Orford and Woodbridge

Tuesday
Roger had an early start this morning, about 6 am to take Jen and Laura to the station at Stowmarket. Jen was unfortunately leaving us today to return to the States, so she was taking the train to London. Laura on the other hand was traveling more locally, to visit some friends in Frinton on sea for the day - she had known them when she was living in Romania. They still live in Romania during the school year, but have a place and family in Frinton, so they spend the whole summer there. Roger was back in time for breakfast, then the remaining six of us went to Orford for the morning. We parked in the car park by the quay, and spent a little time watching the sailing boats - there was obviously a race going on. Then we walked to the church and then on to the castle. In the church there are some notable brasses, and a circular plaque in the floor, in honour of the first performances of Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde and his three church parables which received their first performances there by the English Opera Group. We also admired the beautifully stitched tapestry kneelers depicting various local scenes, local bird life etc. All that remains of the castle today is the well-preserved striking polygonal keep. Roger, Andrew and I chose to explore it, but the others declined since it would involve a lot of steps. The views from the top, however, were worth the exertion, extending over the village and surrounding countryside and the lighthouse on Orford Ness. While we were climbing the keep, Peter, Judy and Janet went in search of a pub to have a drink, and we joined them there once we came back down for some lunch. After lunch, we continued to the picturesque village of Woodbridge, with its tide mill, on the River Deben, with its origins in the 12th c. Rather than using the moving water from a stream or river, a tide mill makes use of the tidal rise and fall. “A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one way gate, and this gate closes automatically when the tide begins to fall. When the tide is low enough, the stored water can be released to turn a water wheel.” The mill has been restored and is still in working order. Unfortunately, it was low tide when we were there, so the scene wasn’t quite as picturesque as usual. From the mill, we went for a walk around the rest of the town, finishing up with a very nice ice cream!