It was a terribly over cast day but Teddy and I, after having done laundry and cleaning the house heading out by bus to Snape Maltings for another wonderful walk by the water. The bus ride is only 5 minutes so it goes by fast but what I forgot to mention on Wednesday trip was the field full of deer. I hadn't seen any deer since I got here and then to see a whole field of them was incredible. My uncle would have gone crazy although I don't think it would be fair for the deer if a hunter could have such an easy go at them. Apparently, according to a man who was on the bus, it was a farmer raising them. And since I've seen venison on many pub menus I imagine they raise them like they raise cows it's just the first time I saw them. They are beautiful animals so lets not think of them as being dinner.
Todays bus ride didn't yield any deer sightings the windows were too fogged but the nice man I met on I think my first or second bus ride after getting here was on the bus so we caught up, I feel like I've gotten to know the regulars. He takes the bus several times a week to the beach at Aldeburgh for a long walk since he is retired or a pensioner as they call them here and gets free local bus rides. I think it's great and certainly the way it should be.
We were out about and hour and half and although it was windy it was not very cold and the ice and snow that was here just two days ago was all but gone. We took the trail closest to the water which is so beautiful and although I know there are harbor seals here we didn't see any today but we, or rather I, kept a close eye out for them while Teddy ran every which way he could. Although we walked these paths the other day we really didn't get to stop and just enjoy the scenery as I wanted to make to the church and back to catch the bus on time so today we did a bit more strolling and I stopped to read the informational boards along the way and also found that the building that looked like an outdoor sauna or something was in fact an 18th century Kiln for the Ropes family. The sign on the gate in front of the building reads "The Rope Family were mainly farmers but from the late 18th century to the late 1860's they had a corn and coal business here at Iken Cliff, where there was a quay, a warehouse and a lime kiln. They also had interests in a number of coastal vessels to ship their wares to and from the London River. The sight was busy enough to sustain a pub - The Anchor - just up the lane where thirsty seaman and draymen could quench their thirst."
I'm pretty sure they are relations to the Rope family who were famous for their stained glass windows mentioned in earlier posts about St. Peter's church in Blaxhall.
We didn't walk all the way to the church but did make it part of the way through Iken. I was getting tired with the wind making it seem so much more exhausting than it normally would be and also there was always the chance it would rain and amazingly it didn't start raining until about 5 minutes before we reached Snap Maltings so it all worked out perfectly. We had a wonderful lunch by the fireplace at the Plough and Sail pub and just enjoyed listening to the rain and being all snuggly warm in our booth right next to the fireplace.
And it was a good thing we were near the fireplace because Teddy really needed to dry off, not from the rain, but from his little swim. He detests when I wash him off at home but he's more than happy to jump in the cold river and take a swim or at one point, go and retrieve some seaweed he saw floating a bit from the shore.
We stopped in at the shop nearby and bought some goodies for the rainy day and then headed home. The bus came a few minutes early so I'm glad Teddy and I had decided to get there before the designated time and funnily enough the nice man from the earlier ride was just heading home himself. He had gotten caught in the downpour that Teddy and I had missed while having lunch and he was totally socked. Such a nice person and the bus driver is the same one who rescued us from the hale storm at Aldeburgh the other day and is so friendly and even remembered Teddy's name. When I got on the bus he greeted us with a big smile and said "how funny, was my ears burning" and I had no idea what he was talking about then I saw the man from earlier and apparently they had just been saying that Teddy and I had been on the bus before and I guess how nice we are. Well that was very sweet and I guess I feel a little bit more like a local now and it's only been about 6 weeks.
The rain had let up on our walk from the bus stop to the house and just as we settled inside, it started to pour again and the wide got pretty fierce. We were so lucky to have managed to escape most of the really unpleasant weather.
