Maritime Heritage Weekend 2007 at Woodbridge

Fun for the children at Woodbridge Martitime Heritage event.

While some enjoyed testing the craft of the coracle maker, others did what kids do best, 'mucking about' in the mud at low tide. Woodbridge, once a thriving port at the tidal head of the River Deben in Suffolk, now heavily silted and unsuitable for commercial navigation, has become a popular leisure resort but the locals still take their maritime heritage seriously. The old tide mill (top picture) which used the power of the rising and falling tide to grind corn, has been restored as a heritage centre.

This article also appears on the nostalgia & heritage blog

An Autumn visit to the seaside at Aldeburgh, Suffolk

I find it difficult to believe that these pictures were taken just two weeks ago. I wouldn't want to be outdoors today without a jacket!

Aldeburgh is a quaint old seaside town with no amusement arcades, bandstand or any of the razzamatazz typical of many English resorts, but had a strong connection with the Arts, as the home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, and the Snape Maltings concert hall, and more recently the controversial scallop shell metal sculpture on the beach by local artist Maggi Hamblin.

The town was formerly better known for its fishing fleet but that is facing hard times now due to diminishing catches and the remaining fishermen are currently negotiating new licensing terms which would allow them to subsidise their income from the sale of locally caught fish with 25% of bought-in supplies.