Antiques and collectables day trip
John and I both enjoy antiques and collectables and we were fortunate enough to find ourselves with a child free day at the same time as having a day off work running our holiday log cabins, so we took the opportunity to explore just a few of the many places in the local vicinity.
First stop was to fuel us up for the day at Marlesford Farm Café – ‘the roadside café that takes food seriously’ and it certainly does just that, we can highly recommend the Eggs Benedict and Suffolk Breakfast.
Once satiated we head to our first port of call, which is neighbouring Marlesford Mill, a preserved grain store with thirty different traders under one roof, ranging from lovingly restored furniture to retro, art and lighting.
Heading north up the A12 our next stop is the Barn at Friday Street, packed full of vintage and artisan delights. A drawing of Snape Maltings by the late local artist John Western caught our eye, as we have some of his pictures displayed in our log cabin accommodation, so we decided that Snape would be where we would head to next.
Snape Maltings has so much more to offer than just the world-renowned concert hall with independent shops, galleries and eateries as well as where we were heading to the Snape Antiques Centre. With cabinets full of beautiful jewellery and silver as well as art, china and vinyl.
Travelling further north along the A12 and you find the village of Yoxford which has numerous places for us to visit – Yoxford Garden House Antiques, Suffolk House Antiques as well as where we chose to stop, Yoxford Antique Centre. This boasts no less than 70 dealers showcasing their wares including the brightly painted huts where you will find a fabulous selection of old tools, gardening implements and ‘sleepy things’. You can choose to refresh and recharge at Flying Goose Café before heading back to Saxtead where our Suffolk log cabins are, not far from the A1120 tourist route.
However we wanted to make the most of our day out and head a few miles further north to the seaside town of Southwold famous for Adnams beer, the pier and the promenade lined with colourful beach huts. After a wander around the town exploring some of the independent shops including Colleen and Clare, The Amber Shop and Dennys of Southwold our last port of call was The Swan for afternoon tea, and what a treat we were in for, with what, can only be described as a two course extravaganza. The savoury selection included such delights as saffron arachini, and faux newspaper cones of battered monkfish, chips and mushy peas with the beautifully presented sweet selection featuring amongst other items coconut dacquoise and of course jam scones and cream. All washed down with as much tea as you can drink.
As we headed home we reflected on how much we enjoyed our day out, we were surprised how much we had managed to fit in and just how much there is so close by. With just a 40 minute drive back to Saxtead we were back in plenty of time to have a relaxing evening in.