Aldeburgh

We made our first trip to the Suffolk Coast yesterday. We intended to do Aldeburgh, a couple neighboring villages and then go up the coast to Southwold. We got a little sidetracked on the way to the coast however, by Framlingham Castle so it was time for lunch when we arrived at Aldeburgh and we never made it to Southwold. That was just fine with us, we were ready for fish and chips. So my daughter stood in line at the famous Aldeburgh Fish & Chips Shop, while my son-in-law got our cider & ale at The White Hart, and I sat in the beer garden and was waited on. The biggest piece of plaice I have ever seen, a delicious piece of cod, a bag of chips, and a very tasty deep-fried veggie & cheese patty - so nice to be in a situation where you are expected to eat fatty food.

It wasn't very warm, but it was a Saturday so the streets were quite crowded.

We were already aware that one didn't say 'Ald-uh-burg', but it was nice of this mile marker sitting on High Street to confirm what we had already learned...

The most important building, and far away the most interesting is the Moot Hall, a Grade 1 listed building that has been used for Council meetings for over 400 years.

The back side of the Moot Hall

Aldeburgh has a shingle beach with the boats pulled up, something you never see in the states - at least on the West Coast.

I'd like to think that the cod and plaice we had for lunch came directly from the
 Aldeburgh fishing fleet, I know it probably didn't, I choose to believe it did.

 

A short ways north of town you find 'The Scallop' a stainless steel sculpture by Maggi Hambling dedicated to Benjamin Britten, who used to walk along the beach in the afternoons. The upright shell is pierced with the words: "I hear those voices that will not be drowned", text from Britten's opera "Peter Grimes"

 

It was a brilliant sculpture in its own right, but the text added such poignancy.

The an internationally known Aldeburgh Festival, actually takes place at nearby Snape Maltings... more about Snape and the Maltings later.