Southwold

Nipped to Southwold on the way to Ipswich. I chose it only because I had read that it had the most expensive beach huts in England. They were truly fantastic, all brightly painted and the ones we could peep inside had lovely country style kitchen units and Kath Kidston tablecloths.
The tide was in and it was really rough seas and it had a proper pier that even went out in to the sea.
We also walked around the town and there were signs everywhere for Adams Brewery and for Adnams Southwold Copper House Distillery hand crafted gin. Apparently, it has won the best gin in the world (I think) award for 2013.
I was so excited about it but the shop seemed to be closed so I tried to put it out of my mind. But, here were are tonight in Ipswich babysitting Jemima and Nic and Ben have left us the very same gin together with Fever Tree tonic and home made popcorn.
Happy days.

Hold on tight to the Seahorse

Had a lovely time this morning at the Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival.
They had sailing ships moored along the quayside, a sea shanty quintet singing on a stage, a man demonstrating how to splice two pieces of wire together (Darren enjoyed that one more than I did), local townspeople dressed up as Lord Nelson and his crew, loads of craft stalls with a sea based theme, a beer tent, coffee shops, etc, etc.
Enjoyed it a lot and now off to see Nic, Ben and Jem in Ipswich.

Great Yarmouth

Wandered around Great Yarmouth today taking in the sights.
There is a pretty big wind farm just off the shore and next to the pier is an information centre that tells you all about Scroby Sands Wind Farm. It was very good, they had a handle that you could turn that drove the power for a radio, a tv, a fan and a toy car. If you could turn it fast enough it would drive all four things, but I could only manage the radio and the fan. It was quite exhausting and very noisy in the quiet centre, so I stopped that and chatted to the curator instead.
He told us all about the power cable that leads from the farm to the seashore. It is about six inches thick and looks a bit like a wedding cake.
Next we went on the pier which was strange for two reasons - firstly, it only just reaches the sea and secondly, it was practically deserted.
Our third port of call was a huge statue commemorating Lord Nelson who lived locally. This was surrounded by a run down industrial estate and empty buildings.
Interesting day.

Captain Christine of the Broads

Today we joined about 200 other passengers and went on a boat trip around the Broads. At last we can confirm what we suspected for the past few days. We sailed along looking at some very posh back gardens, all of whom had a fancy yacht moored next to the hydrangeas and carefully tended lawns.
The rest of the journey was alongside huge areas of reeds that are used for thatching the roofs of the many beautiful cottages around here.  There was no sign of any roads or footpaths, but apparently, the reedy areas are very boggy, and I am sure that the rich people wouldn't want anyone tramping through their private property.
On the return leg the Captain asked for a volunteer to drive us back. I couldn't resist so I put on my Captains hat, sat in the big chair and started steering.
I beeped the hooter and turned us hard to port whilst avoiding the other boaters and we chugged gently along at four miles per hour.
He then told me to line us up with a house in the distance and keep her straight. Unfortunately, I mixed up my rights and lefts and he had to stop me ramming the bank, but apart from that it went very well.
Not sure if Cunard will take me on yet though.

Walcott and Sea Palling

On another bike ride around the Broads today, but struggling even more to find them!
We have sussed it out though, so how it works is that most of the waterways back on to people's gardens or fields so there is no access for the non boat people.
There are a few places where you can get on a boat, but they can be pretty hard to find. We cycled down quite a few dead ends trying to see Hickling Broad but gave up eventually after only finding a couple of little water cul de sacs.
However, we did have a lovely day as we also went to the seaside. We had never heard of either Walcott or Sea Palling and had quite low hopes, but they were both fantastic.
Not many people seem to be aware of them either, as they were both almost deserted. It was a great shame as the sand was soft and creamy, the sea was bluish and warmish and the sky was cloudless.  Looking forward to tomorrow as we have booked a boat trip.

Norfolk Broads

We have been taking a break for a few days (!)  and have been seeing friends and family, staying in a normal bed in normal houses, and going to a wedding.
We are now back on the road again and at Ludham in the Norfolk Broads.
It seems a lovely area, but we have the wrong mode of transport. What we need is a boat, but what we have are two bicycles. The roads stay well clear of the water so we only get to glimpse it occasionally.
I then had the idea of taking a walk along a footpath  along the river bank.
Unfortunately, the water reeds were so tall that we couldn't see the water, or where we were putting our feet, so we had to turn back .
The weather is excellent though and I am going to learn from today's mistakes and see more of the sights tomorrow.