A wander through the pretty village of Orford

We've been enjoying some lovely weather again in London these last few days and it's been great. I'd *almost* forgotten what summer felt like and I suspect if the weather continues it wouldn't be too long before there were moans of it being too warm. We're a fickle bunch aren't we? Sadly though the forecast is for rain and another storm to head our way, but I'm hopeful that we'll have a great autumn, not only because I want there to be some tomatoes to harvest, but also because, well the world just seems a happier place when the sun's out.  

Cliched I know, but true.

I thought while the sun was still out we should take a walk around the pretty Suffolk village of Orford which we visited for the first time on our recent break. It has traditional cottages as you'd expect, is well known for its nature reserve and has the blue-est of quaysides as my first couple of photos show.  

Our visit was shorter than we'd hoped as this was what turned into our day of almosts.  We parked at the quayside car park and headed off to explore, quickly discovering that Orford Ness nature reserve was closed on a Monday, we were ok with that though as I think if we'd really wanted to visit that's information we would have been sure to have known in advance.  

After a walk along the shore we headed into the pretty village admiring the traditional cottages and quirky architecture to see what there was to see and to work out what to do next.  The traditional row of cottages caught my eye for their postcard looks, but also because of the grass right up to the front door. With my practical head on I couldn't help but think that it would be a right faff in the winter with your shopping walking across the grass. It seems that some of the residents must also think that as it was clear that these weren't always the main entrance to the property.

Roses and hollyhocks accompanied the whitewashed cottages and over the road some quirkier architecture popped its head over the hedgerow.

Typically cottage garden plants spilled onto the narrow pavement which ran alongside the greens. I'm always asking MOH what plants are to test him as we wander past, especially now he's more interested in gardening - maybe that's an age thing?!  And I did that as wandered past the Valerian below; it's a plant I know he knows, but one he normally can't remember so imagine my surprise when he came straight out with it!  Usually we have to do the "it begins with V" and my best clue "think of an Amy Winehouse song" which usually clinches it as he likes his music (and I'm rather proud of my clue as I'm rubbish with who sang what).  So there you go unscientific proof of something I'm sure, though I'm not sure what.

The village had some great brick walls too.  I know that's not the usual thing to look at, but well faced with this wall surely you must start to see the attraction... or is that just me?

Ah yes, remember what I was saying about there being some good brick walls.  Here's another.  

I was keen to see what was on the other side but MOH looked at me like I was slightly mad, well more than usual anyway and quickly ushered me along the lane.  Quickly distracted I spotted a cut through and decided we'd head up there instead. And guess what we found?

The village allotments.

I didn't go in there either, but it's the village that has everything.  Even allotments.  But sadly for us no fish and chips after 2:30 pm - and guess what time we decided to stop for lunch, yes 2:35 pm.  You couldn't make it up.  And you know that thing when someone suggests fish and chips by the coast - which everyone knows makes them taste even better - well then you just can't get it out of your mind. It became our quest too and so we headed back to the car and drove onto Aldeburgh, certain we'd be more successful there.

Turns out our optimism was short-lived as the fish and chip shops didn't reopen until 6pm, so resigned to the fact there wouldn't be fish and chips for lunch we headed to a cafe instead. Another slightly surreal experience as despite having cornish pasties in the display cabinet we were only allowed to buy cake - surreal also because I'm complaining about that!  Turns out that because it came with salad we couldn't have it, it was only for sale from the adjoining sister shop. So we had tea and cake and left.  See, a day of almosts.  I almost had a cornish pasty.

While eating the cake though we'd cracked a master plan for fish and chips, we'd buy some on the way back to the cottage as by the time we mastered the diversion en-route, surely the chippie would be open. And no doubt it would have been, in fact it might even have shut by the time we mastered the detour. We looped it three times and still couldn't find the road we needed. Being increasingly short of patience, plan C was put into place and the car took us to Southwold. Surely there'd be fish and chips there.

There was. Along with a bit of a queue. And so finally we got our fish and chip takeaway and sat overlooking the sea with our coastal fish and chips and a rather large tub of tomato ketchup.  Pure bliss.  And mission most definitely accomplished.

The Moo Loo entry in the Loo Series

During our short break in Suffolk we took the bikes out and cycled through the country lanes from Fressingfield to Framlingham in the beautiful sunshine. It was market day in Framlingham and after a wander around the stalls we thought tea and cake were in order and so found ourselves a spot overlooking the Market Square and watched the world go by for a bit. 

With a ten mile cycle back to the cottage ahead of us, there was one final visit needed. And so that's when I found myself in the Ladies at the Crown Inn at Framlingham, I think it's safe to say I wasn't expecting this.

I mean it's not as if the rest of the decor was shabby, but it was more traditional in its nature. In the Ladies though the cows with a fuchsia background really did take centre stage.  It was only later as I edited these photos that I noticed something unusual about the tiles - have you spotted it?

Yes, the tiles have been laid vertically rather than the usual horizontal. And now I've noticed I'm not sure about them, or how I feel. It's not something I would have thought to do with this size tile, but what do you think?

The wallpaper needed some chunky accessories to compete with it, and the grand mirrors were a good match.

And a couple of them side by side gave perfect balance on an otherwise plain wall.

And large mirrors, need large sinks - so again top marks to the designers here as they managed some very large sinks.

And to show you how large the mirrors are, here I am.

Considering I'd had my cycle helmet on I was quite impressed with my hair - or the bit I could see anyway!

So before I close, here's one final shot of the wallpaper and mirrors - aren't they great?

For me this is the kind of wallpaper I adore - quirky, bold and fun - but also something I probably wouldn't have at home, although I can see this kind of bold print working really well in a downstairs loo.  What do you think?

A relaxing few days in a beautiful Suffolk cottage

Sometimes you just need some time away don't you to recharge your batteries don't you? We managed to book a few days off work and head to a beautiful cottage in picturesque Suffolk village last week, and we were relatively lucky with the weather too, so phew. As we were away for less than a week we chose somewhere that wouldn't take us too long to travel to, but somewhere that still felt "away" - our choices were Kent, Hampshire or Suffolk. Kent felt too close to home and more day-trippable and in the end it came down to the accommodation we could book. 

And we weren't disappointed. Despite it being so close to Norfolk, a county we're familiar with, it felt different and its landscape was different too with it's timbered cottages, often pink and yellow cropped fields. The fields weren't the only yellow thing though, this welcome bunch of flowers of dahlias and jasmine on the kitchen table was a nice touch, as was the carrier bag full of purple snake beans. And the bottle of fizz in the fridge.

The cottage is a former granary and the kitchen still has the original first floor doors, and the walls were full of character - most noticeable in the pretty ground floor bedroom.

THE CHARACTERFUL BEDROOM WALL

It wasn't just the bedroom that was full of character, the whole cottage was and unusually for a holiday cottage the kitchen was full of useful items, and some decorative ones too.

There's those doors I mentioned before. 

For me the kitchen was the best space in the cottage and the double height area meant those doors could really shine. The photo below is taken from the galleried upstairs and gives a good view of the kitchen (and all of our junk - I really should remember to take pictures before we empty the car!)

Upstairs there were a couple of comfy sofas, a church pew and a TV which we didn't even attempt to turn on, it was one of those restful holidays were our usual routine went out of the window.  From upstairs there were also great views of the front garden of the owner's house which we were welcomed to use, along with their vineyard - more on that another day.

I think you can tell a lot about a cottage from its bathroom, and this one didn't disappoint with it's lino-ed floor, duck boards and toiletries.

Throughout the cottage there was some great artwork, the first two below hanging in the bathroom.

The French theme continued with the artwork in the bedroom with this "Le Journal de Mickey" something I've not seen before.

Upstairs though the walls were adorned with plenty of modern art, my favourite is below.

Although it provoked some debate amongst MOH and I - was it a stack of records, or blueberries or just purple shapes. I guess that's what modern art at its best does, provokes reaction. But I still think it's blueberries...

I was glad I'd packed a colouring book and some coloured pencils as it was the perfect peaceful evening pastime.  I must remember to carry this on now I'm home!

Do you abandon your normal routines when you're away, especially when holidaying in the UK?