As the nights draw in it can be tempting to pull the curtains, pour the cocoa and hunker down during your Suffolk visit.  Play scrabble! Watch those box sets! Eat, drink and snooze!

Certainly, Suffolk's quintessential cottages make for a relaxing retreat, away from the manic pace of modern life. But for those who want something more than the gogglebox for evening entertainment (and let's face it, 4pm is an early watershed in anyone's book), we at Suffolk Secrets have some other plans....

Whether you're deep in the countryside or having a winter retreat along the coast, Suffolk's low levels of light pollution and rural nature make it the perfect place to get up to all sorts of adventurous things after dark.

So spectacular are our night skies that they inspired what's become one of the most widely - known nursery songs in the English language: 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'. 

Originally titled, 'The Star', the romantacist poet, Jane Taylor penned the words to what evolved into the song we know today whilst living with her family in Shilling Grange, Lavenham, a house which still stands today.

Not for us endless repeats on the telly. Pass the torch, wang on the wellies and embrace the night, we say! Here's our top suggestions for making the most of our long, winter nights.

Look for UFO's

Rendlesham Forest is the site of one of the UK's most famous UFO sightings, when, at 3am on Boxing Day, 1980,  US Airforce personnel stationed nearby reported lights descending into the forest. Thinking it was perhaps an aircraft gone down, they went to investigate but what they found beggars belief:  a 'strange glowing object..metallic in appearance and triangular in shape..' which illuminated the entire forest with white light. The hovering object then flew off and disappeared but when they went to investigate at daylight, impressions were found in the earth. Later that night and again the following evening were further sightings of strange lights. Today, you can take the 'UFO trail' in the forest and explore, in the daytime or, if you're brave, after dark.

Where to stay? New for 2015, Grade II Listed Brewers Cottage, Woodbridge, is just a ten minute drive from the forest, and, comfortably sleeping 5 in 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, is the ideal bolthole for families.  Price from £446 per week or £356 for a 3 night weekend stay.

Take a ghost walk

There's no doubt about it: Suffolk has more than its fair share of spooky stories and leg-wobbling legends. From the 'ghost bells' that can be heard off the coast of Dunwich, the enduring tale (tail?) of the Black Shuck dog or the ghost girl at Kentwell Hall, near Long Melford, there's plenty to set the spine tingling.  Don't say you haven't been warned.

Where to stay? The Old Town Hall in Dunwich seems to capture the spirit of the wild heathland that surrounds it, historic (18th century, oak beams, lead-lined windows) and Grade II listed, the ideal place to conjure up images of ghosts and really get in the 'spirit' of things.  Sleeps 8, 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms and you can even bring your dog for extra comfort. Price from £721 for a week or £551 for a 3 night weekend break.

Go stargazing at Dunwich Heath

Stargazing is one of the National Trust's Top 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 and where better than the National Trust nature reserve at Dunwich Heath? According to the Dark Sky Discovery website, Saxmundham, adjacent to the site, is the best place in the whole of Suffolk for stargazing whilst the heath itself offers visitors 'unrivalled views along Suffolk's Heritage coast', allowing for optimum star sightings. Whilst the site is closed after hours, you are welcome to star-gaze from the car park or, if you prefer, head to the nearby beaches and watch until your neck aches!

Where to stay? Gorgeous, quaint, and very affordable, Tinkers Cottage sleeps 5 in 3 bedrooms whilst 2 bathrooms means you never have to fight over showers. Right in the centre of the tiny village of Dunwich, it's a great base to explore the heathland, visit RSPB Minsmere (where Springwatch was filmed), take windswept coastal walks and look skyward when the lights go out. Price from £336 per week in Feb (excl. half term), or £261 per 3 night weekend.

Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star

Visit Lavenham by day and you'll be enthralled by what's widely regarded as 'England's Best Preserved Medieval Village'; wandering through the cobbled streets, visiting the historic Guild Hall, maybe taking in some of the award-winning restaurants like the Swan and The Great House. Visit after dark and you'll see the same skies that inspired poet Jane Taylor to write what's become the best known nursery rhyme in the world: 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'.

Where to stay? New for 2015, Fernlea, in nearby Long Melford sleeps 8 in 4 bedrooms and has 2 bathrooms. 1 pet allowed. A Visit England 'Gold' award property, Grade II listed, Georgian, it's in the heart of one of Suffolk's most picturesque locations, the historic wool town, Long Melford. Luxuriously and thoughtfully decorated, this stunning Georgian town house makes the perfect getaway for a family gathering or for a group of friends. Price from £640 for a 3 night short break or £850 per week.

Go back in time at the Electric Picture Palace, Southwold

Visit Southwold's tiny cinema, the Electric Picture Palace and you'd be forgiven in thinking you'd gone back to the 1950's. A wurlitzer organ, rising from the stage, plays during the intermission, there's a doorman and the adults can even have a sneaky sherry at half time. All screenings end on a high with the National Anthem. Not technically an 'after dark' activity, but once the lights go down, you're guaranteed an experience not to be forgotten. Check the box office for screen times, the cinema is tiny so tickets sell out fast. Tours of the cinema are also available.

Where to stay? New for 2015, Sandy Castle, Southwold is an RIBA award-winning house built by the same company who built Southwold Pier. Games room, snooker table, i-pod decks and all mod-cons, it will keep your kids entertained during daylight hours as well as after dark. Sleeps 4, 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms. Price from £576 per week or from £441 for a 3 night weekend stay

For a full list of Suffolk Secrets properties, browse our new, 2015 brochure here http://brochures.originalcottages.co.uk/SS/brochure/flash.html

Alternatively, contact Suffolk Secrets on 01502 722 717 or visit www.suffolk-secrets.co.uk

Suffolk Secrets is also available on Twitter @SuffolkSecrets or Facebook  

Upcoming Astronomical Events 2015

• • January 3, 4 - Quadrantids Meteor Shower. The Quadrantids is an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at its peak. It is thought to be produced by dust grains left behind by an extinct comet known as 2003 EH1, which was discovered in 2003. The shower runs annually from January 1-5. It peaks this year on the night of the 3rd and morning of the 4th. Unfortunately the nearly full moon will block out all but the brightest meteors this year. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

• • January 5 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Wolf Moon because this was the time of year when hungry wolf packs howled outside their camps. This moon has also been know as the Old Moon and the Moon After Yule.

• • January 20 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

• • February - Dawn at Ceres. NASA's Dawn spacecraft will encounter the dwarf planet known as Ceres sometime in February 2015. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Because of its size and shape, it has officially been classified as a dwarf planet, which puts it in the same category as Pluto. Ceres is 590 miles (950 kilometers) in diameter and is large enough to have a round shape. Dawn will spend several months studying Ceres and will send back the first close-up images of a dwarf planet in our Solar System.

• • February 3 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Snow Moon because the heaviest snows usually fell during this time of the year. Since hunting is difficult, this moon has also been known by some tribes as the Full Hunger Moon.

• • February 6 - Jupiter at Opposition. The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter's cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter's four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet.

• • February 18 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

• • February 22 - Conjunction of Venus and Mars. Conjunctions are rare events where two or more objects will appear extremely close together in the night sky. The two bright planets will be visible within only half a degree of each other in the evening sky. Look to the west just after sunset.

• • March 5 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Worm Moon because this was the time of year when the ground would begin to soften and the earthworms would reappear. This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, and the Full Sap Moon.

• • March 20 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 09:36 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

• • March 20 - Total Solar Eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the Sun, revealing the Sun's beautiful outer atmosphere known as the corona. The path of totality will begin in the central Atlantic Ocean and move north across Greenland and into northern Siberia.

• • March 20 - March Equinox.. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.

• • April 4 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Pink Moon because it marked the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the first spring flowers. This moon has also been known as the Sprouting Grass Moon and the Growing Moon.