Our Easter weekend started a bit early. It was Mike’s 60th birthday on Wednesday and I surprised him by whisking him away to the Hotel Continental at Dovercourt for a few days. We love the long foreshore and the golden, almost empty beaches there. And Dovercourt is so central to some beautiful countryside.
On route I had arranged a pub lunch with some friends Mike hadn’t seen for ages, so by the time we got to our hotel it was getting a bit late. We unpacked, had a lovely meal and then took a romantic after dinner stroll, enjoying tranquility which was enhanced by the full moon glistening on the sea.
We were pleasantly surprised when the sunshine held out for the next day and decided to venture ‘across the border’ to Suffolk. We visited Jimmy’s Farm and were enthralled by the baby lambs. We didn’t take the nature trail, we thought £6 each was a bit expensive when there where lots of places we could walk without cost, but it was interesting to see all the efforts being made to develop the farm and make it educational. We were intrigued by the Eco Ice Rink, and there were lots of other facilities for children apart from the nature trail.
From there we decided to visit Alton Water, an Anglian Water Reservoir. This is literally just on the Essex / Suffolk border and well worth a visit. It boasts the largest area of inland water in Suffolk and, as well as a cafe, fishing and a water sports centre, offers an 8 mile ramble or 10 mile cross-country cycle track. The reservoir itself is teaming with wildlife, and nature enthusiasts will also be delighted with the 3 mile nature walk which includes woodland, a butterfly garden, wildflower meadow, ponds and a bird hide. As we wandered back along the nature trail, Mike and I were lucky enough to be treated to an exhilarating chorus from nightingales seemingly trying to divert us from a nest.
Time was getting on and we wanted to visit the Wrabness Nature Reserve, now managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The reserve, which includes part of the Essex Way, is mainly open grassland and scrub, with a pond, a bog and a wooded fringe. It overlooks the River Stour and used to have a bird hide which, unfortunately, has now been burnt to the ground. After yet another pleasant walk, it was time to head back to the hotel and refresh for dinner – and another stroll along the promenade.
This is a recently planted Woodland Trust area and is developing extremely nicely: long, wide stretches of pathway enable a pleasant stroll alongside young plantings of indigenous trees and a viewacross open farmland. It will be interesting to come back and watch this wood develop.
Once again, the weather had been very kind to us and we were relectant to go straight home while the sun was still shining. We stopped at The Old Ship in Heybridge Basin for a bite to eat before finally heading home. And as we set off it started to rain……………..