Voyages of Gabriel: Outings from Aylesbury November and December

The first thing we did when we arrived in Aylesbury in October was to go to Suffolk to spend some time with Maggie and Clive and collect our car which had been parked there under covers for 7 months.

We decided to take the train this time, and it involved several changes. As was Sunday, the local buses were not running so we took a taxi to the station, then a train to Marylebone, two tube trains to Liverpool Street, then two trains to Saxmundham, changing at Ipswich. We have a lovely ride through the Chilterns with the autumn colours at their best. Very exciting for us boaties. Maggie and Clive met us at the station, and we stayed two nights with them.

Children on a train journey

The next day the car started first time, and we had a pleasant pub lunch at a country hostelry and a bit of sightseeing, including seeing Framlingham Castle from a viewpoint on a road we have never been down before.

Clive, Maggie, Hazel

Framlingham Castle

In the evening we went to see the starling murmuration at Minsmere. Hazel and Clive decided not to bother at it was forecast foggy, but Maggie at James went birdwatching in the gloom. Trying to see starlings in the fog was a challenge, and sometimes we could hear them just out of sight in the murky half-light. At one point they all landed just in front of us and we could hear their excited twittering in the reeds. I am pleased to say there were a few other people out doing the same thing, so we are not completely isolated with our eccentric ideas. The evening was far more memorable than watching telly.

Minsmere fog

Starling murmuration

A few days later, our good friends Nick and Jan were over from Australia, and we met up at Basildon Park, along with Sue, whom we haven’t seen for decades. It was great to catch up. We looked round the house, and explored the grounds, where we found an intriguing “Hazel Hideout”. We also found a poem which is useful for anyone with a log burning fire.