Only booked three days or thereabouts before departure, so a ‘rushed’ reservation, but a two night break at the Wentworth Hotel is certainly not ‘radical’ as we have stayed there many times before. It was however disconcerting to note that our last visit was around two years ago. Far too long a gap before a return visit to our favourite Aldeburgh abode.
Travel
Local but Lovely
A special birthday for lovely Mrs. No Name but as I rather reluctantly had a hospital eye clinic appointment (all clear by the way) on the birthday morning, I decided on a very local overnight birthday celebration. Been to the award winning Seckford Hall before so we were interested to see how it was shaping up. Unusually just a standard room booking as we wanted to ensure we were in the main building; as you can hopefully see from the collage, it’s an historic hall ( built 1535ish) and the standard rooms reflect its age, with room doors stretching back over 400 years and décor to match (in a good way).
Whistlestop in Colchester
Down to Colchester last Tuesday for a long overdue overview with our friends from Essex. Decided on lunch at Greyfriars as we had enjoyed it at our previous lunch, which we were shocked to see was way back in February – our meet ups are getting rarer and rarer it would seem. Anyway, we got there just about on time despite the twenty minute delay on the A12 and I immediately ordered the Vesper cocktail, which is, I am told, the original James Bond martini – “Three measures of Gin one of Vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?“. You can tell!!
The Follow-Up Vacation!
Well, I say follow-up. This was the four day break we had booked on our previous Warners trip to Thoresby Hall back in July. Studley Castle was the venue on this occasion, again with our friends and as you can hopefully glean from the pictures, it was indeed another imposing building. Images can be deceiving however, as Studley Castle was only built in the 19th Century and was more akin to a country house, albeit a large one. Perfectly pleasant and Grade II listed, but not in my opinion a patch on Thoresby Hall.
London (Back In The Game)
A long awaited four night weekend return foray to London, the first since the pandemic, with the delay then further compounded by the longstanding disruption to the rail network! Prompted by a ‘weekend offer’, we stayed at the 5* Kimpton Fitzroy, which was an absolutely gorgeous building, with a superb marble laden interior that would probably be prohibitively expensive to replicate today. The Yorkshireman feels duty bound to point out that our stay was only possible because of the ‘offer’ and, even then, he had to go and lie down in a darkened room after the booking had been made! Would definitely repeat it though. 🙂
Bawdsey Radar Museum
Happened to spot that this museum was open last Thursday, 17th October (well, we actually noted it on the previous day obviously, otherwise it would have been both a little academic and pointless) and so decided we should give it a go. We had been before, although unusually neither of us can recall when it was, other than to corroborate it was definitely before the museum revamp, which we had registered at the time was already in the planning stages. Also a little bit longer to get there than we remembered, but I suspect age has a more than a little to do with memory, don’t you know.
Bears in Suffolk….
Remember the relatively recent post when we visited Jimmy’s Farm, only to discover even the overflow park was virtually full? We did say we’d return after those pesky kids had returned to their schools after their long summer break. So we did, quickly establishing that it was not quite as busy but still well attended, based on the number of cars already in the car park. And I should say at the outset that although it was £20 to get in, it was indeed worth every single shekel.
Sleeping with the Cats…
It’s that time of year again, this time for two weeks, returning last Friday – another journey up the A1, this time with a little controversy thrown into the mix. On the way up, we did not overnight at Wentbridge Hotel! To avoid those pesky roadworks we veered away from the Al onto the A57, then onto the M1 to stay at a Premier Inn just off the aforementioned motorway. Superb, as instead of the predicted three and a half hours, it took us only six hours to get there – admittedly with a one hour lunch stop included. Great decision eh. Them’s the breaks!!
Guernsey 2024
Just back from a return to one of our favourite places, albeit the first visit for eleven years. Still remembered many of our previous visits, as the old haunts featured in the collages will hopefully demonstrate. First things first – just to get it out there, the Duke of Richmond hotel is the most expensive we’ve ever paid for a night’s stay (or, in this case, eleven nights). It was very pleasant and the food was exemplary. For a rate from which I’ve only just recovered however, there were a few minor niggles that we feel should not have been present in a hotel of this ‘standing’. But I’ll let these go for now and focus on the positives, of which there were many, just like on all previous visits to the Channel Islands.
Sunderland and More, More, More…
The first of our 2024 cat sitting ventures, this time coupled with a meet up with friends in Nottinghamshire on the way back (of which more later). As usual, we made our customary overnight stopover at the Wentbridge Hotel on the way up to Sunderland; not sure if our expectations have changed but whilst perfectly fine, it no longer appears to be the special treat delivered by previous visits. Anyone else feel the same? No. Just me then 🙂
Rhone Cruise – May 2024
Returned from last week’s Rhone cruise, which was a first on so many levels. For a start, it was the first time on a flight since September 2019, after which the pandemic forced a blindingly stark retreat into home isolation and very restrictive travel options; and although we have had a number of holidays since, all but one (the Saga cruise) had been on home turf. The flights were also operated by Ryanair, a company I’d always sworn blind I would never fly with again. But, the Rhone and this particular itinerary was always on our list, we could fly out from Stansted and we aren’t getting any younger, so, ermm…. hey-ho!! To be fair the flights themselves were fine – both delayed but I don’t in all conscience blame that on the flight carrier, much as it pains me to say so. Anyway. so far so good.
Local “Landmarks”
Although it was just one at the start, when we decided we shouldn’t keep putting off visits to ‘attractions’ on our doorstep but should seize the day. So, off we went to the “Wherstead Area” to grace Jimmy’s Farm with our presence. However, when we then discovered that even the overflow carpark was overflowing, we decided the time to visit the farm was when the kids were back at school. So, watch this space….