So we had booked an Easter break in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, but for obvious reasons had to cancel it then, but rescheduled it for the October half term. Bunny cottage in Aldeburgh was just perfect for us. Right in the middle of the town, ten paces from the beach and packed with every essential you could want on a mini break away from home.
Aldeburgh is about a four hour drive from our home, so we broke the journey up with a quick pit stop at a socially distanced MacD’s then on to Framlingham where we paused to have a look at their Saturday market, buy some amazing cheeses and a good coffee for the Handy Husband.
On to Aldeburgh. On our second day we did a walk to Thorpness. There is a beach path which runs along the coast right into Thorpness. On the beach was a beautiful shell sculpture. The Scallop was conceived by Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling, and made by Aldeburgh craftsmen Sam and Dennis Pegg as a tribute to Benjamin Britten – one of the twentieth-century’s most important composers who spent much of his life in Aldeburgh and nearby Snape.
Further on you come to Thorpness. A small village mostly made up of black and white houses surrounding a large Meare. Thorpeness was created by the wealthy Scottish barrister Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie. Thorpe was seen by Ogilvie as the perfect place to create an adult playground for his family and friends. Once complete, he renamed it Thorpeness and one of the most unique villages in the country was born.
Much is made of the famous House in the Clouds at Thorpeness, the disguised water tower. Including the islands and surrounds, the Meare covers over sixty acres of ground and the whole thing was dug out by hand. It may be wide, but at no point is it more than three feet deep, Ogilvie’s intention was that children from a very young age could learn to punt, sail and row in comparative safety. Ogilvy was inspired to create the Meare from the books of his good friend J.M.Barrie - Peter Pan.
The Thorpness Emporium is a treasure trove of stuff, from vintage clothing to cribbage boards. They also have an excellent cafe where we stopped to have a sausage roll and a nice cup of tea. The Meare Shop and Tearoom is also very good.
I couldn’t resist redoing (virtually) a couple of chalkboards that were there.
Before…………………………………………………………………………… After
Before…………………………………………………………………………… After
It’s not that they weren’t good before, but I think that its always good to try something a little different. Hopefully they are improved a little.
This is the view back along the beach towards Aldeburgh. You can see one of the black and white houses that is typical to Thorpness.
We also took a day trip to Southwold. A bustling town with an amazing pier. The pier has some very cool signage and sculpture on it with a large space at the end for fishing, or just enjoying the sea views.
Yes! Those are a couple of men peeing into a toilet (lol)
Beach huts galore! I would love one of those - maybe one day.
That was our trip away. We went to some lovely restaurants, had a very good Thai takeaway, and drank some Adnams beer. It was lovely to get away, but so nice to come home.
Emmax