Day 94...

What a glorious day! With beautiful weather forecast, we decided to head up to the RSPB reserve at Minsmere on the Suffolk coast. I was beginning to feel quite desperate to get to a beach, and that stretch of coast guarantees fairly quiet ones even on days like today - not for us the great crowds seen in the south coast today!

We walked the loop up to the beach, along the coast and back to the entrance in the morning - loads of birds including our first sighting of a Dartford Warbler which was a bit of a bonus. Of course all the hides are closed at the moment, but there is a viewpoint looking over the scrape where the gulls and terns are breeding currently and that is open to the air so remains open. Then a picnic for lunch - pretty much just what we would have in a standard Thursday but of course eaten outside SO much tastier! Then headed off to cover the other side of the reserve - out through the woods, then up over the heath. Back once more at the car we decided we weren’t quite ready to leave, so back to the beach and this time along to Dunwich - somewhere I’d not been for years but as you can see from the photo above fabulous views from the cliff top viewpoint!

Then, as is traditional we headed for Aldeburgh for another - shorter - walk and the obligatory chippy tea! As anyone who has been knows the Aldeburgh fish & chip shop does some of the best you will find anywhere, and today was no exception. Wonderfully fresh haddock and chips - plenty of salt & vinegar - and SO sizzlingly hot from the fryer that all you can do for the first few minutes is pick up chips and drop them again with an “ouch!” - torture with the amazing aroma wafting you at you from the bag!

We were delighted to spot that “Snooks” has been given some fitting decoration too - quite the sign of the times, we thought! He usually watches over the busy boating lake - but at the moment that is drained to prevent people gathering there - I think he looks rather perplexed about this, don’t you?

Robyn