Thursday, October 05, 2023

Aldeburgh

I'm taking you back to our short break in Suffolk for just one more post.  An afternoon in Aldeburgh.

We followed the signs to the beach rather than the town centre and parked right opposite what we'd come to find.

I don't think we could have been any closer. 

 

Scallop is a sculpture by Maggi Hambling.  It is fascinating to walk around and study it from each angle.
 
The sculpture is her tribute to the composer Benjamin Britten who lived in the little town and walked often on this stretch of beach.  She is a fan of Britten's music and the words cut into the sculpture 'I hear those voices that will not be drowned'  are from Britten's opera Peter Grimes.

The view along the beach in the direction of Thorpeness.

The view along the beach towards the town
 
We walked along the path towards the town as the cobbles of the beach were quite hard going.  I took a few photos along the way.
 
The Moot Hall which houses the Museum.

Entrance up the stairs.  It was closed as we passed by but open later in the day. 

 The statue of Snooks the dog was erected in 1961 in memory of his owners Drs Nora and Robin Acheson.  Snooks would often accomapany them on their rounds.  The statue stands just beyond the Moot Hall (above) and close to the pebbled beach.  It was stolen in 2003 and returned in 2012.  I think from what I've been reading this one is a replica of the original which, on its return to the town, was placed in the gardens at the local hospital. 
 
Benjamin Britten's home from 1947 to 1957. 
 
 

The South Lookout

Boats that caught my eye


We walked up to the High Street and found a cafe called The Two Magpies for refreshment before wandering back towards the Scallop and car park.
 
(Paul's photo)
 
A few more photos below
 
Fresh Fish Stall

The Moot Hall
 
Scallop

All for now.

22 comments:

  1. it's a lovely little town and one that I hope to return to one day.

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    1. I really liked it there and would have loved to stay for longer:)

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  2. Fascinating photos. I do wonder where the dog sculpture was!

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    1. I wonder too. Apparently the statue was discovered by an antiques dealer who returned it to the town:)

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  3. Just 5 miles from where we lived for 23 years and we never went there in the summer!

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    1. I can understand why you wouldn't go there in the summer. The high street was quite busy whilst we were there but the walk along by the beach was quieter:)

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  4. Some really lovely photos Rosie. I like the Neapolitan ice cream coloured houses. Benjamin Britten's home looks most unusual with the window glass room. I wonder if it was South facing? If so it would be very hot in the summer! I hope you have a lovely weekend. x

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    1. Somehow those colours look just right at the seaside. I wonder if the glass house was there in Britten's time, it look like an art studio with all the light that would come from the windows, but yes hot in summer. Hope you too have a lovely weekend:)

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  5. It looks to be a fascinating place. Love the Moot hall and the scallop shell particularly. B x

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    1. The Moot Hall is a lovely building it was a shame we didn't have time to go inside - I would have liked to have spent longer in the town. I loved the Scallop from every angle:)

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  6. The scallop sculpture looks quite stunning. Thank you for sharing your visit to Aldeburgh. I also enjoyed hearing about your visit to Sutton Hoo in previous posts.
    B x

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the posts about Sutton Hoo as well as this one. The sculpture is wonderful:)

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  7. A stunning piece of sculpture, and with many meanings. Does it get immersed by the high tides, I wonder, or is it above the high tide line?

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    1. I wondered about that too, I googled images of the Scallop and only one, taken in Winter, showed it with the sea just gently lapping at its base. It is quite high up on the beach so perhaps only gets surrounded occasionally:)

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  8. What a super town The Scallop is quite stunning and so unusual and i am glad the statue of the dog was eventually returned. Its not an area of England I know at all although it is a county that has many places I would love to visit. Doesn't Aldeburgh have a famous Literary Festival too?? It looks like you had a wonderful well deserved break Rosie.

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    1. It was a lovely little town and I would have liked the time to explore it a bit more. The high street was quite busy as it was just after lunch time but there were fewer people walking by the beach and on the beach which was quite hard to walk on because of the pebbles. Aldeburgh is famous for its music festival but it does have a literary festival too. I really enjoyed being somewhere different for a while:)

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  9. Love photos of those sculptures. thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. I'm glad you liked the photos of the sculptures:)

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  10. It's great to see Aldeburgh and Maggi Hambling's shell, I'd love to visit myself but it's a bit awkward to get to without a car, one day though. Glad you had a good time. 😊

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    1. I can imagine it would mean lots of train changes and bus journeys, hope you get there one day, it's a lovely place:)

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