June 15. Dedham

 Much though we love a manor house, we've seen a lot and it's hard to tell them apart now. So we thought we'd take advantage of the weather to go places outside today. Fortunately, just near us is the Dedham Vale 'area of outstanding natural beauty'. That's an offical thing, at least in part because Constable and Gainsborough lived around here and created an image that modern Britain likes to mythologise like the ustralian outback or American West.

So we drove down to Dedham. Because it seemed idyllic we hired a rowing boat and set off down the river.

Of course we were immediately stryck by reality. It was a nice day, and in the UK it's Fathers Day and so extra busy. And the field opposite the cafe where we hired boats was thick with picnickers, most of whom had brought inflatable stand-up paddle boards (which I hate, the ergonomics make no sense). So the river was thick with people trying not to fall off and not looking where they were going, and other rowers who by definitions are not looking where they're going. Fortunately, once we got 500m downstream it thinned out considerably. By the time we got back the cafe was packed and there was a long queue waiting to hire boats.

After a drink we drove downriver a bit and stopped at Flatford. This was just as busy and is such a tiny village that you have to park a short distance away in a carpark and then walk. We soon discovered that it's popular because this was the location of several of Constable's paintings.

The landscape has changed a bit but you get the idea.

 

The places today were as busy as the places we've been in Europe. It changes the feel of it all; history as Disneyland. Which I appreciate we're absolutely contributing to. It's not always evident in the photos because we try to work around it. I don't know where it's heading and how things will look in the near future.

So we went on from there to Ipswich, specifically to the Ipswich waterfront area, for lack of a better idea. Ipswich is inland, but with a short, wide river, the Orwell, to the sea. It turned out to be semi-gentrified, which is to say it's been rebuilt but hasn't quite got the atmosphere or presence they may be hoping for. But good enough for us to walk about and get lunch before going back to Hintlesham.

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 13. Whitstable

 Even considering that England is coming into summer, the weather is unseasonably good. It was sunny and about 25℃ today! We took advantage of this to go along the coast to Whitstable. Judging by the crowds, everyone else had the same idea. But the sun was shining on the water, there were small dinghies racing out towards the horizon and this was a good time for a seaside icecream.

Whitstable Harbour. Vintage lifeboat and large number of Con-trails

Still a working harbour, despite the tourists

We walked up and down the highstreet, then went to the Whitstable Oyster Brewing Company right by the sea wall. This was my major goal for the expedition, to try the oyster stout, made with whole oysters. This may have controbuted to the strong mineral flavours, accompanying the smoky and woody quality.

On the way back we picked up the hire car that Lynn and I will take away tomorrow.

June 12. Minnis Bay

We're still catching up with things after the cruise, so this morning was spent washing and ironing. So, that's an exciting update.

This afternoon we went east. Through Minnis Bay, which is the next village east, though we really didn't spend very long there, then to Westwood Cross shopping centre again.

On the way back we detoured to Goody Ales, the english equivalent of a craft brewery. Similar to the Australian ones, in a shed in the middle of nowhere, but different in that the beers (and even the ciders) were flat and, at best, coolish. Mostly you need to adjust your expectations, then it's fine. At least it is unseasonably warm and pleasant weather.

June 11. Herne Bay Again

Really very little happened in our trip back across the North Sea. Wind farms, oil rigs, some distant ships and mild weather.

We got off the ship at 10am in Southampton and re-traced our taxi route to Herne Bay. As you can see in this picture the weather is fine.

Neighbouring Wheat Field

June 9-10. At Sea

 Another two days sailing slowly from Norway back to Southampton. I anticipate no internet access and nothing to see but sea.

Because I have the space, I'll include a map of the walk I did on Saturday.

June 8. Stavanger

 Our last day in Norway - after this it's a gentle sail back to England. It was grey and wet when we woke, but fortunately it cleared over the next hour to be sunny the rest of the day (still about 12℃ but that doesn't seem to matter as much).

This meant Lynn could have a pleasant walk around the old town and harbour area.

While she was doing this, I went on a hike to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock). This is a big rock thatover hangs Lyse Fjord. Stravanger is in a cluster of islands, so to get to the starting point the bus took us through a series of tunnels,. one of them the longest undersea road tunnel. The walk itself is only 8km round trip and seemed very popular, with a steady stream of locals and tourists all the way. There was a series of steep climbs then plateaus, some of it on granite steps and some across bare rock. About three quarters of the way there were a couple of alpine lakes.

Looking back to the distant track from the top of some stairs

Lyse Fjord

People form a polite queue to take their photos

This was warm work, but probably not as hard as the climb at Andalsnes a couple of days ago. It took me about an hour and a quarter each way, plus some time spent sitting at the rock. This meant I got back to the start with a couple of hours to spare, but there were shops and a large area where I could sit in the sun, drink a hot chocolate and listen to a podcast. I got back to the ship just before it was due to leave.