A very Good Friday!

 Although we do have an absolute mass of garden jobs to be getting on with this weekend, we had decided early on that we also wanted to fit in a day out - and had decided that one of our favourite RSPB reserves at Minsmere in Suffolk was where we wanted to head. Minsmere has been a favourite for years now - lots of different trails, a range of habitats from coastal and wetland through to heathland and wooded areas means there is always a likelihood of seeing a brilliant range of birds, and it’s a fabulous place to walk.

We headed off fairly early - treating the day like a normal Friday in that respect and leaving the house at the sort of time we would usually be going out for a walk from home before MrEH starts work. Traffic was fairly light, and we arrived at the reserve as planned at around 10.30am. Our RSPB membership means we get free admission, so we headed straight to the cafe to grab breakfast - which was a fantastic ciabatta style roll absolutely STUFFED with bacon and sausages, not cheap at £7.80 each but we both agreed actually really good value.

After polishing those off - MrEH had coffee and I had a generous pot of tea to wash them down - we definitely felt like a walk was needed! Our regular route sees us heading off towards the coast, then looping back towards the visitor centre before heading off through the woodland and out onto Whin Hill and back towards the centre that way. We call in at the various hides as we go to see what can be seen on the scrapes, and always linger a bit around the coastal section too. At this time of year you can’t walk up and over the hill, so we retraced our steps around the edge. A lovely walk - and the addition of some stuff to our birding year list too, Mediterranean Gull, Barnacle Geese, a lovely juvenile Kittiwake, Sand Martins and probably the sighting of the day, a Bittern.Sandwich Terns were also nice to see - we usually get Common Terns locally, and the Hebrides generally provides Arctic and Little Terns, but the Sandwich variant is one we see far less often.

There is a long-standing tradition that a trip to Aldeburgh follows a visit to Minsmere, and far be it for us to break with tradition, so back in the car we hopped for the short drive through. Ice creams first - from Ives - barely recognisable since the last time we were there as they’ve had a full modernisation. It used to be a classic ice cream shop - a long counter with the queue gently winding past so you had ample time to survey the flavours on offer that day and make your decision. Now the shop is - strangely - far smaller, and people queuing ahead of you block your view, making the choice feel a bit more rushed and last minute. We both agreed that we didn’t like it as much - and it feels like a negative rather than a positive step, although I imagine it works better for the staff. A walk along the coast to the marina, then on a new-to-us path between the River Alde and the creeks was a nice change - although in the blustery conditions also fairly hard going! 

Then a stroll in the other direction - towards although not actually as far as the Scallop Shell sculpture on this occasion - I absolutely love it but it appeared to be very busy with lots of folk using it for shelter from the wind! 

All even slightly regular visits to Aldeburgh know that a look at “Snooks” to see how he is attired is a must - we assume that local knitters take care of ensuring that he is dressed appropriately for the occasion, just look how pleased he looks with his Easter bonnet, bunny and chicks! 

Finally- and it’s another “must do” is of course Fish and Chips. We’ve never tested the theory but we think it’s actually illegal to go to Aldeburgh and NOT have F&C! Sadly far too windy this time to sit on the sea wall and eat them as we usually would, but a good compromise was found by driving the car along to the coastal car park and sitting in the car with them there instead. Delicious haddock - super fresh and always cooked to order, with lashings of salt and vinegar, SUCH a treat!  

The local gulls don’t miss a trick though - this Herring Gull kept his beady eye on MrEH throughout in spite of the fact that we were literally sitting IN the car, and was clearly MOST put-out that no discarded chips headed his way! 

Finally time to head home - via a quick stop in Ipswich to grab some diesel for my car at a price a fair bit cheaper than we would have got at home, right now shopping around and saving even a few pence per litre is all the more important isn’t it with the way prices have escalated - we are now paying over 30p a litre more than we were just a handful of weeks ago. Worth the diversion, and all in all, it was indeed a very Good Friday! 

Robyn