Time to share another lovely little part of England with you! One I don’t visit too often.
First of all apologies…………………..there has been no update of Spanish towns of summer, no rundown of my Primitivo walk with my mini-me and no blog post of the secret little happy place I found the other week in Yorkshire. They will come in due course………………..I have absolutely no idea when………………….but they will come when I get chance to sort all my photographs out!
The thing is I’ve lost my wingman at work, my lovely assistant. I’ve mentored her and coached her and in the future she will be more than capable of doing my role. So with my full encouragement and support she’s gone onto bigger things and I’m so happy for her. I’ve been without her for four weeks and the lovely card she sent me with a lovely private message inside, which made us both cry, although very lovely, does not alter the fact that I’m missing her like crazy. Not least because I’m trying (and failing) to do the job of two people temporarily. Anyway, my new wingman starts next week and hopefully I should return to getting a bit of my life back and be able to share a few more things.
I’ve also started my Spanish course and I am really, really enjoying it. I might just be top of the class! 😆 But I am glad I’ve started at the level I have, even though I have found the first two weeks quite easy. Get the foundations right first and then I’ll be whizzing along!
I’ve still been making sure I take time to rest and explore at the weekend though. I’ve been to the theatre in Manchester to see Peter Kay with a friend. If you don’t know him, he’s a British comedian but I do think you have to be from Northern England, not easily offended, and a certain age to get the humour. That was a really great night……………with a guest appearance from another Northern lad…………………… Noel Gallagher of Oasis!
I’ve done a couple of lovely runs but not taken it too seriously as I’m a bit off form because I’m tired. I think I’ve enjoyed them more by not setting my expectations too high. I’m done with beating myself up about positions, I just feel incredibly lucky that I can still do what I do and enjoy it…………………and of course there is the cake at the end.
But this weekend has been beautiful so I thought I’d share with you where I’ve been, more with pictures than words, because it’s too nice a place not to share but it’s 18:30 as I type this sentence and I’ve already got my PJs on and my hot chocolate on the go so it will be a short one because I’m so very tired as it was a long journey for just a 48 hour visit!
I’ve been to Suffolk! If you don’t know Suffolk it is in the very South East of the country, a good four hour drive from my home. Skirt around London and just keep heading East to the coast. I’ve been to the very pretty little coastal village of Orford.
This little village has so much to offer in such a tiny place and it is picture perfect…………………just gorgeous.
It also happens to be the place to which my Yorkshire born cousin has retired to. When we were small we were inseparable, despite the fact that he is almost 6 years older than me. His Mum and my Mum are sisters, and Nigel and I are both only children, so I guess you could say he was more like my brother, and I his sister, rather than cousins. We even lived next door to each other on the same street, and he’s always been very protective of me.
When he lived near me, right up until 3 years ago we used to run Park Run together and I really do miss not having him just down the road. The last time I visited him in Suffolk was 3 years ago, just after he moved down there, for his daughter’s wedding.
He’s been to see me a few times but I was a little disappointed when we missed each other in the Summer because I was away when he was back in Yorkshire. I promised I’d make a trip down to Suffolk as soon as possible on my return. So this weekend I upheld my promise, and once I’d got the drive out of the way it was also a good opportunity to have a 2 day relax, doing not very much, in the most beautiful setting.
So what can I tell you about Orford. It is on the coast and is a village full of little old cottages, thatched roofs and English country gardens.
It has a Castle, built by Henry II in the 12th century with a polygonal keep. The castle is preserved by English Heritage and you can have a good look around it if you are interested in medieval history as the village has lots of history corresponding with that era, as it was an important port and fishing village.
It is very famous for it’s seafood……………..particularly oysters………………but also other fish and shellfish too. It has it’s own shop and restaurant in the village square specialising in oysters………………but am I the only one that’s really not that bothered about oysters?
So what did I get up to. Well not much on Saturday afternoon. After a long drive down it was just an opportunity to catch up, have a wander around the village, past the pretty church, and then out to a lovely seafood and fish restaurant in nearby Aldeburgh.
The restaurant, which I can recommend, was called ‘Aldeburgh Market’…………..it’s basically the restaurant that cooks the fresh fish from the nearby fish market. I have to apologise as we were that busy chatting that I did not take any food photographs but it was amazing. Lovely fresh focaccia with rosemary, olive oil and seasalt…………….followed by scallop and king prawn yakisoba……………….followed by salted caramel and bourbon ice cream (with optional shot of bourbon)……………..all helped down with a bottle of Albarino. We had a lovely night.
I was so tired I decided not to set my alarm clock and I slept like a baby.
All was quiet when I woke the following morning and we all know how I like to go on a little explore on a Sunday morning for my little bit of solitude. I pulled on my comfy running clothes, my jacket to ward of the sea breeze and decided to take myself off to Orford Ness for a couple of hours to blow away the cobwebs and breathe in the salty sea air.
This was the highlight of my trip and the bit that I want to share with you and share the photographs because it is just beautiful. And there is something about the early morning light over the water when there is no-one else about that is just magical.
I look a little bit like the ‘wild woman of Orford Ness’ because on Sunday mornings I don’t do make-up, I don’t do hairstyling (quite obviously from the picture), I just pull my clothes on and set off before breakfast, to be in my own headspace for a little bit and just to breathe.
I set off across the golden fields and before long the village and the castle were just a dot in the distance. The sun was rising behind some beautiful cloud formations and it was promising to be a lovely morning.
I managed to avoid being shot by going the right way and keeping a close eye on my Ordinance Survey map whilst plotting my way through the forest.
Past the pig farm and trying to course a straight line in the direction of the sea. I smelt the sea before I reached it as Orford Ness is hidden behind a large embankment which protects the flat land from a rising sea. That smell of salt, fishing, marshes, mudflats……………….it’s really a distinct smell.
I crested the embankment and the view that opened up before me was just stunning. Miles and miles of marsh, oyster reefs, mud flats and creeks winding one way and another to the sea…………………and masses of fluffy clouds.
Orford Ness can be seen across the creek. Is is Europe’s largest vegetated shingle split separated from the mainland by a saltwater river where the rivers meet the sea. It is a tidal creek and the tide was out so whilst there were a few boats moored on the water, they were going nowhere until later in the day.
Despite its gorgeousness…………….the shingle spit at Orford Ness does have a bit of an haunting past. From 1918 to the 1980’s it was owned by the military and was a nuclear testing site, including for atomic bombs. That is well in its past. The skeletons of the buildings are still there, large looming black structures but they do not detract from the landscape as a whole.
The spit of shingle land is now owned by the National Trust and ferries run regularly across to it and are usually filled with eager bird watchers clutching their binoculars. Its fragile habitat is now home to many rare species of bird and animal which can be viewed by taking the boat across. The demand for tickets is high and the numbers limited by the National Trust to ensure this very special habitat is protected, viewed in a controlled way, and remains that way for generations to come.
There was not a soul in sight when I reached the embankment and the light and the sky were just spectacular. It’s amazing what nature can do for the weary soul. I just feel free of any troubles and worries and sort of turn into Forest Gump……………………I just kept trotting along the top of the embankment for miles…………….
………………………stopping frequently to take yet more photographs. Evantually after around an hour or so I checked the map and thought I’d better retrace my steps and try and find the quay. It was equally as beautiful running back the other way and as every minute passed, the light and the reflection on the water changed. It was magical.
I eventually reached the quay and a few early sailors had arrived to untether their sailing boats to make the best of what was promising to be a lovely day with a gentle breeze.
I returned to base, had a quick shower and made my way to the village square to hunt for breakfast. This is when I made the most amazing discovery! Yes you’ve guessed it…………………………a bakery!😂
Huddled in the corner of the square, in a little pretty pink painted cottage I found the Pump Street Bakery. What made it better was that it opens on Sunday, has tables inside, and serves the most amazing coffee.
I didn’t need a loaf of bread………………..but what can a girl do when faced with a selection like this!?
And don’t get me started on the pastries…………………just look at them.
I waited patiently in the queue trying to decide if my ‘trot’ warranted the consumption of a ‘Bear Claw’ all to myself. I told myself that was just being greedy and I finally settled on the almond croissant.
This was quite possibly the best almond croissant I have ever had. It had an almond frangipan filling, laced with a little bit of brandy to give it a lovely flavour. The top was covered with an almond crème and flaked almonds………….and dusted with icing sugar to perfect the look. Oh my………………..I would seriously drive back next weekend just to try something else.
On further discovery and on chatting to my cousin I then discovered that not only did the owner run the bakery………………..he also owned a chocolate shop in the square. Could this possibly get any better I thought! 😆 So off I went to seek out the chocolate shop and learn a little more about it. Basically they are an ethical producer of the highest quality of bean to bar chocolate. What does that mean? It means they buy single origin beans direct from the farm in South America. There is no middle man involved so not only do you get a single origin chocolate from a really high quality bean, the farmer gets a fair price for their bean. The beans are then shipped to Orford where they are then made into chocolate in a small industrial unit just outside the village.
It will probably be the most expensive chocolate bar you buy at £7.95 for a 100g bar. But as a one off treat, if you are passing………….just do it. Someone in South America is making a living at a fair price and I promise you it will be the best piece of chocolate you have ever tasted. Of course I could not resist could I. I like quite a dark chocolate and would normally get something above 70% cacao but I went for a 60% made with beans from the Hacienda Victoria farm in Ecuador. I was sold on the flavour………….’Cookie Chip’ with “notes of crumbly buttery biscuit and rounded cocoa”. I’m trying to limit myself to one square a day which is proving quite difficult.
It transpires that Orford is a hidden little gastronomic gem beacuse then, back at the quay, I stumbled across ‘Pinney’s’. Apparently they own the oyster restaurant in the village. They are a third generation family business who have two fishing boats the ‘Jolene’ and the ‘Southern Cross’. In addition to having their own oyster bed which they have farmed for over 70 years, they also land bass, skate, lobster, crabs and other fish and seafood from their two boats. On the quay they also have their own ‘smokehouse’, where they smoke their own catch in addition to a range of local farmed meats and cheese that they buy in.
So after a good look around I emerged with a smoked ham joint and a tub of smoked salmon pate. 😂
So with my tummy full of croissant and a bag full of lovely foodie items for the days ahead I marched back to the house to say goodbye. “You like reading don’t you?” Nigel said, and then continued to tell me all about the book club he’s joined in the village. “In fact, those books on the side are going to the charity shop as I’ve read them and we’ve discussed them………………………….are there any you want?”
Now I have to be careful………………….as collecting books and reading books seem to be two entirely different hobbies for me. I have so many books to read on my pile. I read lots……………….but I collect them quicker than I read them. I’m almost at the end of my latest Ernest Hemingway so I restrained myself to two…………………..Ian McEwan’s novel ‘Lessons’ which AI says “Follows a boy called Roland and examines how individual choices and global occurrences intertwine and asks whether people can control their lives without harming others and what can be learned from past traumas. ” I’ll report back when I’ve read it as to whether I liked it. The second book is ‘The Place of Tides’ by James Rebanks. The message behind this one is “a call to value nature, embrace quiet patience, and recognize how small, dedicated acts of care for the environment can lead to significant positive outcomes.” But what drew me the this one was an extract in the front cover from Christianne Ritter’s book ‘A Woman in the Polar Night’ written in 1938. I suppose the message hit home a little.
I realised that from Monday to Friday that week I had been the one with my head bent over, running around in circles, circles of my anxieties and troubles. So my little word of wisdom for today is to consciously think about what you are doing and make sure that you too do what I did this weekend and make sure that you make a little bit of time every day, or at least every weekend to see the glory of the sun. I certainly saw it this weekend and it’s so uplifting.
After bundling my new books together it was time to bid a fond farewell. “Promise not to leave it so long until next time” we both agreed! Little does he know that now I’ve discovered the bakery, the chocolate makers and the smoked food shop he may never get rid of me……………………….I might become a regular weekend fixture!😂