23^rd April 2014

Orford castle was built so that the royal family had a presence in suffolk and majestically towers above the landscape. I wanted to get closer for a good photo and if I was lucky maybe a wander round. I was nearly at the village when I spotted what looked to be another military installation. It was on an island though and unless I unpacked Hoolley and paddled across I would have to give this one a miss.

I decided against the trip as I wanted to try and make up for some lost time.

Eventually I found myself at the edge of the town and at a fork in the path. A woman was coming towards me. When she reached me she turned and headed back to the village along the same path I was on. I said hello and we chatted whilst both heading in the same direction. As we chatted she recommended going to the jolley sailor pub as it apparently did good food. I just wanted a good coffee but thought I would take a look anyway. We came to an intersection and she carried on while I turned left towards the castle hoping it wasn't much further. As I walked closer the castle didn't seem to be. I stopped took a picture and decided I had taken enough of a detour so followed the road back into the village.

Orford is a quaint English village with a lovely atmosphere about it. Eventually I came across a pub, it was the jolley sailor so I popped in to get a coffee. Inside it was quite busy with a small and intimate bar area. I looked around for somewhere to drop my bag before I caused someone some damage. I couldn't find anywhere it was pretty much standing room only. There were three young persons sat at the table in the main bar area so I asked if it would be alright if I put the bag down there whil I bought myself a coffee.

Well that was it the conversations startes flowing and I was offered a pint. It was warming up and I figured why not. I joined the group on the table and discovered that the woman I had met earlier was the mother of the young lady I was now chatting too. Well before I knew it I had been bought five pints of random acts of kindness by several customers of the bar and it was closing time. I was now the last person in there so I finished up and staggered with my backpack out of the pub and onto the street. I turned and headed down to the sea wall to see if I could get to the place I was aiming for. No chance. After about quarter of mile only lit by my head torch I decided to pitch up and sleep those random acts of kindness off.

The following morning I woke after a particularly good and peaceful nights sleep. I got myself together and set off to the next river crossing a few miles ahead of me.

As I approached the river bebd where I had decided to cross the tide was still coming in but the current was most definitely going out. Quite rapid too. Still I set up Hoolley and ferry glided her across without any real problems.

On the other side was Aldeburgh, well what was left.

23^rd April 2014

Aldeburgh was once a thriving fishing town, one of the biggest in england but today as with many coastal towns it has been severely reduced to two yacht clubs.

After arriving on the slip way at one of the clubs I made my way into the town and headed towards the local rnli station to see if anyone was around. Unfortunately the place was empty but the doors were open to the public so I had a look round at the history of the station and read some of the amazing stories about the rescues the crew had been involved in. I then set off along the promenade towards a giant shell embedded in the shingle and beyond that Thorpeness.

Now Thorpeness is an unusually quirky place. It was originally and very purposely built as a holiday village with all the buildings available to rent by the public. Complete with windmill and an unusual house in the sky it also has a boating lake. Now it is said that the story of peter pan was inspired by the town and in turn the boating pond was inspired by the book. I'm not entirely sure if this is true but its a good yarn.

After spending a short time wandering the streets looking at the ever changing architecture I headed off to Sizewell. I had been told that not only were there two nuclear power station buildings, Sizewell A and Sizewell B but the real gem was a third building known as Sizewell Tea! Sure enough right on the coast was the infamous coffee and tea rooms and they boasted a free wifi hotspot 

Well it wad Monday and on Tuesdays I recieved my weekly allowance of £50. The nearest cashpoint was inland a few miles at a town called Leiston, it was also the only place I was likely to get camping gas that would be needed sooner or later. More likely sooner. So I set off towards the town to make camp and withdraw some cash to get the gas.

The town was certainly more than the 15 minutes I was told it would take to get there. Now thats something I have discovered. If someone says its only 2 miles, double it and you'll probably be quite close. 4 miles later I found myself in the town centre so all I needed now was to find somewhere to camp. I wandered around looking for a secluded park or small woods to camp the night when I stumbled upon an abandoned pub. The engineers arms. The pub was locked up tight but luckily for me the gates to the garden at the back were open. I went in and sat down on one of the benches out of the wind. Next to the bench I noticed a couple of sockets so I pulled out a charger from my bag and plugged it in. Unbelievably the green led on the front glowed! What a result I proceeded to charge my phone and then my backup batteries whilst blogging and sipping coffee.

As night fell and I was sure I wouldn't be disturbed I set up the tent climbed in and got to sleep. During the night it rained heavily and the sound of the heavy drops on the fly sheet were quite loud and something I hadn't to date had to endure. I remember praying it would stop for the morning.

23^rd April 2014

So I awoke in the garden of an abandoned pub in Leiston, I'd managed to fully charge my backup batteries as well as my phone. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining.

My priority for today was to get some gas and withdraw my weekly but limited cash budget of £50. I headed into town to seek out a cashpoint and locate a camping store. Unfortunately there were no camping stores however the local hardware store did sell gas, unfortunately it didn't sell the gas canisters that fitted my particular stove. Fortunately they did sell stoves that fitted the canisters they stocked. Now at least I have both types with me and should find getting gas alot simpler. I then headed back to the coast again and stopped at Sizewell T hoping to get a breakfast and coffee. This was not the case though, it was closed. Fortunately I was able to use their free wifi and managed to organise somewhere for JøAnnë Peters to post my much needed supplies to.

I was hungry and well aware that my weight was down considerably and I was not performing at my best. I had already eaten the last of my rations as well as the additional food I had been given in shingle street. I headed of towards Dunwich, a small village along the coast. Along the way I spotted some rabbits. Hmm! These could be breakfast for the following day so I set some snares up and decided to take an early day so I found a small wooded area and pirched up, turning in early to conserve energy.

The following morning I woke and went to check my snares. Unfortunately I had not bagged a single bunny which meant no breakfast 

I packed up camp and set off towards Dunwich. On my way o spotted the old coastguard cottages which are now owned by the national trust so I stopped off and had a coast guards breakfast. Much needed calories and sustenance.

Now dunwich used to be the third largest port in great Britain but over the years the sea had eroded the port away and claimed 12 churches along the way. I was heading towards Southwold where I had arranged with a member of the rnli a postal address for my supplies the day before. It was further than I had anticipated, and despite my tendons hurting from the continual abuse they were under going from the repeated shingle and stoney terrain I kept going knowing that a fine reward awaited me.