Disturbed night

01:30 and the fire alarm goes off. Diva gets dressed and gets handbag. TSH makes do with dressing gown and shoes. Open door. Go into corridor. Alarm stops. Join assembly of guests deciding what to do next. All women have handbags. Turns out someone has been smoking in their room, the smoke detector has gone off and resulted in a general alarm. Diva's heart beating so fast she can't sleep for a while. The terror is caused by the noise of the alarm, not the threat of fire. But that's what the alarm tone is designed to do.

Today was spent in Cambridge, using very efficient park and ride. Getting there was delayed by giving way to what seemed like several hundred horses (yes, an exaggeration) , which is the rule of the road in Newmarket. A morning walk round the colleges with a view of the river and then some retail therapy for Diva. No actual purchase, more of a planning session for an important wedding next summer. Meanwhile, TSH climbed 123 steps up the Great St Mary's tower.

The dining room at the hotel is so darki n places that it is difficult to read the menu. Diva admired the older man who stood up with the menu and took it under a bright light after he had asked them to make the lights brighter (dimmers were on) and they refused. Maybe the young want ambience and the old just want enough light to see by.

A mixed day

The morning was spent at Beth Chatto's garden. She is a much admired garden designer who has written many books but achieved that position by hard work and experience rather than by formal training. The garden was started in the 1960s as a family garden which is now open to the public. She is now over 90, so probably has some help. The garden is beautifully laid out, with the attraction being the way different shapes and colours complement each other. The tea room provided an excellent light lunch - baguette with smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber for Diva and a jacket potato and coronation chicken for TSH. Tonight the restaurant is making a special lobster and crayfish risotto for Diva, as the standard one has cream, which she does not like.
On the way back, a brief call into Colchester, said to be England's oldest town. The signs indicated a car park which turned out to be badly located both for the shops and the abbey, so neither was appreciated. This is not really a 'destination' town.
A bit of context. The hotel overlooks a large Newmarket stables, so clearly visible from the bedroom window is a 2 storey set of horse Houses (boxes?). There are also 3 large round structures which seem to be used for indoor training. These latter are illuminated all night, presumably for security. At about 04:30 each morning, all the lights in the building are switched on and horses start looking out. Over the next half hour, figures appear and approach the horses. Tractors which are as noisy as aircraft sweep out the round structures. So far, Diva has not seen the next bit. Do the horses emerge and march off en masse? Or creep out to the training areas one at a time?

Warm sunny day

Started off at Oxburgh, a rare National Trust property where the building was more interesting than the gardens. It was built to look like a castle, although the moat was always purely decorative. It contains a priest's hole which the young, small and agile are allowed to enter. TSH and Diva ruled themselves out of that one but TSH made the roof, using the steep stone slippery spiral staircase.  There was also some embroidery done by Mary Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, as well as many decorative wallpapers, some made of highly coloured embossed leather.

Gooderstone water gardens are very attractively laid out and would make a pleasant few hours out with interest at any time of the year. Pity the tea shop only did drinks and cakes, as sandwiches or soup was what was really wanted.

The final visit was to Swaffham. The market was just closing but the church was interesting - relatively plain and simple. It had a plaque to a man who was killed by a tiger in India 'whilst trying to save some natives'.

Sunny all day

The whole day was spent at Anglesey Abbey, which is one of the National Trust's great gardens. It was developed by Lord Fairhaven, an American who bought the house unseen during the 1930s. He remodelled the gardens and they really are splendid and well worth a leisurely visit, as they extend over many acres.  He is the same person who bought the land at Runnymede to give to the nation, so he was very rich indeed. Having seen the inside of his house and his art collection, TSH and Diva, who are minimalists at heart, thought 'more money than taste', but this is probably very cruel.

In the wild part of the garden, a pair of Reeve's pheasants was spotted. Diva was concerned when she read that there were also snakes, but none made an appearance today.

How long will it rain?

Sutton Hoo was the first call - its the site of a burial ground which includes a grave containing what is thought to be the body of a king from the 8th century, with his long boat and his weapons and a face mask. The workmanship is impressive for that time in England, although not as sophisticated as Greek or Egyptian articles from much earlier. But the mask and the boat burial are very unusual for this country. Most of the actual objects, which were only found in 1939, are in the British Museum but there are some excellent replicas in the visitor centre. This centre is very new and delivers a lot of information without it ever seeming overwhelming. TSH and Diva saw the burial mounds in the pouring rain but they made it round the guided walk.

The excavations were done by Basil Brown, who was invited to dig by the local land owner. There is a recording of his voice, in response to a challenge that his knowledge was not great enough for him to be trusted with what turned out to be an important task. He declared that he was well qualified, because at age 15 he had gained his school certificate in geography, astronomy and archaeology!!!

The rest of the day was a bit disappointing because of worsening weather and visits to Aldeburgh and Woodbridge were extremely brief. And the forecast is bad for the next few days.

TSH had a couple of disappointments on the first night. The portion sizes in the restaurant are extremely small. The starters were a couple of mini (very mini) beetroots with tiny pieces of breaded cheese. All tasty and artfully arranged but without sustenance for someone who had eaten only one large piece of chocolate and Guinness cake since his full English breakfast. And then he thought he had turn-down chocolate. Diva was a bit doubtful as the box on the pillow had 'Molton Brown' on it so there was a risk of it tasting a bit soapy. And it turned out to be 'temple soother'. TSH is not a believer in such products as 'temple soother' but Diva thought it smelled nice.

Travel south east

A full English breakfast in the local cafe set TSH and Diva up for the day. First stop Neme Valley railway where TSH photographed trains and was given a private tour of the workshop. Diva stayed in the cafe with tea.

Peterborough - first visit for both - is a very attractive small cathedral city. Modern shopping centre opening off medieval square but hidden behind old buildings - perfect way to keep shoppers in the old town. Cathedral very attractive - simple like York Minster, except with a painted (?) ceiling. Saw the tomb of Katherine of Aragon.

Leaving the cathedral area, a falcon was seen - interesting for those who are watching the progress of the Sheffield peregrines. Pigeons dispersed rapidly.

Room overlooks stables for race horses.

Packing was less successful than usual and Diva had to do some ironing on arrival!!

6 sleeps to go.

Hair cuts done.

Days out planned.

Food stocks running down.

First pass at holiday wardrobe on rail.