It is starting to become a bit of
a tradition for Mr Lighty and I to venture on what we term a ‘mini-moon’ every
now and again. So much so that every
short break we go on is now called a mini-moon, even as we embarked on our
second anniversary weekend – you’ve never been married long enough not to go on
a mini-moon, after all! And this time,
our choice of mini-moon destination was to that most charming of English
counties, Suffolk, on a perfect English Spring weekend, for a snapshot of what
this coastline has to offer.
Lowly Lowestoft
We decided to base ourselves in the coastal town of Lowestoft. One of the most important aspects for us of
any of our mini-moons is our accommodation, and this weekend away was no
exception. We picked Lowestoft as a
base, I must admit, more because of the fact that we liked the look of the
quirky little B&B we stayed in more than due to any major research on the
town itself – perhaps a rookie mistake for any travel junkie to make? We were certainly not disappointed by our
guesthouse, the Baytree House, which was full of character and warmth – not to
mention a great breakfast, thirteen guinea pigs and seven pugs!
Lowestoft itself, however, looked like it could do with a little bit
of love being injected. It was a little
tired, a little rough round the edges.
This isn’t to say that we didn’t enjoy our afternoon spent there; after
a lovely gluten free scone and tea served in bone china cups at the Flying
Fifteens tea house – which was again, full of character and charm – we whiled
away an hour or two on the crazy golf course - not to mention the traditional
seaside lure of the 2p drop machines!
 |
| Lowestoft South Pier |
There were certainly hints of the town’s former charm to be seen;
opposite the old town hall, now only used on polling day, there was a quirky
chemist’s shop front, dating back to 1817, but now sadly closed, as were many
of the other shops on the high street.
Lowestoft is also the most Easterly point in Britain, and so, on our
second morning in Suffolk, we walked down to Ness Point, so that we could be
the most Easterly people in Britain. As
much as we enjoyed the bracing walk along the sea front, we couldn’t shift the
thought that it was such a shame that there wasn’t more made of this spot to
attract tourists, locals and those looking to do coast-to-coast bike rides
alike.
 |
| Remnants of the ancient chemist's |
 |
| Ness Point |
Out of Africa....in Suffolk!
After our departure from Lowestoft, our Sunday morning was spent at
the wonderful Africa Alive! zoo. Set in
100 acres of land, Africa Alive! is a recreation of the African Savannah – and
all in sunny Suffolk! From smaller
creatures in the farmyard area (including baby goats on the attack!), through
to a wonderful viewing platform over the lion enclosure, it’s easy to see how
you could spend most of a day here. We
particularly enjoyed the giraffe feeding, and the fun of the walk through the
lemur enclosure, where these cute creatures are able to wander freely around
your feet; we loved how fifteen lemurs managed to cuddle up against the cold on
one tiny stand, and then how they decided to climb on the back of the sheep
they shared their enclosure with!
 |
| At the Giraffe feeding |
 |
| A lemur on a sheep's back! |
From Africa to Aldeburgh
We love to pack it in during our weekends away, and therefore we made
a final stop in the lovely seaside town of Aldeburgh. Drawn to the town by the lure of the famous
fish and chips, Mr Lighty was particularly pleased to see that a classic car
show was taking place on the beach front as we drove into the town. Aldeburgh is full of cute and quirky
boutiques – think upmarket gift shops, interior decor shops and fashion outlets
– and after a mooch around these and a stroll amongst the vintage cars on the
beach, we were ready for our fish and chips.
The queue pretty much said it all about how famous these fish and chips
are: we waited half an hour for ours.
However, having been lucky with the British weather, we took them down
to the seafront, eating from the paper whilst watching the waves roll in, which
proved to be the perfect end to our day.
Aldeburgh sums up for me what Suffolk at its best is about: beautiful
and sleepy, but still upmarket and quirky.
And the chips didn’t disappoint either!
 |
| The classic car show on Aldeburgh beach front |
 |
| Mr Lighty with his famous Aldeburgh Fish & Chips! |
