Freston Tower
Local highlightA tall, slender tower of Tudor red brick — six storeys, one small room stacked on the next — stands above the Orwell at Freston. Tree-ring dating puts it at 1578/9, built by the Ipswich merchant Thomas Gooding, and it’s often called the oldest folly in England, though no one knows quite why it went up. The Landmark Trust now lets it as a holiday retreat, so you can admire it from the parkland footpaths but not go inside. Pin Mill sits a little downriver.
