Went the day well?
Well, we think it did! But you can be the judges!
Our morning started off in the piddling rain at Wickham Market train station ( which is actually in Campsea Ash, just to confuse things) and once assembled and layered up with various waterproof garments we set off towards Campsea Ash hostel, our first stop! We had decided to wear a variety of WLA kit in order to portray the many different types of occasions that East Suffolk gals took to their bikes wearing during their working days and in their leisure times.
The owners who were not at home had very kindly given us permission for free range around the house perimeter and garden which was really beautiful! There were remnants of the period house remaining from the photos we have in the project and we had a good natter about some of the memories of gals that have been shared in our projects with our 2 visitor soil sisters who joined us for our peddle down memory lanes - Carrie from Northumberland and Beck's from Devon.
Then onto Marlesford for the first pit stop for late elevenses, so it seemed rude not to prevail them of their humungous and delicious cheese scones!
Once refuelled and dried out we took to the lanes and headed for Hatcheston. Now these twisty lanes caused us to encounter complete road flooding so it was a new experience to go single file in the middle of some very muddy deep puddles!
We encountered a few vehicles and onlookers on the way, many who stopped to wave and call out cheery greetings! I was stopped by a chap ( well I say stopped, actually I already had as it was rather a long incline) and he told me how unexpected and splendid it was to see Land Girls and it my made his day! ( I gave him a fundraiser info card in the hope he might make our day too!)
Next stop Blomvyle Hall which was the first WLA Hostel opened in Suffolk in February 1942. Again sadly the owner of this beautiful house were not at home, but they have made a super donation to the memorial trust and gave us permission to have a good look around!
It was lovely to see that much of the property retains its original barns and outhouses that would have been used by the resident land girls who along with the allotment garden maintained it as a small farmstead to aid their accommodation there. The iron gates at the farmyard entrance are a beautiful nod to the service history there....well spotted Carrie!
Finally on to Easton and our journey end at the Easton White Horse for a late lunch and a chance to reflect on our small but significant journey back in time.
Did anyone fall off? Of course they did!
The excitement of reaching the destination safely and all together was just too much for my rusty bike riding skills and a too sharp pull on the breaks when stopping saw me falling off sideways onto the grass verge, in full view of pub goers and passers by... No injuries sustained and I owe this all to the gel pad long John's I was sporting under the dungarees!
Huge thanks to everyone who participated and supported this activity! Special thanks to Sue for all the advance planning and permissions logistics. We collected some donations, met new people who were fascinated by what we were doing and we had such a laugh!
Here's to the next time we ride the Suffolk Lanes
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