Thursday

Good morning, everyone.
The rain came and went, leaving some sunshine in the afternoon, which was nice.

The three little museums I visited were better than I had expected.  The Sailors' Reading Room focused on the work of the lifeboats and fishing industries in and around Southwold and I came away with a mini-book to read at my leisure.  There were tales of real heroism and forgetfulness of self in that little room; it was strangely impressive.

The amber museum was a tiny display at the back of a very nice jewellery shop and basically there were some boards detailing the story of amber and then some examples of items made with amber, all behind glass as, it said, they are very fragile.  Amber isn't my favourite thing but there was some incredibly detailed workmanship on display and it was well worth seeing

Finally I went to the Southwold Museum which looked miniscule from the outside but was Tardis-like on the inside and, again, packed with information about Southwold's long and colourful past.  Until it was pointed out, I hadn't realised that Southwold is almost an island with the Blyth estuary to the south, Buss Creek to the north with, of course, the North Sea to the east.

Two more days to go and today I want to visit St Edmund's church which is just down the road from here.  It looks impressive from the outside although Wiki tells me that there aren't many really historical things left after various issues with the reformation, a couple of World Wars, etc.  We will see. anyway, and it will be interesting to look round on what looks like being a dull day.  Apart from that, I will be lazy and saunter down to the beach to enjoy the sights and sounds.

I suppose I ought to think about packing a few bits and bobs too.  How sad!

Have a lovely day, everyone.  xx

Wednesday

Good morning.  There's still three days to go, including today.  That extra day has made a big difference!

Weather wise, the forecast is not good.  Light rain and a gentle breeze and I have to admit it does look very like it right now.  The heaviest and lowest clouds I have seen since Saturday.  We had a few drops of rain yesterday, but nothing much and quickly over.

Yesterday I had three good walks and a brewery tour.
The first one was my early morning walk to get the paper, detour to the beach, sit and read the paper and then take a long way home for breakfast.  Everywhere is pretty deserted at that time and those of us who are out exchange smiles and greetings.  Very friendly.

Then, after breakfast and sorting out my little home, I set off again.  With an hour to waste, I went down to the beach again for some more sand walking before it was time to head to the pick up point for the tour.  It was all very interesting, especially the history, related by a very enthusiastic old chap who certainly knew his onions!  We could have got very tiddly at the tasting after the tour - the amounts and varieties were extremely generous!  We also left with a voucher for a free beer/lager from the shop which I will certainly make good use of on Friday.

Home for lunch and to watch a bit of Wimbledon before setting out again, along to the pier and beyond.  There seems to be no way to go any further than the end of the sea walk bit; there are barriers and a stone wall that goes into the sea and it is obvious that 'they' want to deter people so I won't even try to get round that.  Things like that are usually there for a reason.  It was a lovely walk; the tide was just on the turn so as soon as I got back to the Southwold side of the pier, I went onto the sand and strolled along the water's edge all the way to the sand dunes (which isn't all that far really but I kept stopping to watch the waves).  There weren't many people about, just a couple of hardy swimmers, a few kite flyers and, like me, people enjoying a walk.

Well, while I was typing the above, it started to rain and there are big splats on the windows.  Never mind, I had planned a more inside day today.
Firstly, I need to do a little bit of shopping to get things like a bit more fresh fruit and veg, a bit of fish and chicken and so on.
Then I shall do the museums.  I had thought to walk to the estuary to the RNLI museum but I'll see how the weather works out.  Then there's the Sailors' Reading Room, the Amber Museum and the Southwold Museum, all of which are within very easy reach and all very small.
I was going to go up the lighthouse as well but, after seeing the notice about very dodgy steps (at some points, they need to be tackled backwards like a ladder) and not suitable for those with vertigo, I shall give it a miss.  I still remember when I got stuck on the steps up to the top of Framlingham castle and had to go back down the up stairs, backwards and almost on hands and knees.  Not a nice experience and one I have no wish to knowingly repeat!  Holidays are meant to be fun, after all!

So that's today.  I might do a windswept walk along the sand again, I'd like that, but will see how everything fits in.
Hoping we all have a good day, whatever we plan to do.  xx

Tuesday

. . . and half way through.

Good morning, everyone.  Despite the weather forecast, yesterday was another lovely day.  Yes, there were clouds, but never 'thick' and there were plenty of warm and sunny intervals too.  AT the moment, it is definitely cloudy and the forecast is dull, dull, dull!  We will see.

I slightly changed my plans yesterday. 
I had the early morning stroll to pick up a paper and took the longer way back, stopping at the sea front to enjoy the waves before getting back and having breakfast.

My right foot (the one that used to give me a lot of trouble when I was enormous) was a bit painful so I decided to ease it up gently with a stroll up and down the main street, in and out of all the shops.  As luck would have it, the tiny market was set up too.  So up and down, in and out, went I but there wasn't much I wanted to got really and, as people had already told me, it was mostly jolly expensive.  It was lovely to look though; one shop did pots of rather gorgeous looking salads and I think I might indulge for one for a lunch, maybe on the last day.

I did get one thing though.  I will talk about my accommodation in another entry but, suffice it to say, it's very nice with a few niggles and one of the niggles is the size of the bath towels.  One of my morning things (when I can) is to have my bath/shower, wrap one of my ginormous towels round myself and come back down for a while.  I can get most ordinary bath towels around myself now but, sadly, not the ones provided here, which are a bit stingy size-wise.  So, when I saw some beach towels in one of the shops, I got one and now I can do my usual for the remains of the holiday.  This makes me very happy indeed!  I guess we are all creatures of habit in many ways and we like our daily routines and patterns

I also popped into one of Adnams areas and booked a tour of the brewery for today at twelve.  I had a choice, brewery or distillery but the girl said that if I wanted more about the history of the company, the brewery was the one to go for - so I did.  When it's over, included in the price is a tasting session, presumably with opportunities to buy.  Sounds good!

After lunch I set off to explore the coast the other way.  The wind was stronger, the tide was almost right in, the waves were very splashy and it was fun although, sadly, I didn't get very far at all.  The road morphed into a private road, the 'promenade' thing stopped with no beach access and I was certainly not going to go back and onto the sand, seeing as the tide was still coming in and what was left of the sand would soon be covered, if it wasn't already. 

So I stood and watched (I just LOVE watching waves) for ages, very windswept and occasionally getting thoroughly splattered before strolling back to the pier and going up and down that.  It's a nice little pier, free access, not all that long and with not too many little shops.  There's also an odd water clock with a funny surprise every half an hour (I believe it's every half hour) that makes the adults guffaw and the children shriek with shocked amusement.

And my foot was fine, thanks to my walking shoes! 

I'll check the tide times carefully and have another go when it's actually going out, walking along the sand, although I expect if it isn't safe or if it is private land, it will say so, and I'm not likely to invade someone else's privacy.  I just couldn't see if I could have got any further by beach so it's worth a another look and will be a nice walk.

Once home again, I watched Wimbledon and pottered happily around, eating way too much (ooops), until bed time.

I slept like a log!

Today, I have the Adnams brewery tour to look forward to, which will be the main event of the day.  I really ought to also give this little place a tidy up which will take all of . . . ooohhh, let's say fifteen minutes max!

I think I will have another 'enjoy the sand' morning and go to the tour starting place from there, rather than from here.  It is so nice to just sit, kindle and/or magazine to hand, and enjoy the sea air, the sea sounds and the sight of happy people doing happy seaside things.  Being very much an introvert, I have always been a people-watcher and it gives me great enjoyment.

After the tour, no idea.  Maybe back to the shore, maybe back here to watch Wimbledon.  I might pay the sea another evening visit; I'll see what the weather is doing by then. 

In home news, all is well and Beth sent me a photo of one of the cucumber plants.  It seems to be thriving.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Monday

Good morning!  Day three has started off rather dull and cloudy and, indeed, the forecast is for thick cloud and a gentle breeze although the sun may break through late afternoon.  Never mind; it won't stop me doing what I plan.

Yesterday was a bit energetic; in fact, I'm still feeling the effects of a good long walk along the sea shore, much harder work than normal walking!
The day started off with a stroll to the newsagents to get a paper before breakfast and a leisurely read of the colour supplement before packing my back pack with my lunch and a bit of cash and setting off.  I headed to the sand and then walked down to the harbour.  It was warm, sunny, splashy and absolutely delightful.  It was by no means crowded but there were some families doing beachy-sand things and it took me right back to when my brothers and I were young and used to build not just a castle but a whole series of castles, cottages and water channels and then stood defying the sea to come and destroy them.  It never worked, of course, but it didn't stop us trying again in the eternal and totally unrealistic optimism of childhood!
(I took no photos of children building sandcastles - not a clever thing to try to do nowadays)

Once at the estuary, I headed up the river a short distance to the ferry, which is a rowing boat that seats twelve and a man who makes great use of the currents and flows to get his passengers across with the minimum of rowing at a pound a go.

I walked through Walberswick (quaint little hamlet with a few tourist shops and eating places) and down a bit more before going onto the beach again to eat my lunch before sand walking (ouch) back to the river again.

Once back home again, I unpacked my bag, made a refreshing cuppa, sat down to carry on reading the paper and went to sleep!

After dinner, I strolled back down to the sea front which was pretty well deserted once I got past the eating places with just a few folk who were, like me, watching the waves sparkling in the long rays of the setting sun.  Very peaceful, very relaxing, very calming.

Once in bed, I was asleep in minutes!
Today, I'm a bit stiff!!!

So, to ease things off, I'm going to head up north this time, past the pier and along the beach.  It's not built up or holiday-ish but it looks accessible and I've checked tide times which work well for me.  Depending on what the weather does, I will either picnic or I might wait until I get back before eating - the day is mine to do whatever I fancy doing really.  Lovely!

Other things I want to do this week is 'do' the little museums (I've located three so far), go up the lighthouse and look round the church which is just down the road.  I'd like to do the Adnams tour as well and will pop to the shop today to see where I can book.  It's not cheap but I will be interesting.  I also ummed and ahed about a boat trip up the Blythe or out to sea but might leave that until next time.
And there's all those little shops to explore
I won't be bored, will I?

It's brightening up outside now and the gulls are making a terrific din, bless them!  All part of being by the coast and very nice it is too.
Have a great day, whatever you have planned.  xx

Sand-Between-The-Toes

Today I am reminded of another A A Milne childhood favourite.

Sand-Between-The-Toes
I went down to the shouting sea,
Taking Christopher down with me,
For Nurse had given us sixpence each-
And down we went to the beach.

We had sand in the eyes and the ears and the nose,
And sand in the hair, and sand-between-the-toes.
Whenever a good nor'wester blows,
Christopher is certain of
Sand-between-the-toes.

The sea was galloping grey and white;
Christopher clutched his sixpence tight;
We clambered over the humping sand-
And Christopher held my hand.

We had sand in the eyes and the ears and the nose,
And sand in the hair, and sand-between-the-toes.
Whenever a good nor'wester blows,
Christopher is certain of
Sand-between-the-toes.

There was a roaring in the sky;
The sea-gulls cried as they blew by;
We tried to talk, but had to shout-
Nobody else was out.

When we got home, we had sand in the hair,
In the eyes and the ears and everywhere;
Whenever a good nor'wester blows,
Christopher is found with
Sand-between-the-toes.

Thankfully it wasn't as windy as all that today!

Sunday

Good morning.  After some rain yesterday, it looks more promising today as far as one can tell so early in the morning and the forecast is good - sunny intervals and a gentle breeze.  It probably won't get into the 20s (says the BBC) which suits me perfectly as I want to do the walk and ferry to Walberswick today and will work up a good heat, not to mention wearing my walking shoes.

Here's a couple of photos of the B&B - what I saw when I arrived there with the blessed 'vacancies' sign and the living room in the studio apartment, rather messy because I had moved in by then.

After saying farewell to the B&B couple, I drove back into Southwold and parked at the pay and display next to the Sail Loft.  A fiver buys 24 hours of parking and, while I didn't need that long, I might just have gone over from the next time down and anyway, it's just another pound between friends, so to speak!  I spent more than that on an ice cream!!

I strolled along the beach back towards the town, meandered on the pier, looked up and down the high street, walked back and along the other way to the harbour, had an ice cream, had my lunch and walked back to the car.  By that time it was raining so I went into the Sail Loft and had two rather nice coffees and read my Kindle for a while.  Then I drove to where I am now and parked the car outside, changed from my fold up mac into my proper coat, dug out my brolly and walked again, first up to the Adnams shop (of course), then down to the butcher's and into Tesco and then into Suffolk Secrets to pick up the key.  I'm now all set up, food wise, for the day.

There's some gorgeous shops here.  I've found a superb cheese shop which I can't really enjoy too much because of SW.  Just as well as I looked at some of the prices and . . . swoon!  There's also a great pie shop and several other small food shops which all look - well, expensive!  There's also a Seasalt clothes shop (oh, dear).  One thing I really do not need is more clothes, not now!
There's also a fair number of reasonably posh eating places which I won't frequent, and a fish and chip shop which sent out temptingly appetising fragrance through the raindrops.  I found one shop that sells seaside rock - there are probably more but the place isn't loaded with them, which is nice, and I saw a really pretty necklace and bracelet set in a 'nicknack' shop on the pier that I will may get later in the week as a momento.

A few photos . . . a classic of the beach huts (I'd love one), waves, a George Orwell mural on the pier and the view back to Southwold from the sand dunes.

I think my days will fall into my usual holiday routine - wake as and when, coffee, shower and dress, then out for a morning 'constitutional' to get the paper and enjoy the town before it really wakes up, then back for a leisurely breakfast and out for whatever the day's event is.

Today I think I will do the walk to Walberswick, crossing the estuary on the ferry.  I will take a picnic with me and have a coffee somewhere en route.  Then back for a cuppa and, later, to cook and eat dinner.  There's an outside seating area which looks fairly private so if it's warm, I can sit out there and enjoy the sun which has emerged as I have been typing all this - hope it stays around!

To finish, on Thursday, my 'tutee' gave me some flowers as a thank you.  I brought them with me and they are brightening up the room nicely.

I think it is time for another coffee!
Have a lovely day, everyone!  xx

Saturday

Morning.
I am an utter and complete wally and nothing else.
When was I booked to start my holiday?  Yesterday? No, not yesterday, today.  Doh.

Of course, I didn't realise until I got there and found my little building well and truly occupied.  Thankfully, before I went storming in, I checked the paperwork.  Phew.

So I found a parking slot (not as hard as I thought it would be) and made my way to the booking agents where I 'fessed up and gave them a chuckle.  In return, they gave me the name of somewhere with parking where they might have a room for one night.  I went there but alas, no luck.  They recommended somewhere else and gave me sketchy (and slightly dodgy) instructions about how to get there.  I tried at that place and hit gold.  No, not a room, sadly, but an extremely helpful receptionist chap who said sorry, they were full (it was starting to feel like 'no room at the inn) but then he looked up on the internet and not only found a B&B with space but also phoned them for me and let them know I was coming.  AND let me use the hotel loo!

So here I am, sitting in what is a converted and extended garage (definitely not a stable this time) with three extremely clean and neat rooms - bedroom, bathroom and everything-else room, haven woken way too early but I don't care  The things in my chill bag are in the little fridge getting thoroughly cold so they should be fine.  There's wi-fi and a big telly and, apparently, a resident hedgehog who comes a-visiting in the night and sets off the security light, not that I noticed.  At eight thirty, the lady of the establishment is bringing me my breakfast. 
How's that for landing on my feet, eh?


Yes, I could have gone back home, that's the bottom line, but I really didn't want to and I didn't have to, I had a little adventure instead and had to with my 'thing' about finding somewhere I haven't looked up and planned beforehand in great detail.  Mind you, I was so glad I had the sat nav.

And I still have seven days in Southwold.

I'm going to drive back to Southwold later and park in the pay and display car park I found beside the first hotel/bar I tried, right by the beach between Southwold and Walberswick, pay for a day's parking and then walk along the beach back to Southwold and have a good explore.  I can pick up the key at four and I now know exactly where my home for the next week is and where I can park.

So no stroll along the sea front yesterday evening but I will this evening and it's a great opportunity to get to know the place.   Diane, I have located the Amber Museum!  It's right next to where I have to pick up the key.  I've also located key places such as the supermarkets, the butchers and the Adnams shop!

I had to laugh yesterday morning - I had washed out the bird feeder and needed to top it up so I went to the French window and lo and behold, as cheeky as you like, a pigeon was regarding me solemnly, for all the world as if he was about to tap on the window and ask for his breakfast!  I'm not getting many small birds at the moment but a pigeon and a couple of magpies, for which I am grateful because, as you know . . .
One for sorrow,
One for joy!
Hopefully the smaller birds will come when other food gets scarcer again.

It's going to be a super holiday.  I can feel it in my bones.  It has to be after such a start!  And I really MUST get an iPhone!

Have a great day.  I know I will.  xx