Suffolk Coastline

Apropos to visiting the Suffolk coast, the weather turned and there was a continuous mist, wind and a gray sky. It was perfect.

The picturesque beach huts line up to punctuate the gray. These are quite small, no water, no electricity, you can't stay the night, and to purchase one is at least 100,000 pounds, which converts to roughly $150,000. They are available to rent for the day or week, 20 pounds a day ($30). The beach huts are quintessential Southwold. Artist after artist paints, photographs, fuses glass, any medium will do to capture their charm.  In another area, the huts are used for a shopping village, much like flea market booths.

I took advantage of being in the area to visit a business colleague, who through the years has turned into a friend and now, my host in his charming English village. We were greeted with a glass of champagne in their lovely garden area, the American flag flying high in our honor. My heart burst from the sweet gesture. It's one I will remember if and when I have a guest visiting from another country.

Our host, Jamie, is a sailing aficionado and quite involved in a small sailing museum there. He had the keys to unlock the door even when it wasn't open, so we got to see the "Alfred Corry," the Southwold No.1 Lifeboat, dedicated in 1893, which is being restored to her original form and takes up most of the space in a small museum. Stories and photos of rescues and maritime history line the museum walls; there's even a section about the Scottish girls working in the herring factory, who were able to gut 40 herring a minute!

We left Southwold after a proper English breakfast of ham and homemade sausages, cooked on the outside grill, creamy scrambled eggs, toast, juice, and afterwards, coffees. (Tea had been prepared early, upon our waking.) It was all quite delightful. We left with full hearts and traveled south along the coastline, stopping in Leiston to see the Abbey ruins, then to Thorpeness, a village built in 1913 as a holiday fantasy village for people to experience "merrie auld England," then on to Aldeburgh, which was large compared to the others and bursting with charm. Our biggest surprise was the Snape Maltings, disused malthouses which have been converted into one of the finest concert venues in the country, and most recently a recording studio. Plenty of shops and galleries, a tearoom and a pub (of course). Currently some of the malthouses are being converted to residences, as well. This photo only shows the front side, what you see as you would drive down the road. Unfortunately, I was so taken aback once we were inside the complex that I failed to photograph any other part.