June 14. Hadleigh

 

We prepared for today as though for an expedition - even though it's only a two hour drive to Suffolk. Going north from Kent there's London, then Essex, then Suffolk. We skirted the east edge of London and the Dartford Crossing  (tunnel going north, bridge going south) of the Thames was by far the slowest and most tedious part of the journey. Otherwise it was fine, and we had one stop at a services around Essex; I never cease to be surprised by services, on this occasion because they sell alcohol and there was a room of pokies.

Our first stop for the day was Melford Hall. A stately home with very large grounds containing fields of sheep and cows. We had some lunch and walked through the part of the house open to the public; the owners still live in one wing. It has a long history linked to the dissolution of the monastaries, an admiral and Beatrix Potter.

Melford Hall

Our next stop was Hadleigh, just a short distance away. This was our motivation for coming to Suffolk in the first place as it was the origin of the Alabasters. The whole clan came from one original family around Hadleigh and the name is a corruption of Arbalester.

You can imagine our horror and arriving in this quiet, historic town to find it overrun by Morris Dancers. There is a picture here of the first group we encountered on a corner of the high street, but we spotted at least three other groups terrorising the townsfolk.

We fled from the chaos and found some quiet around the church and adjacent guild hall. I looked for Alabasters in the cemetery, but the headstones were so old they had almost all faded to illegibility.

Guild Hall, Hadleigh

Finally we went on to our hotel for the next two nights, Hintlesham Hall. This is a stately home midway between Hadleigh and Ipswich. It hadn't occurred to me that turning a stately home into a hotel might be difficult, but getting to our room involves twisting corridors and several steps.

June 4. Kristiansund

 We've reached our northenmost destination now; the sun sets about 11.30pm and rises about 3.30am.

When we woke this morning we were sailing past an oil rig on the outskirts of Kristiansund. This is a fishing town spread across several adjacent islands. We hadn't booked any acivities today, so after breakfast we went ashore and walked through the town. It turns out that it's an ordinary community, not geared for tourists; most of the people walking about were from the ship looking for things to do. While we complain about places being touristy, when they're not, we're at a bit of a loss. The hairdressers, interior design shops and banks are not that interesting.

We did find the Kirkelandet Church which was very impressive (on the inside, a drab concrete on the outside). Then it was a short walk to Varden, a scenic viewing point, though not that much higher than the surrounding town.

We walked back into town and caught one of the free ferries that link the islands where they are closest to each other. However, for the reasons outlined above we couldn't decide on anything worth getting off for (not even the cod museum) and so it was a round trip.

Sundbaten Ferry

At this point we were right next to the ship, so we went back for some lunch and a break before venturing out again. We walked through the town and still couldn't find much of interest. So I set off to the western side of the island to see what was there. I stumbled on a network of hiking trails that didn't appear on google or the maps and which wound over the hills and into the little bays. I followed the trails north for some time then found a path inland and back to the town. Although it was only about 12℃ today this warmed me up.

Now, as for the last few days, we're sitting in the lounge above the bridge waiting to watch the ship leave and wind its way out through the islands.

May 17. Lamego

 Today ended up being fairly slow-paced. We expected to get back to Pinhao by mid-morning but there was a hold-up getting through a lock because water levels are unusually high and this led to concerns by the lock authority (I don't understand what about). So we had a restful morning watching the scenery. On getting to Pinhao we went for a walk and saw the tiled murals at the little railway station. Pleasant ratehr than impressive.

After lunch we had an excursion to Lamego, a medieval town a short distance away. Unfortunately the guide talked the entire way, which was irritating, and we stopped listening to him as soon as we were able. One of the things the town is famous for is the Our Lady of Remedies church and the baroque steps leading down to the town. After a look at the church we walked down the steps and along the main plaze through town. We stopped at the cathedral and then at the museum, but I will spare you pictures from the inside of any more churches because they are both impressive and indistinguishable.