This year we returned
to Southwold once again. It really is one of our favourite
places. The weather this time was a little unsettled,
but it didn't affect how much we enjoyed our stay.
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Monday
1st July 2024 |
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We decided to change our route from London
this year. (See what happened on our journey to Southwold
in 2023 - opens in a new tab). Heeding advice from
Liz, our taxi driver last time, we got a direct train
to Diss in Norfolk instead of changing trains at Ipswich.
There we were met by Liz and taken directly to Southwold.
The taxi ride was longer than before, but we felt much
more relaxed during the train journey without worrying
that we might miss the connection. An amazing coincidence...
there was only one other person in the train carriage
when we boarded at Liverpool Street. We didn't pay much
attention to her as we walked past her seat and began
settling in slightly further down the carriage. She called
out, asking "Aren't you the two gentlemen who travelled
with me to Southwold last year?" We then recognised
her as Sue, the kind lady who had offered us a lift from
Halesworth to Southwold last year. She even offered us
a lift once again, but of course, we had changed our route
so we didn't take her up on it. Nevertheless, we sat and
chatted to her all the way to Ipswich and this time, gave
her our contact details in case she and her husband, Edward,
wanted to meet up with us some time... which we did...
see Monday 8th July below.
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We returned to Craighurst, where we had
stayed twice before. Once again, it was going to be our
home for the next eleven days. The following three photos
were taken on a previous trip. The interior of the flat
was exactly as we remembered it. The exterior, however
had changed. The blue/grey door (our entrance) had been
replaced by a better fire door, but significantly, the
balcony running along the front no longer had a floor.
We were told in advance that this was the case and that
we would have no access to it, but we were quite surprised
to see how badly the whole frame was corroded.
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The biggest disadvantage
of not being able to step out onto a balcony, and not even
being able to open the door to it for obvious reasons, was
that we couldn't get any good photos of our view without
a glass filter! |
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That evening, we dined
at The Crown and decided that there were enough interesting
sounding things on the menu to warrant another visit during
our stay. Despite a high turnover of staff here (apart from
one lady, Nikki, who we recognised), the standard of food
and service is always high. |
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Tuesday
2nd July 2024 |
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Today was a bit rainy,
but we did manage to have a couple of walks and do some
shopping. |
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Wednesday
3rd July 2024 |
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A light lunch at the
Sole Bay Inn. |
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Of course, we had to
visit the ice cream shop, where we were warmly welcomed
by the owner, Lynda. |
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A delicious dinner in
the Tap Room at The Swan Hotel. |
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Thursday
4th July 2024 |
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A visit to Suzie's cafe
on the beachfront. We went there every day for coffee at
9:00am. Sometimes we would also have a toasted teacake,
but today we tried their bacon roll. It was a bit salty
for us, so we didn't repeat that choice. |
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It was a nice day, so
we did the long walk to Walberwick. |
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Harris & James ice
cream is on sale at several venues in Southwold. Their expansion
seems impressive (too impressive, perhaps?) |
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Dinner at home this
evening, with fresh crab from the market, served with salads
and sourdough bread from the Two Magpies Bakery. It was
all delicous. |
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Friday
5th July 2024 |
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Geoff opted for a beer
at lunchtime. Bruce chose to have an ice cream instead! |
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No visit to Southwold
would be complete without at least one portion of fish and
chips! |
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Saturday
6th July 2024 |
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On the evening before
Bruce's birthday, we went to Sutherland House for a very
special meal. Leaving the restaurant afterwards, the owner,
Andy, gave Bruce a bottle of champagne, which was a very
generous gesture. |
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Sunday
7th July 2024 |
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It had been a very special
birthday for Bruce! |
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Monday
8th July 2024 |
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Today we met Sue (our
train friend) and her husband, Edward for lunch at The Anchor
in Walberswick. It was the first time that we had been there,
although we had walked past it many times on previous visits.
We enjoyed the meeting and the lunch and decided that we
would visit it again in the future. |
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Tuesday
9th July 2024 |
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Another morning visit
to Suzie's. |
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Our second visit to The
Crown this holiday. Geoff had the venison and pigeon terrine
as a starter. |
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Bruce had a delicious
lemon tart and ice cream for his dessert. |
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Chocolate delice was
Geoff's choice. |
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Wednesday
10th July 2024 |
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Dinner this evening
was at Doh Pizzeria in the premises formerly occupied by
Enzo. The pizzas were perfectly made. |
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Thursday
11th July 2024 |
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We didn't
take any photos today. We had a couple of short walks, but
spent most of the day just relaxing and thinking about what
a wonderful trip we had had. In the evening, we returned
to Sutherland House for another splendid meal. |
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Friday
12th July 2024 |
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Liz picked us up at 10:00am
and drove us to Diss. Because of roadworks, we were forced
to take a very roundabout route. Instead of taking 45 minutes,
it took almost an hour and 15 minutes. Nevertheless, we were
still able to catch our train at 11:17 and had an easy journey
all the way home. |
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