Back To The Village

I'm so relaxed at this moment I am in danger of dissolving and running down the back of the sofa and collecting in a small pool amongst the seat springs and fluff that accumulates there. We left London on Friday lunch time on a slow commuter train from Liverpool Street out into the wilds of rural Suffolk. For those who don't know the area if you imagine Hobbiton you won't be far wrong. Most of the residents are quite short and rotund and the countryside is rolling green interspersed with farmland. After a change onto a yet tinier train we arrived at Sudbury from where, eventually, we found the 'bus station and thence we crept through the countryside to Clare. Clare is a beautiful village with a rich history. There is a priory founded in the mid 1200s and a the ruins of a castle built by Richard Fitz Gilbert. Our abode for three nights was The Ancient House, a small cottage next to the church. The main structure dates from around 1400 with the pargeting that adorns almost every exterior surface being dated 1476. As was typical with buildings of that time there isn't a single right angle in the place.

There is a 19 inch vertical drop in the floor of the bathroom corner to corner as you get an impression of here:

The building is incredible and as with all Landmark Trust houses there is no T.V., no 'phone and no radio. You have no choice other than to switch off and relax. I read and Tinseltroos knitted. One of the items that interested us most was the guest book. All Landmarks have them and every visitor is encouraged to write a few words about their stay. There may be a name here that you recognise:

During the weekend proper we also went for walks, visited the majority of the pubs and had a roaring fire one night. My birthday managed o be pretty washed out but I did get a new wooly hat hand-made by the mistress of mayhem herself which I am delightedly modelling here:

Here are a few more photographs from the weekend. Now I'm off to enjoy my few last precious moments of mini-holiday before the hell and madness of work descends again.