Lady Queen + Weekend Life
We spent the Easter long weekend with friends in a cottage in the lovely seaside village of Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The weather was wonderfully romantic (British weather must be thought of as wonderfully romantic to keep the spirits up!) with sleet, snow, biting cold, heavy grey clouds and, just as we were leaving, a tiny burst of brilliant blue sky. We stoically played beach cricket in the sleet (mighty tricky/exhausting on a shingle beach), went on an Easter egg hunt at Orford Castle (well, the littlies did... we provided the encouragement from the sidelines while sipping coffee!), took in the country air with a bracing walk from Aldeburgh to Snape Warren, and explored the shops and galleries in Snape Maltings.
Eat: Pump Street Bakery, Orford. Fabulous sourdough bread, Monmouth coffee and sweet treats (try the bear claws, croissants and jam doughnuts). Wish this bakery was a little closer to London!
Two Magpies Bakery, Southwold. This artisan bakery/cafe opened a week or so after Easter so we didn't get to try it out unfortunately but the bread and pastries look amazing! The owner/baker is a former army bomb disposal expert... presumably his patience (and nerves of steel) came in handy while learning to bake artisan bread. ;)
There are a number of smokehouses/seafood shacks along the waterfront in Aldeburgh where you can pick up freshly caught local seafood, and smoked fish. Smoked fish on buttery toasted sourdough with an egg on top and finely chopped chives is a fine weekend breakfast treat.
Richardson's Smokehouse, Orford.
Aldeburgh Fish & Chip Shop, Aldeburgh. The line up outside at lunch and supper time says it all! Delicious battered fish and chips. Buy cold beverages at the White Hart Inn next door and sit outside in the sunshine (???!!!) to devour your battered cod and chips.
Cragg Sisters Tearoom, Aldeburgh. I didn't have time to try this tearoom but our friends loved the scones here.
Saturday, May 18, 2013