Kings Lynn, Lowestoft and Aldeburgh

On our way to Stagsden today and we had to drive to Lowestoft, the most easterly mainland point of the UK so we can tick off all four points of the compass. Drove to Kings Lynn for a long walk and a coffee, we didn’t do lots of walking yesterday so we had to get some in before it got too late.

The drive was interesting, very flat country but really fertile, it was like driving 100 kilometres through the Lockyer Valley, lots of vegetables and small farms. Got to Kings Lynn, the River Great Ouse flows through the town and even though the town is about 5 kilometres from the sea it has served as a major port for centuries. The river is very muddy and doesn’t look attractive at all. The town however is quite beautiful; it has lots of malls in the town centre which were coming alive at 10am. Historic buildings line the old town centre laneways and it all seems very well maintained and cared for.

On to Lowestoft to stand on the most easterly point….what a disappointment!! Ness Point is right in the middle of a huge industrial area and is all concrete and sheds. We thought they’d have made more of this area?? We drove through South Lowestoft and it has old style terraced houses along the beach front with a wide grassed promenade with walking tracks. Quite a contrast to the point of interest which drew us here.

Continued south to Aldeburgh, a small coastal village which still has a thriving fishing industry despite having no harbour. Small dozers take trailers down to the waterline to load up the fishing boats to bring them out of the water. The fishermen unload their catch and it’s all sold in huts along the beachfront. It looks a primitive way to operate but they seemed to have plenty of customers. Couldn’t find a pub serving food (it was nearly 4 o’clock) so we bought some lunch at the bakery and sat on the beach wall to eat it. The beach of course is all rocks, didn’t deter a few brave souls from lazing around with a couple actually going for a swim. The water was a dirt brown colour so we didn’t join them.

Had to get on our way to the next B&B, one night here at Stagsden then 4 nights in London before we come home…..might need a holiday!!

Old Harbour Kings Lynn

River Great Ouse

St Margarets Church

Interesting checkerboard stone buildings (The current Town Hall, previously four separate buildings - the Guildhall, Porch, Municipal Building and Gaol House)