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….
So, back on to the Manningtree road and a long overdue return visit to the Oranges & Lemons café in East Bergholt for brunch. Glad to report it was as fine as we remember it, although is it remiss of me to say that the sausage butty was ‘overfilled’ with sausage – heresy I know, but it’ll be bacon next time, but no denying the quality. We subsequently noted that it had changed hands since our last visit, but its coffee and food were definitely up to scratch. No flakes of chocolate on the cappuccinos though . 🙂
Seemed a shame, given its close proximity, not to visit Flatford Mill, having not been since a (just) pre pandemic visit in Feb 2020. We spotted the walk to Manningtree along the river and on a whim decided to give it a go. We enjoyed it, suitably replenished with refreshments at Manningtree Station. So much so, it was rewarded with a short poem, although it was not up to S&G standards – we are more of a limerick elder statesmen. Lovely trek though and the return trip was not too taxing.
On Saturday, maintaining the newly found spirit, we went to the HMS Ganges Museum at Shotley Marina. Only open at weekends and run by volunteers, it obviously focused on the training environment and not the ship itself (although there were references obviously). HMS Ganges Museum is dedicated to the 160,000 boys who went through the gates as boys and marched out as men, from its inception as a Royal Navy Training Establishment (RNTE) in 1905 to its closure in 1976. The training was tough, brutal at times, yet many of those who came through remember HMS Ganges, at Shotley Gate, with a certain fondness. All the artefacts on display were donated by former trainees, instructors and staff or their families. Definitely worth a trip, although as I was without my reading glasses and couldn’t see the detail of the exhibits, I will clearly have to return.
“On the road from Flatford to Manningtree
You had to squint for anything to see
But if you looked really hard
Without a reference to card
You could glimpse far more than a tree….
Anon (ish)