Nowt so queer as folk

Well, today turned into a slightly surreal day. After a lovely sleep and lie-in, we headed out on the A12 south towards Ipswich. That wasn't our destination though. We turned off the A road towards Woodbridge and then followed the brown signs to Sutton Hoo, the ancient burial site.

The way the visitor centre is set out is excellent, and very informative, a seven minute film introduces the whole thing to you, and then the exhibits and photos tell the story of what was found and what they have surmised it to all be about.

They believe it was the burial site of the King Radmael and dates back to the mid to late 600s. The quality of some of the artefacts they unearthed is astonishing. Although I didn't used to be particularly interested in history, as I have gotten older I have found the enthusiasm and interest that I lacked at school.

While the exhibition was very good, the walk to the burial mounds themselves was a bit of a let down - it really is just a field with some lumps in it. Quite what it was that made them think there was anything unusual about those particular mounds compared to any others you see all over the country is a bit beyond me, but thank goodness they did.



During the walk back to the visitors centre the day took a surreal turn. We were stopped by two old ladies who asked if it was worth the effort of taking the walk to the field. We told them that there wasn't that much to see, and that they may well be disappointed if they did. They walked back with us towards the centre. We got chatting, and it turned out that they were both originally from Warwickshire, and one of them still lives fairly near us. The other now lives in Rendlesham (which might explain her eccentricness!)

Despite telling us not to go at their very slow pace and leave them too it, they kept talking to us, meaning that we had to go at their pace or be very rude. They were nice enough, but definitely on the eccentric side. Our only escape lay in the second hand book shop on the site. (being a national trust site - quite a few NT sites have them now)

Some escape that turned out to be! We were accosted in there by the NT valunteer who was looking after the bookshop, who was a lovely old guy, obviously quite lonely, and spent the next hour listening to his life story! This was not helped by his thick local accent and the fact that he didn't seem to need to draw breath. Some of it was very interesting - I was especially intrigued when he mentioned that he collected and repaired old fountain pens. I elected not to mention my interest in the subject as I fear we may still have been there now! (I had also made the very clever decision NOT to make any comment when one of the ladies had told us that she was a crafter and watched a lot of the create and craft channel on tv. Sally later told me that she WOULD have killed me if I had, thereby dragging her further into conversation with them!)

When we finally dragged ourself away with our legs aching from standing still for so long, I made the decision to not go to the NT cafe for something to eat and drink (because I could see our two lady friends in there!), and we instead drove the couple of miles into Woodbridge.

By now I was a little grumpy around the edges, so the lack of decent road signage was just about the final straw as far as I was concerned. If they don't actually WANT visitors, why don't they change the sign as you enter the town from "Welcome to Woodbridge" to "Look, if you're not from around here and don't know your way around, just ****off now".

I am happy to report that once we had found the car park and found our way from there to the town centre (more by luck than judgement), the town was actually rather good. It was by far the best place we have been to thus far, having a good range of shops and a decent Costa Coffee to refresh our weary bones. We spent a couple of very pleasant hours there before heading back to the cottage.

Despite the lateness of our arrival back, I managed a power nap before dinner! Tonight we had a new Quorn "BBQ style" burger in pitta bread each. Very tasty they were too, and we can recommend them. We then watched the second episode of Injustice before heading off to bed where I am writing this.

Tomorrows plans have been slightly altered, as I have realised that i misread the opening times for Orford Ness, and at the moment it is only open on Saturdays, so we can't go there tomorrow as planned. The current thinking, weather permitting, is Lowestoft. The weather forecast for Thursday and Friday is not quite as good, so we need to take advantage of whatever it throws at us tomorrow.



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Monday morning blues

I awoke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of rain on the windows. The weather forecast had predicted this, but I was hoping for their usual lack of accuracy. No such luck. When I woke up fully at a sensible time, it was still raining. Not heavily, but steadily, and enough for it to be a nuisance.

Monday is the rubbish collection day here, and someone across the road had put theirs out in a black plastic bag. This had been ripped to shreads and the contents spilt out across the street, whether by cats or seagulls I don't know. The puddles showed that there had been quite a good downpour during the night. I'm sure the farmers and gardeners were very pleased with this, but us holidaymakers were less so.

After breakfast, we decided to go out anyway, and brave the weather. After all, it wasn't too bad, and skin is waterproof, so what was the harm? We headed out to Southwold. I had been told and read plenty about this town. Everything I had heard was positive, that it was a beautiful and quaint little place that everyone fell in love with.



Maybe it had just been overhyped, or maybe it was the rain, but I have to say that I was a little disappointed with it. The lack of decent signage made navigating ones way around the town very hard, and then, when you did find the carparks, they were full to bursting. One thing that seems very common around here is the large amount of parking spaces, but that few (or indeed none) are actually free of parked cars! I know the whole point of them being there is for them to be used, but sometimes, WE want to use them too!!



Initially, we parked close to the pier, and despite the rain had a wonder along it, taking in the views, the amusements and the shops. There is a very odd water clock which caused great amusement to all those watching it on the hour and half-hour. The gift shops had a good selection of things that no one actually needs, but some of them brought a smile to our faces, in particular some very funny drinks coasters.



The small, but very busy amusement arcade saw us waste a bit of time, and a whole £1 of our money in 2p's on the obligatory coin pusher machines before we attempted to make our way into the town itself. This proved frustrating due to the car parking situation mentioned previously.

We finally did manage to park down a narrow side street very close to the Adnams Brewery, and had to walk past it on our way into the main town.

Many parts of Southwold seem very run down, even more so than in Aldeburgh, and again, a great many of the cottages seem to be holiday lets. (the key boxes by the side of the front doors give them away)



The range of shops was a bit surprising. Quite a few of them being upmarket clothes shops aimed at the well heeled country set rather than us mere mortals. We bought a snack to munch in the car before we left this odd little town with a lighthouse in the middle of it.

We took the scenic route to Saxmundham, going along narrow country lanes, through tiny hamlets, past the "lost" village of Dunwich, past farm land and woods that reminded me of parts of the New Forest.

Saxmundham has a Waitrose store, and much like Kenilworth, this seems to have given the town a new lease of life. While it wasnt exactly bustling, for a Monday mid afternoon, it was fairly busy. Nothing much attracted us there apart from the Waitrose though, and after a quick wonder around the town, we did the all important food shopping.

Once we arrived back "home", we made a pot of tea and indulged in an Eccles cake. Both of which were lovely. Sally then did some crafting while I went to the upstairs living room to read.

Dinner tonight was to be jacket spuds, and while they were in the oven, we went for a walk along the front. Tonight it is so calm, hardly any wind at all, what a difference a day makes! What a difference a couple of hours makes in fact, as it was now sunny and virtually all signs of the rain have gone. It is a beautiful evening in fact, and very pleasant to be wondering around. The town still seems to be deserted though, and it definitely has a strange feel to it.

The jacket spuds were quite nice, a bit of cheese on them and a drizzle of brown sauce to give them a bit of flavour. Hardly haute cuisine, but pleasant enough and filling too.

We retired to the upstairs living room to read, and at 9 o'clock to watch the new series on ITV called "Injustice", which bizarrely is set in this area. The police are based in Ipswich, a murder has taken place in Framlingham, and one scene was shot on Southwold Pier exactly in the spot where I took a photo of Sally this morning. One of the characters is called Martin Newell. Spooky!




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It can be done in 39 steps...

Sunday.
The initial idea was to go to the local car boot sale, but a slight wrong turning meant we missed the school field where this was taking place and ended up instead driving along the coast road to Thorpeness. The dome of the nuclear power station grew ever larger as we got closer, but I tried my best not to worry. After all, at this range, if anything happened, we would be goners whether we were there or in Aldeburgh!

Also on the skyline was the "House in the Clouds", which is a converted water tower that is now a spectacular and unusual holiday let.

We followed the road inland a bit and ended up going in a bit of a circular route to Snape Maltings. I had been told about this by a customer. It turns out to be an old mill type place that has been converted into shops and galleries. I have to confess that I was a little disappointed with it - I had imagined it to be an outlet village type place, but it seemed to be just one huge shop split up into different departments. It was pleasant enough though, and we did see plenty of kitchen gadgets that we never knew we needed, and thankfully couldn't afford.

We had a pot of tea and a cake each in their teashop. The coffee cake was very tasty though rather dry, but the marzipan fruit cake was absolutely delicious and a recipe is already being sought online. You could really taste the rum in it.....phew!

A brief trip down the road to Orford followed, with a view to going back later in the week to investigate Orford Ness.

There are some stunning properties around here, some huge houses in large grounds, and others that are just cute little cottages or unusual modern designs. The prices of them are scary though. A three bedroom flat just along from where we are staying is on the Market for £550,000. A four bedroom house directly opposite us has just sold for £695,000. Mental!

A brief snooze this afternoon was followed by us cooking dinner of spaghetti with quorn sausages chopped into a tomato and chilli sauce. It was delicious but rather potent, leaving your Tongue tingling rather. We then put the dishwasher on and went for a short walk along the front again. Oh to be able to do that every evening - sheer joy.

We very deliberately counted the number of steps to the beach, and I did manage it in exactly 39 by walking like some kind of freaky monster or robot. It can be done, but would be much easier with longer legs. I reckon that Stuart could do it in about 25 steps.

The wind has dropped a little, and it is still comfortably warm even through the wind. It was very odd walking out this evening. We hardly saw a soul. It was almost as though the town was deserted. There are a lot fewer cars parked, and you do get the feeling that it is very much a weekend bolt hole for a lot of people. It was quite earie walking along the deserted streets, you felt that everyone was hiding from you and watching from behind twitching curtains.

While a lot of properties in this part of the town are well kept or are being renovated, there are also a lot that appear to be very run down and in need of some TLC. Mind you, at the prices they are asking for the ones for sale, you would have to have rather a lot of spare cash available to give them the love they deserve and crave.

Back indoors now, Sally is busy crafting as I write this, and we await 9 o'clock for the tv program we watch. There was a bottle of wine waiting for us when we arrived, and we opened it this evening to go with our meal. I have slightly reluctantly partaken, am drinking my glass slowly, and have yet to fall over, so far so good. Will I be able to manage the stairs at bedtime? I will get back to you on that one.

First night nerves

I always say that no bed is as comfortable as your own, but I think I may have to alter this. The bed here is just as comfy as our own, and may actually be even better. The pillows are definitely better than our own, and we have have to smuggle them out when we leave!

So, instead of a first night trying to make the best of an unfamiliar bed, we both had a really good nights sleep, and feel well rested, nicely relaxed and looking forward to our first full day in Suffolk.

A mug of tea in bed, a quick check of the weather forecast online (am very impressed with the BT broadband here - have been considering it at home, so it is good to see how fast it is), radio 4 in the background keeping us up to date with the world - life seems very good at this moment!

Fish n chips

We had fish n chips for dinner. Well, you simply have to when you are at the seaside don't you? It would be rude not to. Especially when the chip shop is about a minutes walk away! The queue was quite long, probably 20 or so people in front of us - it really is that popular.

Was it worth the wait? Well, kind of. They were very nice, not as good as the ones from Bispham, but very very good indeed never the less.

Afterwards we went for a brief walk on the seafront just as it was getting dark. My goodness it was windy! We didn't stay out for long, just long enough to get a few photos.........

Sally on the seafront - yes, it really was that windy!

39 Steps - our home for the week.

Just across the road from us is this alley through to the seafront.

We're here!

Well, we are here! We left home at 10:20, made a quick pit stop for petrol, and then hit the M6 and A14. The roads were surprisingly quiet, and the journey seemed to whizz by. We made a brief stop in Bury St.Edmunds to eat our sandwiches, which proved to be a bit more interesting than was expected due to the lack of parking.

There was plenty of parking in fact, but there was none empty. Strangely, the signs that pointed to the carparks had the digital displays showing how many free spaces were available. The short stay one showed over 500 free spaces on the display, but when you got there it was full. One of the long stay ones only showed 8 free spaces but in actual fact had quite a few. Most odd, and a little frustrating.

The SatNav took us across country for some of the way, down narrow B roads - this turned out to not only be a bit of a short cut avoiding Ipswich, but was really pretty, taking us through some beautiful picturesque villages with chocolate box thatched cottages.

Arrived in Aldeburgh at around 2pm, or one hour before we were supposed to be able to get into the cottage. We gave it a try, and it was ready for us, so we moved in and had a look around.

It is REALLY nice!! It is small, but doesnt feel it due to the way it is laid out. The front door leads you straight into the lounge dining room and open plan kitchen. There is a very comfortable two seat sofa, a wooden dining table with four chairs, a wall unit which has storage and a large tv and DVD player and a Bose iPod docking station.

The kitchen, again small, is nicely laid out, has a gas hob with electric oven, microwave, toaster, kettle, dishwasher and fridge freezer. All of the units look to be very new, and the light colour scheme does make the best of the space, and despite the slight lack of windows, it doesn't seem too dark in here.

Finally, downstairs is the bathroom. This has a large shower cubicle, toilet and washbasin. Again the light colours and the layout works really well. Hidden in a cupboard in the bathroom is a washing machine and tumble dryer. Ace!

The stairs take you up to the first floor where there is another living room, complete with two seat sofa, chair, coffee table, another large tv and DVD player, telephone, bookcase filled with books, DVDs and board games. They really have thought of everything.

The bedroom has a king size bed with two wardrobes, a chest of drawers and a dressing table. Again, all well laid out, beautifully decorated and thought out. There are some ornaments and wall art throughout the cottage, all of which make the place even more homely. It is spotlessly clean, and at the moment we can't find any faults with it!

Having unpacked, we went for a walk along the seafront. I can report that it is NOT 39 steps to the beach. I made it 46, but I do have quite short legs, so guess I can't really take them to task over this.

It was very windy, but sunny, and quite warm, surprisingly so when you got out of the wind. The beach is all stones, and seems to have a lot of small fishing boats on it. It would seem that there are quite a few local fishermen who catch and sell fish on the seafront. A number of photo opportunities shouted at me, and I am looking forward to getting out there with the camera during the week.

After walking along the seafront we investigated the town, which seems to have a lot of interesting little shops, plenty of cafes and eating places and pubs as well as two legendary fish & chip shops. Plenty to see and investigate a lot closer. We went to the Co-Op and got some provisions, made our way back to the cottage and had a mug of tea while typing this up.

There is no signal on the iPad or mobile phone, but thankfully there is wifi at the cottage, and I managed to get that working, hence you can read this.

Time for another mug of tea before the England game.....


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Location:Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Holiday info

Well, it really IS getting close now - only two more days at work before we "jet off" to Suffolk!

The first week we are staying in a small house in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. The house is called "Thirty-nine Steps" - supposedly as it is only that number of steps from the beach.

We have never been to Suffolk before, and are looking forward to having the opportunity to investigate Constable Country for ourselves.

You can check the house out for yourself at:-
http://www.bestofsuffolk.co.uk/thirtyninestepsaldeburgh.asp

The second week we are staying in a "luxury holiday home" (a large static caravan to you and me!). This is at the Kelling Heath site where we camped three years ago when we first went to Norfolk. This is near Holt, in a lovely setting full of wildlife and beautiful scenery. Sherringham is close by and Cromer is the nearest "big" town. We love it around there, and are so looking forward to getting back there.

The webpage with the details is:-
http://www.kellingheath.co.uk/luxury-holiday-homes-gid185.html

The plan is to blog as usual, and hopefully put photos on too. It does depend on the "3" signal where we will be - their coverage map shows that the signal in Aldeburgh is not great, so it may be that we won't get a good enough signal while we are in the house - it remains to be seen. The info on the house says that it has wifi available, so maybe that will work for us?

Whatever happens, i will do my best to keep you all up to date with what we are up to.......