A night in Aldeburgh

Tuesday, November 15, 2016


For my birthday Andy booked us a night away in Aldeburgh, of course we couldn't actually go on, or even near, my birthday due to harvest, so we went last week instead.

He booked us into The Brudenell, in a room with sea views. When we arrived it was too dark to see the sea but we could see the white splashes of waves breaking on the shore in the darkness, and hear the delightful sound of the waves rolling in, dragging the shingle back as it withdrew.


The hotel, and our room, were both lovely. We did chuckle on arrival when I spotted a letter, addressed to Andy, saying 'Thank you for choosing to stay with us again'. 'Again?' I asked raising an eyebrow. Andy looked confused, until I realised that The Brudenell is part of the same group of hotels as The Swan at Lavenham, where we got married, and thus avoided a marital dispute.

We had a little while to relax before going to dinner so I made us a hot drink and we sat with the lights off (minimising the reflections in the windows, maxmising the sea view), and listened to the waves. It was windy and raining, and knowing how cold it was outside made the room feel very cosy and warm.


We dined in the Seafood Grill restaurant, which reminded us both of a restaurant we visited whilst in Paris on our honeymoon. Dinner was delicious, the menu had a variety of fresh seafood on offer. I was a little limited in what I could have as my lactose allergy prevented me from having a number of things, in the end I went for scallops to start, followed by beer battered cod and chips, I had to forgo the tartare sauce and had peas instead of mushy peas. Thankfully the waiter was very helpful and happy to help with my questions on ingredients. I didn't have a desert as the only thing I could have was the sorbet and I'm getting pretty bored of that now.


After a comfortable night's sleep, an early start to watch the sun rise over the sea, and a lovely cooked breakfast (I can highly recommend Stokes tomato ketchup to add pep to your fry-up), we wrapped up and headed out to the beach. We both anticipated a cold day but it was actually pleasantly warm. It was a welcome surprise after a few days of wind and rain.


Aldeburgh beach is a long expanse of shingle, and in early november it's delightfully free of crowds. We saw only a handful of people as we trudged from our hotel to the Maggi Hambling sculpture. We played chicken with the waves and collected a few keepsake stones.


Sadly I had to be back at my desk early afternoon so we didn't stick around for a fish 'n' chip lunch, Aldeburgh are famous for their fish 'n' chip shops, but we did have f'n'c for supper so felt we'd indulged enough. There is something so nice about eating chip shop fish and chips on the beach though right? Maybe next time...

Even though it was a flying visit, it was lovely to get away and spend some time together. We're definitely going to return, maybe by then I'll have my allergies sorted and I can go ahead and order the classic fish pie with creamed potato, garlic greens and herb crumb, followed by the traditional British cheese board with grapes, biscuits!

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10 comments

  1. Looks a beautiful place. Nothing nicer than time away.
    T x

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    1. It's very pretty indeed. And yes, time away, albeit brief, is always welcome x

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  2. Beautiful Aldeburgh! We camped last time we went to the festival but it would be nice to stay somewhere nice like this!

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    1. I'd absolutely recommend it Kezzie, it's so close to the beach you can hear the waves as you fall asleep :)

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  3. What a thoughtful birthday present, must give my husband some hints ... I've never been to Aldeburgh but it looks lovely. I love being by the seaside out of season. I'd love to fall asleep with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. xxx

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    1. It's definitely worth a visit, it has some independent lovely shops on the high street, and the fish and chips are good - not to mention the beach.

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  4. I've heard lovely things about Aldeburgh but it's somewhere I've never been. It's nice to get away for a while no matter how short a time.

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  5. Aldeburgh looks gorgeous, what a lovely place for a romantic night away. I'm glad the hotel cleared up the "again" bit though, that could have been the stuff of a massive bust up!
    I do hope you get your allergies under control, it must be so hard. xxx

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    1. It was funny, I didn't for one moment think he'd been there with anyone else, but it was fun to tease him about it.
      Only a few weeks left of my allergy treatment and by mid December I'll know if it's worked. Keep everything crossed for me!

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  6. Aldeburgh has long been on my to-visit list, and there's something really lovely about out-of-season seaside towns, so I may need to look into making a trip soon.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment x

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