A sunny morning out there. Not many walkers along the Aldeburgh sea front yet. Perhaps it is still early. Seven fifteen. A couple of smokeries on the beach have a truck outside so I imagine preparation for the day is ongoing.
We will have gone by the time the day trippers get here. Taking in a visit to Southwold before stopping off at the Wards in Moulton for tea en route home.
A man with two sniffy dogs has arrived. He is content to allow progress at the speed of sniffy dog. There was no discernible dawn chorus, unless I slept through it, but the gulls are now starting to chatter. The tide is in and still at the place I last looked but all that tells me is that I last looked twelve hours ago.
The meal in the hotel Brasserie last night was pleasant enough. We just had a main course each. I had gammon egg and chips. Gammon was a bit on the thin side but it was ok. There was a family sat on the table behind us. Kid had a pink ipad or similar and was watching cartoons and the grandad spent most of his time gazing into his laptop and his phone whilst eating fish and chips. The grandmother eventually took the kid away to change the nappy. No sign of the mother.
Had a shower and popped out to enjoy the sea air. Met the man with the sniffy dogs coming in with a bag of what looked like bakery items. Not having breakfast in the hotel one assumes. Then sat at the bench by the petanque court and hit the jackpot.
Fishing boat LT1018 was being towed out of the sea by a tractor and then unloaded. Twenty yards from me. The sun was right behind so the pics and vids were somewhat in shadow. They had been out at oh four hundred to catch the fish. Looked like a load of crabs, couple of lobsters, lots of sole and then some large dogfish. No idea how much that lot would go for. I guess most of the catch would be sorted ready for the shop to open a bit later on.
Back in the room for a conf call. Considered doing it from the bench as the hotel wifi reached there but there was a drilling noise coming from somewhere so would have got in the way. Conf call now over and headed down for breakfast.
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Pretty countryside. Lots of signs objecting to Sizewell C. Husqvarna dealer. Village green. No mobile signal. Westleton? B1125. Free range pigs. Spa sign in state of disrepair.
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Arrived at Southwold Pier to a large and fairly empty car park. Immediately blew £2 between us in two pences on the amusements. Had to wash our hands afterwards, as usual. Those two pences carry the grime of thousands of tourists over the decades. Disgusting really 🙂
Walked to the end of the pier and then stopped for a cuppa in the caff. Took off my specs. Without my specs the world is a different place. Smaller. There is an element of retreat to doing this which I quite like.
Just passed a country church on the B1127. Ancient edifice with brick flying buttresses. Couldn’t see where we were on the car sat nav and have now moved on. Possibly Wrentham? Not too far from Hulver Street. St Nicholas’ Church, Wrentham.
Anyway back in Southwold we strolled up the hill to the green. There was an Adnams pub there called the Sole Bay Inn. Made me realise I’d not had a pint of Adnams this trip despite being in the brewery heartland. Then I realised the pub was directly in front of the Adnams brewery. Was likely going to be the best pint of Adnams you could get.
No good. Far too early in the day. THG would not have approved 🙂 We bought nothing at a retro shop in the Methodist Church Hall and returned to the car. By the time we left, the car park had filled up and the seafront was teeming with people on a bank holiday day out.
We pointed the Silver Bullet north and have now crossed the border into Norfolk.
The village of Thurton has three car parks. Two are just laybys on the edge of the village and with no footpath serve no real purpose other than as places for people to stop and stretch their legs. The other car park is handily placed outside the pub in the centre of the village.
I mentioned to THG that Thurton was given permission to have laybys by royal decree in 1185 but I was told to shut up because she was concentrating on the driving. Clearly I am not driving and have time for a bit of banter. Bants as the kids would have it.
We are now in traffic on the A47 23mph. Who would want to drive in the UK! We need to find a place to stop for lunch. I am in the mood for a sausage roll. Dunno if it’s going to work out. You rarely find decent sausage rolls in garages. Usually cardboard crap.
In the meantime the news has been switched on. I am not in control of this. In our car the driver decides. There is never any good news. Either that or they keep it for right at the end and it only lasts thirty seconds.
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We are home and it must be said things are pretty idyllic in the back garden. Our first greenfinch of the season is tweeting away. THG is watering. The grass, only mown on Thursday, is going to need doing again soon. It is the growing season.