{"id":641,"date":"2013-06-01T05:19:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-01T04:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=641"},"modified":"2013-06-01T07:24:49","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T06:24:49","slug":"aldeburgh-thorpeness-suffolk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=641","title":{"rendered":"Aldeburgh &#038; Thorpeness, Suffolk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Screeching of seagulls over the fishermen\u2019s sheds, faint hiss and suck of the North Sea at the pebbly Suffolk shore, church bells pealing out, and the chirrup of well-bred voices talking over last night\u2019s music at Snape Maltings \u2013 where else but Aldeburgh\u2019s seafront on Sunday morning? <script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.onload = setupZoom; function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=580,width=1170,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/>\nFirst published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Aldeburgh.gpx');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7281\/8743292447_afea326382.jpg\" title='fishing boats on Aldeburgh beach'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7281\/8743292447_afea326382_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7293\/8743291505_595cecbb87.jpg\" title='Crag House, home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, 1947-57'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7293\/8743291505_595cecbb87_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7294\/8744409626_0c91dd9d88.jpg\" title='Moot Hall, Aldeburgh'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7294\/8744409626_0c91dd9d88_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7286\/8743289833_b3d6086482.jpg\" title='railway path to Thorpeness'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7286\/8743289833_b3d6086482_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7283\/8744408142_80e2a85591.jpg\" title='freshwater marshes, looking towards the coast'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7283\/8744408142_80e2a85591_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7291\/8743287941_f61c0dd33d.jpg\" title='stream near Thorpeness'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7291\/8743287941_f61c0dd33d_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7285\/8744405284_200118e26f.jpg\" title='House In The Clouds, Thorpeness'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7285\/8744405284_200118e26f_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7289\/8744404498_c9ba5b4e32.jpg\" title='Egyptian geese at The Meare, Thorpeness'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7289\/8744404498_c9ba5b4e32_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7288\/8743284267_9178a80c72.jpg\" title='Westgate, Thorpeness'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7288\/8743284267_9178a80c72_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7294\/8744402536_6ae0405a8a.jpg\" title='spring beauty'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7294\/8744402536_6ae0405a8a_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7288\/8743282895_d2acbd66b7.jpg\" title='Pig Town on Thorpeness Common'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7288\/8743282895_d2acbd66b7_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7294\/8743281531_88c6a7ee7d.jpg\" title='Two Pig Town residents share a joke'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7294\/8743281531_88c6a7ee7d_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7288\/8743280339_faebea0028.jpg\" title='speckled wood on gorse'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7288\/8743280339_faebea0028_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7285\/8743279559_2a6488df0d.jpg\" title='crumbling cliffs'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7285\/8743279559_2a6488df0d_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7289\/8743277643_7d62d6d821.jpg\" title='Thorpeness houses on the brink - looking south to Aldeburgh'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7289\/8743277643_7d62d6d821_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7290\/8743276639_7529beaca7.jpg\" title='Maggi Hambling&#039;s &#039;Scallop&#039; on Aldeburgh beach'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.static.flickr.com\/7290\/8743276639_7529beaca7_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=641\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><br \/>\nWe\u2019d been to that concert \u2013 Benjamin Britten\u2019s \u2018Canticles\u2019 \u2013 and had been spellbound. So although you couldn\u2019t really say it was whistleable music, we too had Britten on the tip of our tongues as we passed the modest, sea-facing Crag House where the locally-born composer lived with the tenor Peter Pears from 1947-57, and the churchyard hung with cherry blossom where the two musicians and life-long partners now lie side by side.<\/p>\n<p>Out on the old railway line running parallel with the sea up to Thorpeness, an Irish wolfhound the size of a small pony went loping by on springs. The path snaked along the ruler-straight trackbed between banks of stitchwort, yellow archangel and sky-blue flowers of green alkanet. Skylarks sang over the freshwater meadows beside the line. We pulled up at the big reedy inlet of The Fens, struck still by the spectacle of two marsh harriers quartering the reed beds, gliding, swooping and pouncing, their big pale dark-tipped wings manipulating the air with economical power.<\/p>\n<p>Thorpeness is a curiosity. When Stuart Ogilvie determined in 1910 to create a holiday haven on the Suffolk coast in memory of his mother, he didn\u2019t do things by halves. Stuart and his son Sholto magicked the vernacular dream of Thorpeness around a lake they dug and christened The Meare. Half timbered mini-manors and clapboard cottages form the backdrop to The House In The Clouds, a fabulous water tower disguised as a fairy-tale chalet perched atop a 5-storey house.<\/p>\n<p>We sat over a drink beside The Meare, people-watching, and then took the sandy byway across gorse-strewn Thorpeness Common, where the delicate flowers so aptly named \u2018spring beauty\u2019 formed china-white drops on round, saucer-like leaves. Down on the crumbly flint-and-clay cliffs of the coast we turned south for Aldeburgh. The town\u2019s church bells were still ringing out over red roofs, lapwing-haunted marshes, and the long grey strand where a million million pebbles made the endless sea music that Benjamin Britten took for his own.<\/p>\n<p>Start: Moot Hall, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5DS (OS ref TM 466569).<\/p>\n<p>Getting there: Bus (firstgroup.com\/ukbus\/suffolk_norfolk) &#8211;  64 or 165 (Aldeburgh-Ipswich), 521 (Aldeburgh-Halesworth Station)<br \/>\nRoad: A1094 from A12 between Saxmundham and Wickham Market.<\/p>\n<p>Walk (8 miles, easy, OS Explorer 212. NB: online maps, more walks at christophersomerville.co.uk): From Moot Hall, up Victoria Road and across High Street. In 150m, right through graveyard (464568, fingerpost). Through gate; on up path. In \u00bc mile cross roadway (463573); half left through caravan site (yellow arrow) to old railway path (460575, \u2018Permissive Path\u2019). Right along railway path for 1\u00bd miles. At Ward Hill, opposite North Warren nature reserve sign, right (462598, fingerpost) past golf course to road in Thorpeness (471598). Right to The Meare (shop, caf\u00e9). Opposite The Meare, left up The Sanctuary (472596) past gatehouse tower to cross road (473599). Half left along gravel road; follow \u2018Byway\u2019 and \u2018Suffolk Coast Path\u2019 for 1\u00bd miles to coast near the Dower House (476617). Right for 3\u00bd miles to Aldeburgh.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch: The Meare Shop and Tearoom, Thorpeness (01728-452156); The Regatta, Aldeburgh (01728-452011; <a href=\"http:\/\/regattaaldeburgh.com\">regattaaldeburgh.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Accommodation: Cross Keys Inn, Crabbe Street, Aldeburgh (01728-452637; <a href=\"http:\/\/aldeburgh-crosskeys.co.uk\">aldeburgh-crosskeys.co.uk<\/a>) \u2013 pub with rooms<\/p>\n<p>Aldeburgh Festival: 7-23 June (<a href=\"http:\/\/aldeburgh.co.uk\">aldeburgh.co.uk<\/a>)<br \/>\nBritten Centenary: Until November 2013 (<a href=\"http:\/\/brittenaldeburgh.co.uk\">brittenaldeburgh.co.uk<\/a>)<br \/>\nSnape Maltings: <a href=\"http:\/\/snapemaltings.co.uk\">snapemaltings.co.uk<\/a><br \/>\nBenjamin Britten Trail around Aldeburgh: <a href=\"http:\/\/brittentrail.org\">brittentrail.org<\/a><br \/>\n<A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.ramblers.org.uk\/\">www.ramblers.org.uk<\/A> <A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.satmap.com\/\">www.satmap.com<\/A> <A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.LogMyTrip.co.uk\/\">www.LogMyTrip.co.uk<\/A><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Screeching of seagulls over the fishermen\u2019s sheds and the faint hiss and suck of the North Sea at the pebbly Suffolk shore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}