We bid farewell to Avril and Peter and boarded the train bound for Suffolk. We were looking forward to a few days with friends Danielle and Andy at their home near Woodbridge.
Andy and I have been friends since we met in the early Eighties. Andy was living in Hong Kong and I had just emerged from China after several months of traveling that began in Moscow aboard the Trans-Siberia railway. We’ve done various things together since then, including cycling from Berlin to Budapest via Prague a few months after the Berlin Wall fell.
But I digress.
Today was a day for taking in the English seaside and enjoying a classic Sunday roast beef lunch. We visited the river port at nearby Woodbridge where we saw a mill that uses water power to grind grain in an unusual way. Water is captured behind a dam on the rising tide, then drained to drive a waterwheel when the tide falls.
Later we strolled along the beach at Felixstowe before lunching at the waterfront Fludyers Hotel. The brightly colored tool shed-like buildings in the photo are beach huts. People either rent or own them to enjoy while visiting the ocean. The prices would surprise you.
Finally, after attending a friend’s house-warming, we paid a brief visit to the Ipswich marina just to have a look.
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