We have recently upgraded our car to a much newer one and we’ve just taken it for its first real outing. It’s a car that we have wanted for a long, long time and it will facilitate us exploring more of the East Anglian countryside (as well as other places). This will mean more photography and a new interest but more of that another time.
We went to visit Orford and Aldeburgh in Suffolk and weren’t disappointed. The first stop; Orford was an exploratory visit. It is somewhere I have wanted to go for many years; specifically Orford Ness. The ‘Ness’ wasn’t on the cards this time but we could hopefully find out about the trip out there, as it’s by boat for next time.
From Ely in East Cambridgeshire to the Suffolk coast is a reasonably horizontal run across the country for us. It was a beautiful day and it all being new places to discover, made the journey enjoyable. Ideal for a first outing…
Orford
Before reaching our first destination, we stopped off in the woodlands off Orford Road and tried out our Trangia kettle for the first time. We’re using a Camping Gaz burner (as we’re not backpacking, so weight & size are less of an issue.
Orford is a village on the bank of the River Ore, by the Suffolk coast. The National Trust site of Orford Ness has a wealth of history which I’d like to explore at a later date. We sat out at a Cafe, overlooking the River Ore before walking around the river.
We didn’t make it to the castle but got details of how to get to the Ness for next time. Looking forward to the boat trip.
We drove on to Aldeburgh.
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh was a short drive from Orford. After what seemed like a lifetime, I managed to get the parking payed for but not until a few sanity points were lost (I’ve now got the app installed on my phone so won’t have to get trapped in a perpetual loop on the phone, trying to state my type of car, which came out as every type but the one it was!).
A walk along the coast, starting out on the shingle and then quite quickly thinking better of it (it’s like hauling bags of cement up hill), led to ice cream. I can quickly sum up if a place is great or not by the quality of its ice cream. This was a good place. We wandered back along the High Street (much more sensible, no shingle) to the car. We made tea in the back of the zuke. The car park was perfect for this, running longways, alongside the beach and large enough to be kind of private.
Anyway, the photos peppered throughout this short blog were all taken on that day. All in all, it was a great first outing, the car performed admirably and we can make a damn fine cup of tea out of the back of it.
Peace and photography
rp
