Fancy being rewarded for going on a pub crawl? And alcohol isn’t compulsory, either.
Sip’swich offers guided tours around favourite pubs in central Ipswich, with two themes: Historic Ipswich, with seven pubs, and Dog-Friendly, with eight. When you buy a drink – soft or alcoholic – you get a stamp on your trail card.
Ipswich’s origins go back to its role as a port with trading links to continental Europe. Fittingly, the Historic Ipswich trail starts at Isaacs on the Quay, which has sections that date back to 1430.
East Anglia Bylines’s Peter Thurlow has a lovely memory of Isaac’s: “I recall being shown round those Tudor buildings around Isaac Lord’s before they were developed. In one corner there was a pile of old cannon trolleys, discarded from the time ships were broken up in the port.
“There is also still the door through which the travellers to the new world would have walked to board their ships; and an old sail loft in which Geoffrey Chaucer would have played as a child, completely in its original condition.”
From history to axe throwing
From the Quay, the trail winds up to the town centre via historic pubs. These have a variety of specialities. The Black Horse has a wide choice of rums and offers the possibility of ghost sightings. It’s not a surprise that the Shamrock is an Irish pub, but the final venue on the trail is an eye-opener. Boom Battle Bar offers activities from Axe Throwing to Shuffleboard.
It’s not all action though, you can have a drink and get the final stamp on your Historic Trail card. In return you’ll get an enamel pin featuring Wolsey’s Gate.
The other trail is designed around that classic pub companion, the dog. This trail is longer and starts at The Woolpack, near Christchurch Park. Fittingly, the next on the list is The Greyhound, on the other side of the park.
The Arcade Street Tavern could have been on the Historic trail as well, being in a Georgian townhouse. They have already stamped some trail cards. The Dog-Friendly trail ends on the Quay, at the Briarbank, where they brew their own beer. Here you can redeem your trail card for a special bandana for your dog.
More than just a drink
You can do both trails of course, although perhaps not all on the same day. Also, not all the Historic trail pubs can accommodate dogs. Once you have all the stamps you can exchange these at the Briarbank for a reuseable coffee cup featuring an image of Wolsey’s Gate.
The promotion runs until 30th April or stocks run out, whichever is earlier. Also, not all the pubs are open every day, so please check before setting off. There’s more about Cardinal Wolsey and historic Ipswich here.
As an aside, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was concerned for the fate of his mortal remains and commissioned a handsome sarcophagus in black marble from a Florentine sculptor. However, he died while travelling to London from York and was buried at Leicester Abbey. Ironically, the location of his grave is now unknown.
The sarcophagus was treated to some travels itself, before finally becoming the tomb of Horatio Nelson, in St Paul’s Cathedral. So, a son of Suffolk’s loss became a son of Norfolk’s gain.
Hop to it: Ipswich’s latest art trail
There’s another Ipswich trail to look forward to in the summer – this one for art. We’ve had elephants, we’ve had pigs, we’ve had owls. And this summer we have one of my favourite animals: hares. St Elizabeth Hospice will benefit from Hop To It. The previous art trails have been so successful this year it’s being extended to Beccles, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and Woodbridge.
There will be 33 large hares around Ipswich. The other towns will host in total 52 large and small sculptures. Hop To It will run from 21 June to 29 August, followed by the auction of the pieces. For a sneak preview of some of the hares, go to the Facebook page for Art Trail 2025.
Ipswich lands on the Monopoly board
If you prefer your trails to be carried out on the couch, well Ipswich can offer that too. The town has beaten nine other places to get a new Monopoly edition. Monopoly celebrates its 90th birthday this year and as part of its celebrations it ran a UK-wide competition for a new edition. Ipswich won based on two key factors: “Sense of Family” and “Civic Pride.”
The new version will be available in November, just in time for Christmas. If you can’t wait, there is already a Monopoly Ipswich edition.
And if you’re elsewhere in the region, there are Monopoly editions for Cambridge, Colchester, Luton, Peterborough and St Albans. However, there isn’t one for Norwich listed on the producer’s website, though Ipswich isn’t listed either. I did find Essex listed on Amazon though.
