An oasis on the shingle beach at Shingle Street

The forecast said storm Arwen would reach us at 1pm so we got out early from our holiday house to make the most of the day.

Our first stop was Sutton Hoo to see the AngloSaxon burial mounds and museum. When we last visited in the early 1980s there was no museum with only the mounds to see. Now the site has been made famous by the recent film The Dig starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan the NT property had 1500 visitors in one day in the summer.

Needless to say it looked nothing like my memory of it. This time we were able to go into Tranmer House where Edith Pretty lived. There were online photos of the first 2 digs before Cambridge Uni took over. Courts decreed all the findings belonged to Mrs Pretty but she donated them to the nation. That seems to mean the British Museum though a few pieces are on view here. There were beautifully made replicas of the king’s helmet, sword and cloisonné shoulder straps. They were able to work in great detail with garnets from Sri Lanka in the 6th and 7th centuries.

A viewing platform was recently opened so that the mounds can be viewed from on high. It is believed the ship had been dragged up from the River Deben for the royal burial. When the mound was excavated the ship no longer existed, having rotted away but leaving an imprint in the sandy soil.

After the visit we drove 15 minutes down the road to the sea as we had not been to Shingle Street for 35 years. This is a strange isolated place, at the end of the road. Over the years long shore drift has caused the shingle to build up for maybe 100-200 yards from the sea to quite a height. The blip
Is taken from our trek towards the sea which can just be seen on the right. The row of old fishermen’s cottages is not on the photo - neither is the Martello Tower, built as watchtowers for the Napoleonic wars, now a holiday house. I preferred this strange pool.

We just got back to the car when the rain started. I don’t think much of Arwen is going to reach us. Our home village had snow then high winds (98 mph gusts were recorded 10 miles away) resulting it in being totally cut off - all roads were impassable with large trees down. The village has had no electricity for almost 24 hours and no water or mobile phone coverage either. There are so many elderly vulnerable people in the village but I know there’s a network of people who’ll be busy checking on them and helping out.

#3 Daughter sent me a picture of her allotment with her shed destroyed. They had slept downstairs as they thought the roof might blow off.