Departing London on Good Friday, we pack the car with rare ease, and Ruth mans the controls to Blackheath, where we have breakfast with the Redfords at Giraffe. Good to see my Nan out the house, though she was moving slow with her walking stick, and great food - Ruth opts for the full brunch plate, whereas I have a small fry-up after my midnight snack of a toasted rye bread cheese sandwich. Dad had porridge and 2 sausages! After farewells, we undertake a gruelling drive to the
Mulberry Tree in Attleborough, getting stuck in A12 traffic near Mildenhall and taking a long diversion. We finally arrive (sweaty and irritable) at 1410, a fair 40 minutes late, but order in transit and our meals (lamb burger and salade nicoise) arrived just after us. Fun celebrating Sim & Hannah's engagement, then a lovely evening of booze, BBQ and sitting out till late in Primrose Cottage garden with whisky & cigars round the fire.
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| Clearing trees on Saturday |
Saturday starts well for me with tennis in Old Buckenham (I beat Dan 6-1, 7-5) then breakfast in the sunshine glow of the garden. Ruth goes out to see Heidi and new arrival, Jenson, while I keep an eye on Rosie and help Paul and Dan clear the trees and hedges near the front of the house. Lunch is a light buffet then Dan, Ruth, Rosie & I head to the Suffolk coast. We relax on Walberswick Beach, Rosie content to play while we sunbathe, but the sea is definitely too cold for us all! We recuperate with a pint and crisps at the
Bell Inn. In the evening, we sit outside again and eat BBQ meats (Ruth's lamb kebabs compete with Sim's pork) under the canopy of huge starry skies, and finish round the fire with marshmallows, chocolate eggs and armagnac.
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| Walberswick in the Easter sunshine |
On Sunday, Rosie wakes at 5:30am so I take her out the room to let Ruth sleep, and eventually opt to go for a walk round the block in the sunshine. Rosie enjoys the view from the back carrier and I take some lovely shots of the sun bursting through the ruined church.
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| Sunlight through Tivetshall's ruined church |
We have breakfast al fresco again, and after croissants and fruit salad everyone heads off to different churches, leaving just Rosie & I. She sleeps from 10:30 till midday, giving me a chance to shower, stack the dishwasher and read my book in the hammock in the sunkissed garden. Ruth and her parents get back at 12:30 and after lunch, I take the opportunity to snooze for an hour. We go for an afternoon walk in
Tyrell's Wood, which is really lovely and lots of fun for Rosie as we all (including Paul & Marion) play the "1, 2, 3, Whee" game. Then we say goodbye to Hannah and return to Primrose Cottage. Our evening meal is gammon steak in the bunkhouse, accompanied by 2 bottles of rose wine and followed by simnal cake.
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| Rosie with grandparents in Tyrell's Wood |
On Monday, we all have a work day at Grandad's farm, so Paul decides everyone needs a fry-up. I get the chance of a mini lie-in and benefit from the opportunity by finishing my David Mitchell novel. Then we drive to Park Farm via Tesco Extra in Sprowston, where we buy provisions for our camping trip and 2 rotisserie chickens for lunch. Attack the sheds with Ruth's brothers after lunch, and then spend 3-4 hours on the ride-on mower cutting the grass at the Plantation. Ruth heads over and we put up the tent by the caravan about 6pm, and get goodbye visits from Dan & Nicky, Paul, Marion & Sim. Tuesday is quite relaxing, despite the chilly, blustery weather and slow progress in the morning with breakfast at Grandad's. We head out to
Blickling Hall, and have a pint of bitter shandy and sandwiches at the Buck Arms, then a play on the slides and a look round the bookshop. After a walk by the lake, we return to the Plantation early, gather some fire wood and take Rosie to Grandad's house for a bath. Although Rosie takes a long time to settle, we still sit round the fire, drink red wine and then opt for an early night.
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| Rosie in the playground at Blickling |
On Wednesday, after another slow morning (but productive, since we pack the car for the return home) with breakfast at Grandad's, the sun is shining again so we decide to head to Sheringham. We find a parking spot right on the sea front free of charge, and despite the windy conditions enjoy some time in the children's playground outside the Burlington hotel. Then we head to the
Lobster pub for lunch, me opting for a chip butty and Ruth having crab sandwiches. Wander round town and pick up 3 crabs at the fishmongers, then watch the
Poppy Line steam train arrive and leave the station. Then we jump in the car and stop off at the Start Rite shoe centre en route to Primrose Cottage, where we spend our last night in Norfolk, enjoying crab for starter and sausage pie for main. I manage a 4K run before dinner, then after eating Dan & I have a quick pint at the Ram and watch the second half of Barca v Real Madrid, before it's home for another drink and early night. After a shopping trip in Norwich on Thursday, including coffee at
Frank's Bar and a look round the
Book Hive, we drive back to London for the Bank Holiday weekend.
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| Rosie & Ruth share an apple at Sheringham station |
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