There and Back

On one of my visits to the Cathedral church in BSE, I have heard brief excerpts of music from the organ, and have been much impressed by it. So, when I read that they were doing lunchtime recitals  a few times in the summer, I decided to make sure I was there to listen to one - today was that day. While I was visiting the Abbey gardens, I also had in mind to search for the Medieval bridge that I had seen on maps - The Abbotts's Bridge.  This was my first aim for the day. The Abbott’s Bridge over the River Lark in Bury St Edmunds abbey grounds, was built around AD 1220. The land on the east side of the River Lark came to be used as the Vinefields, and on the abbey side, the monks could cross uninhibited. An iron grating being lowered, if necessary, to prevent any unwanted visitors on the river. The Abbots Bridge gave immediate access to these vinefields by the townspeople via planks through the bridge’s open buttresses. Two 14th century triangular ‘breakwaters’ on the bridge`s abbe

Colchester was the first capital of Roman Britain Although it was burned in 60ce during the rising of the British queen Boudicca, Colchester soon became one of the chief towns in Roman Britain, and surviving relics of that period include walls and gateways. A wander around some of these parts today, allowed me to get a few images which I have included here. Although I have been to Colchester many times over the years, for some reason I have taken very few images - today I will start to redress that. The Balkern gateway In the Roman period the wall had six gates located at regular intervals. Of these only two survive above ground today: Balkerne Gate and Duncan’s Gate. The Balkerne Gate was the original main entrance to Colchester. It was upgraded to a Triumphal Arch celebrating the conquest of Britannia by the Roman Emperor Claudius. The remains of a Roman Guardroom can be found next to the Balkerne Gate. Originally, it would have been the gate for the main road leading towards London.

Ipswich Town having been promoted to the Premier League for the first time twenty-two years, have signs around town proclaiming their success. Here are a couple of the obvious signs -  first the rubbish bins - I guess we don`t want visitors being too free with their rubbish! Although rather a good idea I thought. Then the mural on the wall of building in town proclaiming loud and clear, and not forgetting the statues outside portman Road. Sir Alf Ramsey Sir Alf Ramsey - When Ramsey originally retired from playing aged 35, he became the manager of Ipswich Town, then in the third tier of English football. Ipswich rose through the divisions over the next six years, winning the Third Division South in 1956–57 and the Second Division in 1960–61. In the 1961–62 season, Ipswich's first-ever campaign in the top division, Ramsey's team defied expectations to become champions of England. Ramsey took charge of the England team a year later. It is for this reason his statue now stands in f

As part of Rosey`s Suffolk Coastal Walk, we stayed overnight in Lowestoft. We had stayed here for a night back in 2009 when we were visiting a local nature Reserve, so a couple of these images are from that visit as well. The idea of this trip, this time,  was to cover the Lowestoft to Kessingland section of the trail and to see the Walking Men statues. This is a view that greeted us along the beach with our hotel just above the furthest coloured beach hut.  The first time we stayed here was at the house where Benjamin Britton grew up, but this time we stayed at the Hotel Victoria - not too far away from there but facing the sea. Our first stay was here at the house of the famous composer. The Hotel Victoria, our stay for this visit. As we had come for the walk down to Kessingland, we did that as soon as we parked the car and took a few photos of the beach and made a note of where the Walking Men were. They were one of the things we definately wanted to see, as they are being removed

A visit to London was planned for today - a day which turned out to be the hottest of the year so far! However, with plenty of suncream and water to drink, we ventured to our main point of interest which was the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. I had not seen this before and when we arrived outside it appears hundreds more had not either! So, here are the people outside the Palace, occupying any vantage point possible while the music rose from in front of them. What we then decided was to be in position to see them marching past when they left the Palace and watch for the ones returning to their barracks. Here are a couple of images of guards marching up The Mall toward us Some from the Palace assembling ready to march down The Mall More arriving from The Mall  The gardens in front of the Palace were beautiful At the top of these sets of steps, known as The Duke of York Steps, and looking down on St James Park and The Mall, stands an imposing granite column topped by a regal

Suffolk has a magnificent legacy in its hundreds of churches, which tell the story of medieval times and onward. One of the many such churches was on the itinerary for today.  Having read about the magnificent ceiling decorations in St Marys in Huntingfield, this was our  main aim for today. Not medieval I know, but an amazing Victorian legacy. This post was originally made in 2019 but I have moved it to today after a revisit and some added info and images I have started photographing the village signs that we come across, so this was one to add to the collection.- Huntingfield. The name conjours up all sorts of images of time past. The existing church certainly dates from the 11th century but there are signs that there had been a chapel here long before. The first church was built by the family who took their name from the village and lived in the manor for 250 years, the Lords de Huntingfield. The chancel was added in the thirteenth century and the brick section (above) on