Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : Back on the road again

Saturday, 15 September 2018

Back on the road again

We`ve been back home from our European trip for a few weeks now and have got back into the swing of normality again.
I love being back home, but also miss the travelling and exploring of new places and the excitement of seeing fantastic sights this World has to offer.

Whilst back, Ed has passed the MOT with flying colours, no advisories !

He`s had a thorough clean up inside and outside, a de-clutter and boy did he need it.

An engine oil and filter change has him purring like a tiger and ready for off………

I started getting itchy feet again and longed to get back on the road, but where to go ?

There is so much of the UK I want to visit, Northumberland, Scotland (again), East Anglia, Gower Peninsular in Wales, Lake District, I could go on and on.

In the end, after Gower Peninsular was favourite for a long time, I decided Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia based entirely upon the weather forecast for the next few days. South Wales looks like being very wet whilst Norfolk and Suffolk dry, sunny and warm.

So that was it, decision made.

I planned a route going down to the south of Suffolk and then travel north up the coast to Norfolk.

The route was to take us around Cambridge but weekend road works have closed the A14 in Cambridge so I planned a detour to avoid it.

However, a radio traffic bulletin reported heavy congestion all around the Cambridge area ! With no obvious easy detour to avoid Cambridge altogether I decided to go for broke and went down the M1 to the M25 across to the A12 and up towards Chelmsford and Colchester.

So it was a bit of a detour but we got to our destination Flatford about 3.30 pm.

We are parked up at Flatford Farmhouse Campsite (GPS 51.966128 1.023758)

After a tea of North Staffordshire Oatcakes, cheese and bacon, Louis and I set off for a walk through the beautiful Suffolk countryside. It was a lovely walk down to the river Stour across fields and meadows.

Flatford is famous as the setting for many of JohnConstable`s paintings and in particular The Hay Wain.

Not a great deal remains of the scene, the trees in the painting have gone as has the cottage. But it is still a very tranquil and beautiful setting in quintessentially English countryside.

There was a farmer in Flatford village called Willy Lott who allowed Constable onto his land to paint the scenery and his cottage in still there.

It has been a very pleasant evening with quite warm sunshine and not a breath of wind, just the birds singing in the trees, lovely.

The campsite is basic but with scenery like this nothing else is needed.

I think tonight is going to be very peaceful here.