If you’re looking for community groups or sociable activities in East Anglia, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. For example, East Anglia Community Arts puts on crafts events for people of all ages.

There are plenty of festivals too, like the Latitude rock music festival in Suffolk; Aldeburgh Festival of classical music or the Cambridge Folk Festival. For something different, try Out There, Europe’s premier circus skills festival in Great Yarmouth – which also hosts a huge Maritime festival.

Foodies are well catered for, with everything from the annual Spring Beer Festival in Chelmsford to the Crab & Lobster Festival in Cromer. Looking for Michelin star restaurants in East Anglia? Try the two-star Midsummer House in Cambridge.

If you’d gladly retire to East Anglia, it’s good to know 83% of McCarthy Stone homeowners experience a sense of community in their retirement home

Although blissfully lacking in motorways, East Anglia is well connected by major A roads and rail networks like the East Coast Main Line, the Great Eastern Main Line and the West Anglia Main Line, which connects the area to the rest of the UK. The Cambridge  to London train takes around 50 minutes. You can get from Norwich to London in under two hours and Ipswich to London takes just over an hour.

The biggest passenger airport in East Anglia is Norwich Airport, which can transport you across the UK and mainland Europe. Compact Cambridge Airport also offers travel to some European cities and Stansted Airport offers a huge range of destinations worldwide.

All McCarthy Stone retirement apartments and developments are carefully located be easily accessible and close to local attractions and amenities.

East Anglia is perfect for people who like to get out and about in the great outdoors. Relatively flat, it is idyllic for cyclists with beautiful cycleways, including the National Cycle Route 1, which begins (or ends) with dramatic views of the white cliffs of Dover. The historic university city of Cambridge has one of the highest numbers of regular cyclists in the country.

With diverse wildlife, coastline, canals and rolling countryside there are hundreds of places to be at one with nature. Here are our recommendations for some the best walks in East Anglia – although there are many more: the picturesque Stour Valley and Dedham Vale made famous by Constable’s paintings; the self-explanatory Cambridge colleges walk, or the truly spectacular Norfolk  Coastal Path.

And if you crave the bustle of a vibrant city, there are plenty of options too: Norwich, Ipswich and Peterborough  all offer fantastic shopping, nightlife and culture.