finest buildings in Ipswich, a Norman Foster masterpiece, the spectacular Ancient House and a beautiful early Meeting House. Discover the town’s connections with Charles Dickens and Lord Nelson.
- 27 September – Saints To Waterfront Discover the Saxon origins of Ipswich and Cardinal Wolsey’s College. Explore Henry Tooley’s tomb and find out how the Victorian dock made Ipswich nationally important.
