Southwold

Wanting to end the holiday on a high note, I suggested a day trip to Southwold today, so off we went. We had a lovely day and Keith drove there and back so it was great for me to take in the gorgeous scenery when we turned off the A14 at Stowmarket.

The Tourist route from the A14 across to the A12 at Yoxford is beautiful - stuffed with picturesque villages, inviting pubs and quaint tea-rooms. The village of Peasenhall was having a Pea festival (parades, eating and attractions) and not celebrating the humble pea as we first thought! It's an area I'd love to explore more as we normally just speed past on our way to the coast. There's even a vineyard at Framlingham!

At Southwold, we parked right next to the beach-huts and had a roll and coffee before going down to the water's edge. The children were only supposed to go for a paddle, but both of them ended up going in, almost fully-clothed! It was a good job that Keith had had the foresight to pack a change of clothes for them!

Despite it being sunny the wind was ferocious and after about an hour and a half, we'd all had enough, so it was back to the car where the children dried off and changed their clothes before we took a walk along the beautiful pier. Half way along is a strange little hut with bizarre coin-operated machines which they love! Each one is very eccentric and they attract a lot of interest. I disappeared into a tiny room to have my palm read while Mikey had two mechanic hands frisk him! They have to be seen to be believed!

After an ice-cream we walked up to the town where I couldn't stop photographing the pastel-coloured houses and the stunning white lighthouse against the azure blue sky. The light in Southwold has a lovely intensity and the houses are painted to match the sun and sky.

We had a cup of tea in a very old-fashioned tearoom which was attached to a shop selling lots of varieties of sweets. Southwold is, for me anyway, the classic seaside town and I love it there. One day, we'll push the boat out and spend a week at the Swan Hotel!

Back home we called into the pub for a meal - the two for one main course offer has been extended to Sunday nights as well...;) - but I received a nasty shock when mum called me at the pub to tell me that two men had made off with the Reception cash register. It was a stressful end to a lovely day and brought me back down to earth with a bump. No doubt tomorrow we will have to arrange for a new cash register to be delivered and will have to deal with the police who want to take copies of our CCTV recordings (not that anyone is ever caught).

To add to the stress, Mikey remembered that he still had two pieces of homework to do to be given in tomorrow so rather than relax on the sofa with a drink and Top Gear, I hastily helped him make up a poem about schooldays and then cobble together a map of the village and where he'd like more amenities to be...Welcome back to the real world!