Suffolk

Hello! I hope you are enjoying the second heat wave. Or perhaps enjoying is the wrong word - I'm certainly finding that the heat helps prolong the holiday feeling but our landscape is in desperate need of a good amount of rain and it is hard to sleep at night. However, it did mean we had excellent weather for our week away in Suffolk with warm temperatures and blue skies every day, and it only got really hot at the end of the week. We have been so lucky with the weather on our last few UK holidays - for me, the sun really does add to a general feeling of relaxation and a slight novelty which signifies you are away from home and on holiday. I'm more inclined to want to linger, over ice creams, coffees and views, when it's sunny.

We stayed near Southwold in a little self-catering cottage about ten minutes outside of the town. I have never been to Suffolk before but many of my friends have raved about it and I know of people who go back year after year, so I thought it must be pretty special. And it is: all of the charm, history, beaches, landscape, towns and great food that you might find in Devon or Cornwall, but none of the traffic and queues and crowds. Well, maybe a little, but really not much. 

Southwold is a very pretty town with a skyline dominated by a lighthouse and pier, both of which are very picturesque.

We ate ice cream from the local gelato shop Harris and James, wandered around the pier, walked along the sea front and popped into a few shops (there are many antique and vintage places in the area) and just generally did holiday things. 

This was a passionfruit sorbet and it was delicious.

I bought this straw hat on the pier and tried hard to wear it every day of the holiday.

Such a lovely town, with so many little corners to explore and views of the sea or lighthouse peeking between the buildings. 

You can catch a tiny ferry (a rowing boat) from Southwold harbour across the river to Walberswick, and this was one of the best things we did all holiday (although Ziggy did not share our enthusiasm for getting into the boat).

The areas of Walberswick closest to the river really reminded me of Dungeness, where we went two years ago (and that holiday really was a bit too hot at times) with the little black wooden buildings lying low against the sand dunes beneath the expanse of a huge sky.

Rather than getting the ferry back to Southwold, we walked up the river to the bridge, which gave us some beautiful views. 

There are lots of shacks selling fresh fish along here and I wish we had been able to stop and eat, but while Ziggy is mostly a pretty easy-going dog, he is very food driven and it does not make for restful or relaxing outdoor food situations. At home, he is fine, he just sits on his bed until we have finished eating, but out and about he is liable to steal a chip or three and bark the place down.

We stayed here, two old worker's cottages which had been knocked through into one home. It was absolutely gorgeous, full of charm and personality with interesting art and objects throughout the home. 

The garden was a real delight, full of depth and colour with a wildness that probably took a lot more maintenance than it looked. No square of lawn surrounded by borders, but instead railways sleepers planted in rows with lavender, sunflowers, golden rod, fennel, wild valerian and lots of other plants I do not know the name of growing in between. We spent many a happy morning or afternoon sitting outside with a coffee or glass of something cold.

The best thing about the house was the books. This room is the library but there were books everywhere: cookery books in the kitchen, shelves of paperbacks in the bedrooms, on the landing - just wonderful for browsing.

I really liked the double sided log burner with linked the library to the living room. I bet it's very cosy in the winter. 

Suffolk seems to have an abundance of churches, some which seem huge given that the parish is often a small village. I love exploring old churches, especially on hot days, as they offer such coolness and peace.

This church is Holy Trinity at Blythburgh, not far from where we stayed, and nicknamed Cathedral of the Marshes due to its stature.

The angels on the roof were my favourite part.

Covehythe, very close to our holiday let, has what's know as the "church within a church" (at least that's what the local bloke we asked for directions called it).  The current thatched building sits within the ruins of the original, much bigger structure. 

After visiting the church we followed a path through the ferns and trees to the beach.

I did not find the North Sea as cold as I was expecting, and thought it was a lovely beach to swim on: sandy, clean and surrounded by the quiet fields and nesting sand martins. 

In the photo above you can just seen Southwold pier and lighthouse in the distance.

We also visited nearby Aldeburgh, another pretty town, with grand old Victorian buildings overlooking the shingle beach with the fishing boats and shacks selling the day's catch.

Other places we really enjoyed: the village of Orford, especially the bakery.

From here we drove to Snape Maltings to look around the shops and get some lunch.

We also visited Woodbridge and nearby National Trust site Sutton Hoo which was excellent. 

You can seen the Anglo-Saxon burial mounds really clearly from the lookout tower, but it also shows how dry the landscape is, as this grassy area is usually much greener.

And now I really want to see the film The Dig, based on the true story of the discovery and excavation of these mounds. 

Other highlights included finishing this book, finally, after a year of reading a chapter here and there in between other books. It's very good, I enjoyed it a lot and also learnt a lot.

And embroidering these shorts with flowers inspired by those I saw in the garden in Suffolk.

Plus lots of relaxed family time with these three and my parents; lots of slow breakfasts with pots of coffee, papers and the daily crossword; unhurried lunches and dinners and many ice creams in between; time to finish books and start new ones; time to mend jeans and embroider shorts. Time to relax.