Suffolk Beach Huts

I love the thought of a beach hut and these days with the inspiration of Pinterest, the possibilities of decorating one are endless. But back down to earth, even if we lived near the sea where there were beach huts the price tags of up to £100,000 would be beyond us and also they don't have beach huts on Constantine beach so that's no good! However a few days in the caravan near the Suffolk coast did mean I could indulge in 'beach hut observation' We'd not been to Suffolk before and got the van on a little CL site (only 5 vans allowed) at Molletts Farm. (I include the link as not only are they a CL site but also have a couple of cottages and studios holiday lets).

We were incredibly lucky with the weather and instead of the expected dullness and rain it was sunny and breezy. Our first day was spent in and around Aldeburgh where we walked along the front to the Aldeburgh Scallop

Wikipedia give a very good description as follows

On Aldeburgh's beach, a short distance north of the town centre, stands a sculpture, The Scallop, dedicated to Benjamin Britten, who used to walk along the beach in the afternoons. Created from stainless steel by Suffolk-based artist Maggi Hambling, it stands 15 feet (4.6 m) high, and was unveiled in November 2003.^[19] The piece is made up of two interlocking scallop shells, each broken, the upright shell being pierced with the words: "I hear those voices that will not be drowned", which are taken from Britten's opera Peter Grimes. The sculpture is meant to be enjoyed both visually and tactilely, and people are encouraged to sit on it and watch the sea. Approached along the road from the Thorpeness direction it has a totally different silhouette appearing to be a knight on a rearing charger.

It's a very beautiful sculpture especially when the sun is shining on it and also very tactile.

Walking back into Aldeburgh we passed the fishing huts, some smoking their catches ready to sell.

and then there were the buildings and houses - all shapes, sizes and colours - I love the colour of the first one!

We were fascinated by the South Lookout, now owned by Carol Wiseman hosting various art exhibitions.

At present people are invited to decorate pebbles which are in turn going to be returned to the beach to be found by future generations.

Time for a coffee and there are plenty of places to choose from

along with some rather nice shops

We then made our way to Snape Maltings where Benjamin Britian and Peter Pears started the Aldeburgh Festival of music in 1948. It's a really interesting complex made up the concert hall, housing and retail units.

this image gives really good sense of where it is and how it sits on the River Alde

We were lucky enough to be there when a boat was coming up the river to dock

We wondered around the complex taking a look at the various sculptures,

 

and dipping in and out of the shops before they closed.

Friday was 'beach hut day' and they soon became visible when we got to Southwold. All the same shape but so many colours, the shutter on the camera never stopped.

and then there were the houses

some amazing renovations and designs, but I did like this

It's the veranda that does it for me!

We walked down the River Blyth, stopping to look at boats and fish huts

Disappointed that we had a picnic lunch when we saw this restaurant

 Then it was across the fields and back into Southwold - 6 miles in all

Just getting back to the pier where the car was parked before we had a real downpour which included hail stones.