Guildhall, Lavenham

After our longish drive and the excitement of seeing the bittern yesterday, we felt a gentle day was in order today.

Our landlady recommended Lavenham, which was not far away, so after a leisurely breakfast and a shopping trip to the butchers (to buy bread, of course), we had a cross country drive to Lavenham.

A bit "touristy", but not surprisingly, since it really was very picturesque.  We had coffee and cake in the National Trust cafe in the Guildhall, and then a look around the inside, which has served as Bridewell, workhouse, subsidized housing for the poor, grain store, and a number of other functions.  The exhibition was interesting, but a bit idealized, we felt.  As we came out, we were debating our next move, and stopped in front of the building, until I realized we were holding up a chap taking a photo, who commented on the lack of people and cars - so I too managed to get a photo before people emerged from the door.  When we returned past there later, there were several cars parked in front.

We then walked around the town, admiring the many crooked houses, before walking out along a disused railway track in the direction of Long Melford.  After a while, our stomachs told us to return to the town for sustenance, and we enjoyed a rather nice meal sitting outside The Angel IN THE SUN!!! 

Afterwards, we drove to Nayland, but in the end, there was no obvious place to park, so we didn't stop, just drove through, and then came back to our accommodation for a quiet evening.