I’ve been on a bit of a whistle-stop tour of East
Anglia this weekend. My busy itinerary
included a spot of sight-seeing, a visit
to a Heritage pub, a stop to pick up a few bottles of Rauchbier – to satisfy my
“smoke beer” cravings, and finally, the highlight of the weekend, meeting up
with prolific blogger and Good Beer Guide enthusiast, retired Martin, along
with Mrs retired Martin.
The main purpose of my trip east, of course, was to visit my
father. I wanted to see a little more of him this time around, so I decided to
leave off work at 12.30pm on Friday afternoon and travel straight up. It perhaps
wasn’t the wisest of moves, as I hit queuing traffic a couple of junctions
before the Dartford Crossing. This added at least half hour to my journey time.
I also hit heavy traffic to the north of Cambridge.
After numerous journeys around the M25 and then up and the
M11/A11, I decided to take a slightly different route, and to stop off
somewhere en route. The city of Ely
caught my fancy, as it is a place I have journeyed through by train on several
past occasions and yet it is somewhere I have never stopped at.
An evening there, followed by some further exploration the
following day, would still mean me arriving at dad’s care-home shortly after
lunch. I could then spend some time with dad, before meeting up with my sister
later in the day. I could then stay somewhere local on Saturday evening, before
calling in on dad on Sunday morning. I also wanted to visit the Woodland Burial Ground, at Colney on the outskirts of Norwich,
where my mother’s ashes have been laid to rest. I then planned to stop off at
another CAMRA Heritage pub on the drive home.
So all in all a busy weekend and one where I achieved all my
objectives except the last one. That was scuppered by road works and traffic
delays, which I heard about on traffic bulletins on my journey south. Not
wishing to get caught up in queuing traffic again, I postponed that particular
pub visit for another time, and continued straight on down the M11, and then the
M25 back into Kent.
To put a little more flesh on the bones, I stopped off on my drive up to Cambridgeshire, at the
lovely and unspoilt Blue Ball Inn at Grantchester. Looking out across the
famous meadows, immortalised by Pink Floyd on their 1968 album, Ummagumma, this
was a pub I would have liked to spend more time at.
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After breakfast the following morning, I checked out of the
Red Lion and drove the short distance into Ely. I parked up and had a wander
around this charming little cathedral city, taking the time for a more detailed
look at Ely’s massive cathedral. The
city’s market was also well worth a wander round.
After a couple of hours, I left the delights of Ely behind
and continued north along the course of the A10 trunk road. I crossed both the
Great and the Little Ouse rivers, along with the Great Ouse relief channel, as
I headed up towards Kings Lynn. Eventually the open and very exposed flatlands
of the Fens gave way to more wooded and slightly hillier
country, and before long I was turning
down the small road which leads to the Beers of Europe warehouse, close to the village
of Setchey.
I arrived at dad’s care home shortly after 1pm. He was looking OK but not making a lot of
sense. As the effects of the Alzheimer’s he is suffering from become more
debilitating, I suppose this is only to be expected, but it is still very sad
when I remember how intelligent and quick witted he was, even up until just a
few years ago.
I met up with my sister for a late lunch afterwards. We
chose the Romany Rye, which is the Wetherspoon’s outlet in Dereham. My sister
lives in the town, so the pub was the obvious choice really. I had a pint of
Exe Valley Bitter to go with my panini, and we spent a pleasant hour or so
catching up. Phillippa is the “baby” of the family, being 14 years younger than
me, but as she reminded me she will be turning 50 in a couple of years time!
After going our separate ways, I headed off in the car to
the town of Watton, where I had
booked accommodation for the night. Over the course of the past seven or eight
years, I have stayed in numerous hotels or bed & breakfast establishments
in the Dereham area. Availability, and cost, have dictated my choice of overnight
accommodation, but this was the first time I have stayed in this mid-Norfolk
town.
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I returned to my room after the meal, and had every
intention of going out exploring afterwards, as there was a pub a the other end
of Watton which had caught my interest. I flicked the tele on and started
watching a programme about the restoration of Britain’s
canals. Part way through this programme I fell asleep; the combination of a
heavy meal on top of a busy day, having caught up with me. When I eventually
woke up, it was too late to be walking a mile or more to the other end of town,
so I decide to have an early night instead.
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The Heritage pub I was aiming for was the Walnut Tree at
Great Waltham, to the north-west of Chelmsford,
but with the aforementioned roadwork, which basically involved the complete
closure of the A12, in both directions to the south of Colchester,
I decided this pub could be visited on my way back from a future trip to Norfolk.
I arrived home, just before 3.15pm.
My wife was surprised to see me so early. I’d like to think it was a pleasant
surprise, but who knows! After unpacking I
managed a couple of hours in the garden, which was both a bonus and a good way
to end what was an excellent weekend.
3 comments:
It's the inclusion of family and logistical detail I enjoy Paul, and good for you for being so open about your family.
I do recommend you try the Walnut Tree on your next trip.
I agree with Martin. This post is quite touching with its focus on what is a very difficult time to go through.
Thank you both for your kind words; they are much appreciated.
I was in two minds whether or not to make for Great Waltham Martin, but after my haste to embrace the sat-nav, I realised that the Road Atlas, which should have been in the glove compartment, had been left at home. The latter, of course, provides both a general overview, as well as suggesting alternative routes; something a sat-nav cannot do.
Time permitting, I will definitely look in at the Walnut Tree on my next trip.
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