Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     

September 2015: Southwold

 
   
Another relaxing week at our favourite house, in our favourite seaside town.
Ros & Adrian joined us for the first four nights. Linda & Derek also came to stay for a couple of nights.
Friday 11th September 2015
We arrived a little early to get into our house, so Bruce filled in time by having his first ice cream of the week; pistachio and vanilla.
An hour later we were able to move in. Geoff enjoyed
his first pint of Adnams on the first floor terrace.
 
 
Ros and Adrian arrived in time for afternoon tea.
 
 
 
Linda and Derek arrived in time for pre-dinner drinks. Our guests all brought goodies with them, including cake and a lot of chocolate! Linda and Derek brought these marshmallows, with edible pictures of all of us!
 
Linda and Derek treated us to a lovely meal in the restaurant at the Crown Hotel.

Saturday 12th September 2015
The sea was a stiff breeze today and the sea was quite lively...
 
 
 
...but it didn't stop us all from taking a walk to the pier.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ros & Adrian treated us to coffee and cake on the pier.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bruce's second ice cream of the holiday. Ros didnt want him to feel alone.
Ros and Derek returned to the house. Linda, Adrian, Bruce and Geoff walked along the beach as far as the river mouth.
 
 
It was the perfect day for kite flying.
The ferry to Walberswick. We didn't go across today.
Instead we walked inland, along the river...
 
...and then back to the centre of town past the low-lying fields where cows grazed and swans nested along the canals.
 
Close to our house and opposite the pub where we had lunch,
there is a sweet shop selling some unusual old-fashioned sweets.
 
That evening, we ate at home. Our meal came from the local deli.
Afterwards, we completed the jigsaw which Ros had brought for us.
 
 
Sunday 13th September 2015
Derek took this photo of the lovely sunrise.
This one was taken by Geoff
 
This photo says it all about Southwold!
Derek and Linda said their goodbyes and the rest of us took a short walk to the beach for coffee.
 
Afterwards, we all went for a walk.
 
 
Once again, we walked to the river, but then came back along the path behind the dunes.
 
 
In the evening, we went to the Swan Hotel for dinner. We were a little disappointed with the meal.
 
Monday 14th September 2015
Today was a relatively quiet day, although we did get a couple of walks in.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
That evening, Ros and Adrian treated us to a meal at the Crown. It was excellent.
After our disappointing meal last night, we were very pleased, because it was Ros and Adrian's last night with us.
 
Tuesday 15th September 2015
Ros and Adrian left today and we decided to go to Walberswick.
 
 
 
 
 
Another day, another ice cream.
 
 
 
 
Wednesday 16th September 2015
There were no photos today. There is a good reason for this. It rained and it rained and it rained!
We managed to get out in the evening to pick up a meal from the local fish and chip shop, which was the highlight of the day.
 
Thursday 17th September 2015
Thankfully today was dry and even turned sunny and warm later. We took maximum advantage of the change and set off for a walk.
We didn't have a destination in mind, but found ourselves walking first to Walberswick and then south along the beach towards Dunwich.
We didn't really have any idea how far we might walk.
At one point this was the view looking South and North. Not a soul was in sight!
Eventually we spotted what looked like a little settlement in the distance and shortly after that we passed people walking towards us.
We asked them where we were. It was a bit of a surprise to find that we were almost in Dunwich.
 
What a contrast between Dunwich in 1250, with its 4000 inhabitants and Dunwich today, with a mere 100 residents.
The sea has reclaimed 2km of the coastline since Roman times.
The people we met on the beach recommended an inland route back to Walberswick.
We were grateful to hear that one existed, because the thought of walking all that way back along the pebbly beach didn't really appeal to us.
The inland route back wasn't that well signposted and was significantly longer the way we had come, but with the help of other people (who had sensibly brought ordnance survey maps with them) we did eventually find our way...
...and were rewarded for our efforts by some quiet, tranquil settings.
 
After fours hours of walking, we were very pleased to reach the pub in Walberswick for drinks and a late lunch.
 
That evening, we had the best meal of the week at the Sutherland House restaurant. It was a fitting end to a lovely week.
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble