Sandringham is the private Norfolk home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Unlike the monarch’s other properties, such as Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, which are owned by the Crown Estate, Sandringham is one of two residences that the Queen…
Blickling
Blickling is an extensive estate and stately home in Norfolk, with walks, gardens and a splendid house to enjoy wandering around. People will tell you that it was Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, but don’t believe a word of it. Anne…
St Benet-at-Holm
David and Marilyn had just been touring Norfolk and told us about St Benet’s. “It’s exactly the sort of place to be featured on ABAB,” Marilyn enthused. I had never heard of it; so of course, whilst making a progress…
Boys toys? A visit to Duxford
Having been weaned on tales of Douglas Bader, Stamford Tuck and Guy Gibson, I get quite excited visiting places like Duxford. IWM Duxford is home to most of the Imperial War Museum’s collection of rather large exhibits – mainly aircraft. …
A short visit to Southwold
It is said that Britain’s seaside towns are looking tired: unfortunately, in many cases, that’s true. But there doesn’t seem to be too much wrong with Suffolk’s Southwold. So we’re just going to show you a few photographs of this…
Kings and carols
Every Christmas Eve, millions of people all round the world tune in to their TVs or radios to listen to carols from King’s – or ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ – from King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. The broadcasts are an essential…
The Cambridge American Cemetery
Something like 3 million US citizens passed through the United Kingdom during the Second World War. The Cambridge American Cemetery commemorates almost 9,000 Americans who died while based here, or en route, in those years of conflict. They died at…
What really happened at Orford Ness?
Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit on the Suffolk coast, is one of the most extraordinary places in Britain. Its environment, part natural, part man-made, provides a perfect, and in places rare, habitat for an enormous variety of flora…
From a house in the clouds to a fort
We are in the east of England, on the Suffolk coast. The town of Aldeburgh was once a thriving Tudor port; that’s where we’ll find the fort. And Thorpeness, well – Thorpeness was purpose-built in the 20th century – and…
Tracking down Britain’s secret SOE
The tiny village of Arisaig, nestling on an inlet along the beautiful Morar peninsula, has a wonderful little museum. The Land, Sea and Islands Visitor Centre tells visitors all about the local flora and fauna in this relatively remote part…
Orford Castle – and a merman
There’s not much left of Orford Castle, except for its keep – but that’s absolutely spiffing. At the cutting edge of medieval castle design in its day, the keep has managed to survive for 800 years, still dominates the surrounding…
Stories behind Sutton Hoo
Above is a representation of the warrior’s helmet from Sutton Hoo. That helmet has a challenging appearance. Fearsome, haunting and spine-tingling, it demands that you imagine the man who may have worn it, and picture what he and his world…
The Scallop
The Scallop sits on the beach at Aldeburgh, in Suffolk. It is a 13 foot-ish (4 metre) high monument, by local-born artist Maggi Hambling, to the late Benjamin Britten, composer and past Aldeburgh resident, who used to take his afternoon…
A bit about Constable Country
ABAB’s regular reader (thank you – the cheque’s in the post) will know that my knowledge of art could be sketched on the back of very small postage stamp. Nevertheless, in the endless pursuit of intriguing stories and occasionally stimulating…