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Suffolk Summer


SwanR

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Traditionally the preserve of holidays afloat, I have posted previously about holidays at our caravan, which has allowed us access to the Broads area for several years now. Throughout the pandemic, the various lockdowns and ever changing guidelines, the caravan has been a haven that we could retreat to when travel and overnight stays were permitted. We have been very fortunate and very blessed to have such a place.

This summer we decided again not to book anything else but to use what we have. I booked two weeks off work in July and another week in August but ... on neither occasion did the weather resemble what I had hoped for. Only a handful of days throughout the summer have been warm enough to sit out on our deck and simply relax where we were. I think that home working has led to my desire to spend as much time as I can outdoors otherwise I can feel very cooped up and seeing life through the window rather than being outside in the fresh air. 

So what have we done this year that I can tell you about that might be of interest for anyone visiting the area either on a boat or staying in other accommodation on the Suffolk side of the Broads. I'm going to post a few ideas and some information that I hope might be useful. And when I get to the end there will be a short video that pulls some of this together.

 

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Oulton Broad

Now this is a strange one. We yo-yo a bit in our opinion of Oulton Broad as a place to visit. The traffic is always an issue so if we do drive there then we go early-ish and can usually get parked by the Yacht Station. This year we have had a couple of really enjoyable visits.

First stop is often a cup of coffee. Everitt Park Cafe is under new ownership and much improved. It used to feel dark and rather in need of some tlc inside. Now it is bright and airy, the service is good and we have sat both inside and outside. A nice place and now on our list of regular stops. Anyone on Facebook can check out their page.

 https://www.facebook.com/everittparkcafe/.

Nicholas Everitt Park is a good place to have a walk with plenty of places to sit and watch the world go by. We usually start round near where the yachts come out into the Broad by the slipway, and then move around to where the fishermen position themselves, before ending up at the yacht station itself if there is a seat available there. It's just a good place to watch the people, the boats and generally enjoy some time out.

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Lowestoft

Another place that I really like. Sure the town centre itself is very run down, many empty shops but the bingo hall always looks as if it is thriving. If you're at Oulton Broad or anywhere else on the train line and fancy spending some time there, here's where we went.

South Beach is a favourite of ours being only a short drive from where our caravan is sited. There is a fantastic sandy beach but dogs are not allowed on there during the summer months. There is a little putting green halfway up the hill by the Thatch restaurant / coffee shop. At the top of the hill is Kensington Gardens where we have often sat on a Sunday morning, and we did indeed find ourselves spending some quiet time there one morning last week. It was a little chilly to sit for long but it was so quiet with the children not yet back in the primary school next to it. Rather than walking on round to Pakefield we opted to come back down along the seafront past the beach huts. There were families with their windbreaks up and children in swimming costumes braving the weather and still having a good time.

Claremont Pier was open but I was musing just the other day that amusements don't seem to hold much attraction these days, in fact I can't remember the last time I went in them. But if they're your thing then you will find some there along with a children's playground nearby.

Our choice was to wander on to our favourite coffee stop along the seafront, the Flying Fifteens. Good service, good food, and very good prices. My choice was a spicy fruit scone and a cappuccino on both occasions that we visited. The pictures below show the weather the first time round ... one of those days where you see the dark clouds coming and you know what's going to happen.

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North Denes, Lowestoft

Now this is one you're probably not likely to find if coming into Lowestoft by train from being moored somewhere. But if you're driving around the area then it's a good place to know about. There are a couple of ways to get there, one of which involves driving through the industrial northern side of the town, past the Bird's Eye factory, and also Gulliver, the very tall wind turbine that you can see from miles around. Or you might approach it by coming down the Ravine. Either way you will get to a free car park opposite the Sparrow's Nest. It's a really nice park area with an Italian restaurant, Giardino's, and The Martello Coffee House. Both are part of the same group as the Thatch at South Beach and The Quay coffee shop at Beccles.

https://www.martellocoffeehouse.co.uk/martello-coffee

Good food, good service and reasonably priced. Having cooked dinner in the caravan for most of the days that we were away this time, we opted for fish and chips at Martello's one lunchtime. Freshly cooked and the best I have had in a long while. 

You can then walk over to the sea wall and have a nice walk along the front either towards Ness Point or towards Gunton. If you opt for Gunton then there's another free car park there, at Links Road. And then a lovely sandy beach backed by dunes that is dog friendly all year round. Helen this might be one for you if you're looking for somewhere on a future trip.

There is a small maritime museum in the park as well, that we've never visited and I think it's still closed at the moment. But the Naval Patrol Memorial in the gardens up on the cliff, is well worth a wander. Makes a nice walk to go through the gardens, along the clifftop, down Links Road and back along the sea wall. Certainly helps with one's daily steps total!

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Somerleyton Gardens

This was an impulse visit this time round but well worth it. And the only place we visited with an entrance fee. We were actually on our way to Great Yarmouth as I do want to visit the Venetian Waterways and Bure Park at some point. However I saw a sign for Somerleyton and decided to turn left at the next roundabout and revisit the gardens instead. We were lucky as they're not open every day so worth checking before you set off.  The house and tea room are still closed but they have got a coffee cart in place on the lawn instead, which was perfectly adequate. There was a very persistent duck following people around, waiting and watching at each table in turn just in case a crumb of food might come his way.

The gardens are not that big, and some of it looks as if it needs quite a bit of investment and renovation in terms of the buildings you can see. However I did enjoy a lovely walk as the sun came out and it was warmer than expected. Some beautiful colours and an interesting vegetable garden. Lovely views as well and it's interesting to imagine how life might have been on the estate in years gone by. This is one that I would definitely keep going back to.

 

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That's it for this summer. Not the days out and new places visited that I had thought there might be, mostly because the weather just doesn't seem to have got going this year, not for any length of time. Maybe autumn will bring something different. I've a boat booked for October so stay tuned for a probable write up of that one.

In the meantime here's a short video of some of the places described above.

 

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Thanks Jean, lots of good tips on places to visit, especially those on places to park on the coast. We will certainly be checking out North Denes.

I’ve been wanting to go to Somerlayton Gardens and Hall for some time, but inevitably, when the weather is good for a visit it’s too warm to leave Seren in the car. Our ‘exploring Norfolk’ time is out of season, as we are too busy cruising in the summer. 

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