21st April 2024
Dear All,
On
Monday swimming was followed by working down land after rain then packing. Kate
and I booked a couple of nights away in Woodbridge as a spring break! On the
way on Tuesday, we explored Felixstowe where Kate had not been previously and I
had not visited for many years. My memories were of a rather dull town with a
very stoney beach but both these proved to be wrong as the seaside walk in
sunshine was quite attractive and there was much more sand on the beach than I
remembered. Highlight however was spotting a pod of dolphins swimming someway
out to sea. The only downside was Kate damaging a knee while climbing a step
and caused her some pain and she was limping for the rest of the week.
Felixstowe North Beach
We were staying at The Bull Hotel in the centre of Woodbridge next to the Shire Hall. It was very old but comfortable with cheerful staff so a good choice apart from the cramped parking space..
On
Wednesday we headed for Sutton Hoo to visit the burial ground. Although most of
the treasures are in the British Museum, they have replicas and have made the
most of what they have. We had a good conducted tour of the grounds after viewing
the Exhibition centre. The main surprises were the size of the boat that was in
the burial mound – 26 metres long and the fact that the famous helmet was found
in dozens of pieces and was initially assembled in the wrong shape!
Model of Burial Boat
The Royal Burial Ground
Ornate Buckle
In
the afternoon we travelled to Hollesley to visit the Suffolk Punch Trust. Apart
from the horses there is an interesting museum and several other animals. The
main attraction in the afternoon was a demonstration of assembling the full
harness and obedience to various commands.
Harness Demonstration
NOT a Suffolk
Punch! (Shetland Pony)
On
the way back to Woodbridge we had a short walk in Rendleshan Forest.
On
Thursday we explored Woodbridge then walked via the marina to Woodbridge Museum
and Tide Mill. While waiting for the museum to open we noticed “The Longshed”
and inside there were several men building a full-size reconstruction of the
Sutton Hoo ship. They started with 8 oak trees and have made 26 ribs using
3,598 rivets and aim to complete the job in 2 years.
Reconstruction
The
museum was small but well presented and the Tide Mill well worth a visit. We
had toured it before with the Covenanters about 30 years ago!
Tide Mill
On
Friday it was a billiard ball haircut, Tesco’s coffee at the Fenwick’s to thank
Richard for watering while we were away then sorting Moldova talks and gifts.
More planting and sowing on Saturday morning then watched Over 1 v 2 Cambridge
University Press in a very good game decided in the last minute. In the evening
seed and two laptops were despatched to Moldova via a minibus courier – a new
method so fingers crossed!
Moldova Bound
Regards
Mike
& Kate
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