Saturday 23rd July (Day 1)
So this trip is to meet up with Chris and Carolyn at The Goldings, CL at Stonham Aspel, Suffolk. We departed just after 10.15am. Signs showed the A142 to Ely was closed. We knew better as it was only overnight (for several days). That said, five miles along the road was closed! We hadn’t noticed “and all weekend’ (if it was shown). So back to Chatteris and the back roads to to the A14. This not only added time to our trip but meant we missed the Co-op as we needed three items. Nearing the A14 we used the satnav to find a supermarket. Asda was 800m off our route. So we detoured to find…….. nothing. It wasn’t there. A bit of a search found one of the biggest Tesco a few hundred metres further on. We soon purchased what we needed and were off. A pleasant, congestion free, run to the site. Arriving first we set up and within half an hour Chris and Carolyn arrived. We sat chatting over a cup of tea until mid afternoon when it was decided to walk to Stonham Barns; shops, antiques, owls, a children’s fun fair and much more. A nice stroll around, an ice cream and then a walk back completing a small circuit. It was a hot day (mid 20’s) so sitting in the sun with a beer was delightful. Chris K then cooked a meal for the four of us - tuna pasta. This was followed with more chatting into the late evening until bed around11.00pm
Sunday 24th July (Day 2)
A bright hot day in the offing. After a nice cooked breakfast and the usual morning jobs we decided to return to Stonham Barns as there is an American Classic Car Show there. First though the site owner appeared and had a chat and informed us of a cut across the fields to the Barns which saved some distance and, more importantly, meant we only walked a few yards along the ‘A’ road which had no pavement. Arriving at the show we paid our £10 per person entrance and strolled around. There were muscle cars, old trucks and many cars who were in pristine condition. It was boiling hot so a stop for a cider (or two) was required. By now it was early afternoon and we returned to the site. We sat and just, well, did nothing. After a while we set up the Ladder game and we all had a few games. It was our turn to cook and I did a chicken Singapore noodles. Having finished our main course it started to rain. Well rain was not really the correct word the ground barely got wet despite around thirty minutes of this inclement weather. We moved under the large horse chestnut tree and chatted staying perfectly dry. After a while the dessert was served, lemon tart and creme fraiche. More chat until we all turned in.
Monday 25th July (Day 3)
A strange start to the day. We set up the table in the sun for breakfast but before we could sit and eat …. it rained. Not stair rods but enough to get us to move under the tree nearby. Then the slow start, which is quite normal, continued. Around 11.00am we all four set off for a nearby town, Debenham. Chris K had sorted the circular route. Most of it was across fields of barley with combine harvesters in adjacent fields working away and creating huge dust / barley clouds. Part way we had to put on rain jackets as it rained again for about ten minutes. Arriving in Debenham we visited the church. The porch is 600 years old and the tower 1000! A pleasant enough church without any ‘wow’ factor. By now it was lunch time and the only pub left open in Debenham, The Woolpack, served food from noon until 2.00pm. In we went to find that excluded Mondays. Still a pint of the local ale was tested and found to meet our exacting standards. We then opted to continue the walk and have a late lunch at the motorhomes. All went well until part of Chris’ route was along a boundary line and not a footpath. This then involved a short detour and back on the outward route. Arriving back around 3.15pm we joined tables and had a nice ‘picky bits’ salad. The rest of the day seems to whiz by and in no time it was past 9.00pm and cooling down enough for us to say our goodnights.
Tuesday 26th July (Day 4)
Again a slow start to the day but with no plan of what to do. Around 11.00am we walked over to Stonham Barns to the Owl Sanctuary to see the raptors, owls, meerkats etc and also the Birds of Prey flight show. A very interesting and informative display it was. Afterwards a stroll around the aviaries and then back to the motorhome for lunch. We could have returned for the second birds of prey display but we decided to go for a walk of roughly six miles. It crossed or walked around fields of barely, wheat and, we think, linseed plants. On the walk we saw rabbits, hares muntjac deer and herons, apart from the normal birds and insects. Part way around the route we took shelter from a very light shower. Having returned back to the site we had ‘beer o’clock’ and a game of ladders. Chris K then served up a pre-cooked curry with al the trimmings. Towards the end of this it started to rain; proper rain causing us to return inside out motorhomes. The English Women Lioness’ Football Team were playing the semi-final of the European Cup against Sweden, which we watched (England 2; Sweden 1 after extra time).
Wednesday 27th July (Day 5)
It must have rained in the night as the ground was quite damp but we did not hear it. After a simple breakfast we chatted over what to do. I had a circular walk via The Cornfield Rose pub but on further examination the pub did not open until 4.00pm. We opted for a shorter walk to The Magpie on the A140 which we could get to over the fields. Upon arriving the arch across the road informing travellers of the pub was missing. It appears time and heavy traffic took its toll. The pub is owned / run by a couple from Lithuania and, apart from the usual fare, there was some interesting dishes from their country. We had a picnic with us and so decided it was for another time. We eventually left the pub about 1.45pm intent on finding a log or similar to have our lunch. I did not mention that in two days of walking we have not found a log or similar on our walks. On leaving The Magpie we had agreed to take a longer route back. The route took us through a village called Mickfield and there was a church shown in it. We hoped that it had some seating in the porch or a ‘comfy’ wall. As we approached it looked wrong as two cars were parked up in the grounds. A woman appeared and asked if we wanted to look around, which we did. It turns out that this is the only church in the country that has church services and people living full time in it. The kitchen was in the entrance porch and it could sleep seven; it is also an AirBNB! The church is 720 years old but it is built on a Saxon foundations that is mentioned in the domesday book. So well over 1200 years ago. The couple who live there could have been aged hippies from the 1960’s. That said there were so nice, even offering us a cup of tea and the use of their garden to picnic in. The church is called St Andrews. After some lunch we thanked them and made our way onwards along our route. At one point, still on the public footpath, we met the other side of humanity. A man appeared and demanded to know what we were doing, stating we were on private land. I was waiting for the other three to catch up. I informed him I was on a public footpath. Next came the gem, “You cannot stand still on a public footpath”. Unfortunately, we had eaten all out lunch or I would have sat and eaten it there and then. What a twat! A pleasant, uneventful, journey followed arriving back around 5.15pm. It was our turn to cook a meal Moroccan Meat Balls were on the menu. Then we sat until it chilled down and watched the end of the Germany v France Euro match; 2 - 1 to Germany, So England v Germany in the Wembley final. A repeat of 1966.
Thursday 28th July (Day 6)
Home today. We packed up and left by 10.00am having said goodbyes to Chris and Carolyn. Not directly home as we had to return to St Andrew’s church that we visited yesterday as I had left my hat on the church organ chair. Once collected we had a really easy trip home with a stop at Aldi. Home by noon.
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