A weekend by the sea...

We like to go away somewhere around the time of our wedding anniversary...which is also Paul's birthday. Alice has to come too...or it wouldn't be a celebration, would it?! Last January we were in beautiful West Wittering, Sussex...with it's miles of sandy beach. This year was a bit more pebbly...but equally lovely. We chose Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. I've been a few times before as my Mum is from that county and many holidays were spent near here when I was a child. We rented a tiny 1-bedroomed cottage almost on the beach so that we could just get up and get out there in the morning. But first...a spooky little video of part of our journey there!

If you live in the UK, or even know it quite well, you'll know the nightmare that is the M25! If not, then I should tell you that it's a notorious motorway that runs in a ring around the whole of London. We have been stuck for 3 hours on this road...going absolutely nowhere...and most people who've driven on it have a horror story of some kind - so you can see why this was such a bizarre experience! It was a bit like being in one of those movies where everyone else is dead & the main characters only slowly realise that something's wrong....!

So, a good start.

Aldeburgh beach is almost completely shingle, which didn't go down terribly well with Alice (hard on the paws!) She managed ok though...

This is her & Paul early on Saturday morning...ooh it was chilly! A good excuse for lots of stops for hot tea & toasted crumpets! Award winning fish & chips went down very well later on too!

Aldeburgh is very famous for being the home of the late composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, the singer Peter Pears. On the beach stands a (to me) gorgeous sculptural tribute to Britten by the renowned artist Maggie Hambling. I'm surprised that this artwork is so controversial...it's often vandalised & covered in graffiti and has aroused strong passions in many of the locals...

this is the view looking towards the sea....

and the other way...We thought it was beautiful!

Loved our stay. I really feel drawn to this part of Britain - perhaps it's in my genes?!

On the way home we took a detour to another place I remember well, Orford...Paul had never been...

Bleak day, but a wonderful East Anglian church...

Famous restaurant...all fish, freshly caught on the two boats they own...( we were there in the morning, so didn't eat!)

and we took a walk down to the working quay, where Paul bought his favourite freshly smoked kippers (& one for my Dad, who loves them too) from Pinney's Smokehouse

before coming back and taking a stroll in the grounds of what is left of Orford Castle. The village was completely deserted - like the M25, it felt like it was ours for the day! One of the joys of travelling out of season...

Thank you so much for your sweet thoughts and comments after my last post. My voice came back the next day, but the cough remains...it's taking ages to disappear! Still, I feel much better and ready to face the new month...which is set to get better & better for me. Next week, I'm off to spend the rest of February in the summery heat of Australia when I visit my beloved Esther and her children! Paul & Alice will be staying here in the cold...how I will miss them! But I'm SO excited too!! It's impossible to imagine on this minus temperature night that in a few days I will be warmer than I can dream of!

I'll share it all with you.

xo