Our Visit to Suffolk

Up and out reasonably early for a Monday morning on our way to City Airport to collect our second car of this holiday, then north and a bit east through Essex towards Suffolk to see my friends Doris and Brian, whom I last saw thirteen years ago. Following the fast M11 motorway stretch, we turned off to cruise through pleasant English countryside and picturesque olde worlde villages. Our first stop was Thaxted, where we stopped for an early lunch in a pub before wandering the back lanes of thatched cottages to get to a restored windmill hidden away in a field.

Back in the car we followed the twisting roads to Lavenham, the main reason for taking the route I had chosen. Lavenham's main street and every side street features multi-coloured or Tudor framed buildings, many of which have slanted or twisted in relation to their neighbours over the centuries. We wandered around the town for more than an hour taking zillions of photographs on three cameras before we decided, with another twenty five miles or so to go, it was about time to continue our journey.

Driving past signs with old names familiar to me like Knettishall, Garboldisham and Coney Weston, we soon drove into the village of Barningham and turned onto a narrow road before turning off onto Doris & Brian's even narrower single-car width track to their house, which is tucked away in a clump of trees in the middle of farmland.

Brian came out to meet us and in we went to meet Doris. Intros to Jan, hugs, fond hellos and lots of laughter resulted from three of the four of us realising that, of course, after thirteen years none of us had changed in the slightest! Following a brief catch up over welcoming teas and coffees, we went for a walk around the estate. Brian and Doris both originate from London, but had moved to this house with its third of an acre plot surrounded by other peoples' farmland over forty years ago. They had created a wonderful landscaped garden out of dirt and nothingness, and had extended the house several years ago to give themselves a dining room and additional bedroom. Since I had last seen it, they had bought one of the fields beside the lane leading to their house and added a glazed conservatory, which is where we had dinner and spent much of the rest of the evening.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy