Jean says: We've left Shotley marina now and are back at Pin Mill for a night on a mooring buoy. Today was spent getting a bus back to the Suffolk food hall. It's like a magnet, but I think a third visit including lunch has finally got it out of our system. They have huge fish and meat counters as well as all the fresh fruit and veg and deli stuff, and we came away with enough food for 3 nights, so that we can anchor where we like, and stay on board without starving to death.
I could so easily have spent the rest of the day lying on deck with a book in the warm breeze, but we have to leave early tomorrow morning for the river Ore, and it's far easier to slip from a mooring buoy than go through a lock at 6.00 in the morning. Bob cooked the dinner tonight gas cooker style and has proved that he can be very versatile when it comes to cooking. We had salad, followed by halibut and sliced chip type things. I've still got to do the washing up.
As previously mentioned, the river Ore has one of those dodgy entrances that silt up, and you can only enter or leave at two hours either side of high water. Bob is particularly drawn to sailing up the Ore, but knowing Bob it's most likely to be the lure of dodging treacherous sandbanks, and nothing to do with the interesting grasslands or bird life. Once inside the river, we'll make our way to Orford and pick up a mooring buoy.

Little and large share the River Orwell......





The rivers and creeks around here are extensive, and local knowledge is advisable to be able to negotiate them safely, but it's well worth the effort. There is such a lot to offer, dipping in and out of the rivers, and as a sailing experience, it differs yet again from hopping down the coast from port to port. These rivers are the essence of Suffolk, and we would have missed all this remote beauty if we hadn't had the help and guidance of Janene and Jules. Suffolk is about detail, and the longer you spend here, the better it seems to get. It's one humungous Constable painting, English to the core, largely unspoilt, with the prettiest of villages and heart stopping countryside. There are fields and hedgerows of bright red poppies everywhere, and wild flowers of all sorts line every country road.
Being able to get to know our own island better was one of the reasons we wanted to do this trip, and our delight at discovering how lovely Suffolk is, typifies one of the many things we'd hoped to experience. Britain is a marvellous place, and we've still got Eastbourne to come!


We were a little piggy today in Suffolk Food Hall.....