The hotel: Southwold is so cute, it makes Trumpton look shabby. If it were anywhere else, it would be besieged. But it isn’t — it’s at the end of the A1095. Keep going and you’re in the North Sea: there isn’t a lot of flow-through traffic. So, by 7pm, 90% of the tourist tide has sluiced inland, and you’ll have this cutest of cul-de-sacs largely to yourself.

Ensconce yourself at The Swan hotel, which has handsome oils, sombre hues and marshmallow sofas, but don’t be deceived: this is the live switchboard of local life. People have been drinking the home-brew here since the 14th century, and in 1872, the Adnams brothers took it over and began making what would become one of Britain’s favourite ales. The brewery lies just across the hotel car park, so the beer theme permeates everything, including your nostrils when you stroll outside.

The 42 rooms are fettled with the kind of crisp style that Hotel du Vin veterans go wobbly about. Some have plasma screens, many have four-posters and all have walls dotted with local contemporary art, and bathrooms that waft organic toiletries.

Two new suites borrow loft space from the town hall next door: the Admiral, with a telescope for sea-gazing; and Mr Crisp’s Room, which peers over Southwold’s lighthouse. But the best room is No 1 — one window looks onto Market Place, while another allows you to plump up the pillows on the four-poster and lie there watching the waves.

What is the food like? The dining room is traditional, smart and subtly lit; and the head chef, Ian Howell, has one eye on the local nets and the other on nearby farms for his meat and veg. The results are simple but crafted: start with tender smoked eel on a bed of free-range scrambled egg, or maybe some ham hock from Earsham (okay, that’s imported from Norfolk). And if Southwold sea trout with samphire is on the mains list, bag it quick. Throw in seriously good, well-selected wines from £14.50, and the Swan sets the high-water mark for faultless food in easy-going surroundings. One more tip: reserve a fireside sofa for a pleasant after-dinner doze.

If you’ve overindulged, how do you downsize? This town was made for walking. Try a gentle stroll north along the shingle beach to visit Britain’s most expensive rank of beach huts: one changed hands recently for £48,000. Then steam on to the pier, only just rebuilt and now boasting what at first appears to be an infernal amusement arcade, but is in fact a confuse-me-quick emporium of postmodern japes. Two quid buys you a five-minute diving adventure, and among the other attractions are a dog on a treadmill and an auto-frisking machine with kinky inflating rubber gloves. Hard to describe, fun to watch.

Calm yourself down by admiring the town’s lovely lighthouse, sprouting proudly among the rooftops. The walk is all downhill from here to Blackshore, Southwold’s old port, where many of the sailors’ huts double up as cafes and fishmongers. The Sole Bay Fish Company sells an excellent pint of prawns.

Stroll on alongside the River Blyth and watch the fishermen watching you and the chandlers doing their chandling. Even here, the hop mash from the Adnams brewery mixes with the sea air and reminds you of the beer-assisted sausages you scoffed for breakfast. Delicious.

What about beyond the town? Back among the bullying traffic of the A12, hang a right in Blythburgh and visit Holy Trinity Church, the “Cathedral of the Marshes”. It is commonly acknowledged to be the county’s best, having miraculously escaped both the Reformation and meddling Victorians. The hovering wooden angels are worth the visit alone.

A few miles further on, Snape Maltings (01728 688303, www.snapemaltings.co.uk) is, if you time it right, your venue for some world-class classical music (this year’s Aldeburgh Festival runs from June 9 to 25).

Who should go? Gluttons for nourishment; even without the drama of the coast, the Swan would be a hearty hideaway.

Who shouldn’t? Big families with children in search of spirited beach and night life.

The Swan (01502 722186, www.adnamshotels.co.uk) has 42 rooms and two suites. Doubles start at £150, B&B; dinner costs £35 for three courses

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