Tunstal and day visit to Aldeburgh, UK

Woke up around 7am but tried to stay in bed a little longer since the cats and dog aren't suppose to eat until around 8am. by the time I got downstairs they were really anxious for their breakfast. I don't like that they are on a time schedule but since they're not my pets I have to try and stick to their owners wishes.

I did some computer work this morning and then took Teddy for his walk which went a little better. He's a very active dog and likes to pull you so I'm always having to get him to stay and sit. But he's good and after that I left them to head to Aldeburgh which is a ocean side town about 30 minutes by bus from here. The bus is a 2 minute walk from the house so it's easy but it only runs every hour and ends early so I can't really do too much during the day and besides I need to be back to take Teddy for an afternoon walk around 4ish and the cats eat at 5pm and since the time change they are all confused and at 4pm think it's dinner time so I really have to push them to wait until 5pm which isn't easy with three vocal and active felines.



I took a picture of the village center her in Tunstall which, as you can see, is insanely small. It's the picture with the bright blue car in it. The following is a little background on the village found online "
On an Ordnance Survey map of Suffolk, England, there are two settlements named Tunstall next to each other, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) north east of Woodbridge. However, these are not two separate villages but one, despite the gap between the main village and the hamlet known as Tunstall Common. Both lie within the parish of Tunstall. The village itself is a good sized settlement with a pub (The Green Man), and church called St Michael's, notable for its unusual box pews. Half a mile away, Tunstall Common has a dozen houses and a Baptist chapel. Residents of the hamlet consider themselves to live at Tunstall on the Common, and letters are either addressed to The Common, Tunstall, or Tunstall Common. The Common itself is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a beautiful fragment of the ancient sandling dry lowland heath that was once extensive across this area of coastal Suffolk. It lies next to Tunstall Forest, which was started in the 1920s as a pine plantation. In the Great Storm of 1987, Tunstall Forest lost thousands of trees and the opportunity was taken to diversify the mix of trees planted. The area has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is a haven for wildlife, including fallow deer and muntjac. The adjacent Rendlesham Forest is known for the former RAF Bentwaters site, now in private ownership, and alleged alien sitings in the 1980s."

The picture I mentioned with the blue car is right in front of the Green Man pub. John said the food isn't great there but the people are nice. I'll have to go for lunch one day.

So I got on the bus heading to Aldeburgh at 11:23am and it was pretty much on time as I think most transit in this country is, such a wonderful thing!  I arrived in the town by noon and walked directly to the beach which, like Nice, is a rock beach. Actually it looks so similar except of course for the beautiful blue/green ocean and the thousands of large hotels and apartment buildings that line the Nice shoreline.  Here the houses are small two or three story structures with lovely pastel painted exteriors and even a lookout tower on the beach. There were people out walking and flying kites and although it was overcast and even dark at times today it was rather warm like a breezy spring day.

I walked into the town center and had lunch at the Regatta restaurant, fish and chips and soup. The fish was very good and apparently it is very common in this area to have the fish with the skin on it and then it's put in batter and deep fried. I enjoyed it although I'm sure some would not as eating the skin isn't something everyone does.

I stopped in at a used book shop and picked up some very well used Agatha Christie mysteries I hadn't read. Well since I've only read about 20 and she wrote over 80, they're are lots I haven't read. It was funny when I walked in there were two young men, maybe about 19 or 20 years old chatting and one was saying how it's so crazy all the news reports about New York City. He was saying he was sure the news organizations were blowing out of proportion and it isn't really that bad. I just couldn't help but chime in since I hadn't said anything when I entered they had no idea there was a New Yorker in the store. I just agreed that the news agencies do tend to pick out the worst and harp on it for days and weeks but in this case most of what is being said appears to be true based on accounts I've received from friends and family. He did have to defend his position though and say something about why should it be all the British news can report though and I can understand his frustration. He clearly has no interest in New York, at least not on a really personal level, so a mention of the storm here or there would be enough for him.



So off I went to get to know the rest of Aldeburgh which is rather small. I found some charity shops and stopped off and bought some groceries to take back and generally went in and out of the charming stores and looked the quaint buildings and interesting architecture.  The town reminded me a lot of towns on the Cape or in Maine. There is a very New England feel to the place and I suppose it only stands to reason since New England is just that a NEW England.

I made my way up the little hill to St. Peter and St. Paul's church which is really beautiful from the outside and inside it's rather simple but that is part of it's beauty as well.

They had an exhibit about Benjamin Britten, the famous British composer who was born in this area and did a lot to establish music festivals and ensure that the region was not lacking in artistic culture. He also had a house he shared with his partner the pianist Pears right here in Aldeburgh. His biography online states "Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist; and one of the central figures of twentieth-century British classical music. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next nine years, he wrote six more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading twentieth-century composers in this genre.

I took the last bus back to Tunstall which left at 3:30pm from near the yacht club and met a nice retired man who was also waiting to go back. He was very chatty and told me all about the area and also that I should visit the two best areas in the UK, Devon and Cornwall. It all sounded great until he said it takes about 3 and a half hours by train and that's changing several times. Well it's good to know the places are worth visiting but probably only if I were doing it with someone by car. He was also telling me about this apple cider alcoholic drink that is famous in that region and how the apples that have fallen from the trees there and just rot also ferment on the ground and when the pigs eat them they get drunk and walk around all tipsy. He assured me it was a real site to see and I believe him but again, that's a lot of train and a long way to go.  I was back at the house just a little after 4pm and after putting my groceries away I whisked Teddy out for a good half hour walk.He ate some grass and enjoyed the fresh air and then it was time to feed his brother and sisters so off we went back home. So by 5:15pm we had all eaten and I sat down to do my computer work and that was basically the day.

Here is a little history on Aldeburgh - Alde Burgh means "old fort" although this structure, along with much of the Tudor town, has now been lost to the sea. In the 16th century, Aldeburgh was a leading port, and had a flourishing ship-building industry. Sir Francis Drake's ships Greyhound and Pelican (later renamed Golden Hind) were both built in Aldeburgh. The flagship of the Virginia Company, the Sea Venture is believed to have been built there in 1608. When the River Alde silted up and was unable to accommodate larger ships, the area went into decline. Aldeburgh survived principally as a fishing village until the nineteenth century, when it became popular as a seaside resort. Much of its distinctive and whimsical architecture derives from this period. The river is now home to a yacht club and a sailing club.