New Year Break in Bungay

A group of sixteen Hampstead Ramblers joined together on a walking holiday in the latter days of December. The holiday was organised by Annie Lynn, and the walks were led by Carole Swithern. In all we covered some 30 + miles over 3 days.



We stayed at "Quiet Waters"



As the sign might imply, ramblers are not their usual clientele, but the welcome we received was absolutely top class. The accommodation was bright and cheerful, and the staff really pushed the boat out. Home-made cakes and tea awaited us on our return, and the evening dinners were made with local ingredients; a lot of the veg we ate had actually been grown in their extensive gardens.

The weather was very cold from the outset, and by New Year's Eve it had started to snow. We all enjoyed a walk in the countryside around Bungay itself on January 1st.

Our first day of walking saw us down at the coast, in Southwold. One village had really gone to town on their Christmas decorations...



A little further on we passed an alms-house with this motto on display...



Our route took us through Benacre, a nature reserve...



Melt-water from snow further North had raised the water levels considerably, and flooded boardwalks led a few of us to get wet feet.

Most of us managed a smile nevertheless...



Our second day of walking found us doing a circular walk around Framlingham Castle. Insert PICTURE.

Our last day of walking was the First of January. A crisp blanket of snow greeted us for our first walk of the year...





The high water levels in this part of East Anglia again proved problematic. A footbridge on our route had been rendered unusable due to floodwater. We spent quite a while wondering how to get across here without wading in a fast flowing river.



In the end we managed to scramble onto the bridge from the side after approaching it along an island. We all managed to get across, and the only thing that got wet was a hat dropped by one of our party. The photo below gives an idea of the gap we had to negotiate...



We had to be flexible about route planning; this was where one of the footpaths led - normally a field, but not today...



We all had a great time, and our games of Jenga in the evenings kept us all on our toes -- and sometimes on our knees too!



I close with a group photo by the real log fire and the biggest Christmas tree I have ever been privileged to share... Thank again to Annie (first on the left) and Carole (right front), and everyone who made the trip enjoyable. Here's to many happy walks in 2010.



Happy New Year to all!

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