Framlingham Castle and Dunwich

Lottie outside Framlingham Castle

Remains of the 13th tower

“The last major visit on my list is Framlingham.” Van-Man said over breakfast. Before we set off he did two Motor Home tasks filling with fresh water and emptying the grey water. After that we headed for Framlingham Castle which we found easily. We managed to park in a longer space in the small car park.

thick castle walls with decorative chimneys

Inside the castle walls

Lottie by the poorhouse

Before entering the castle we walked Lottie off her lead around the outside of the castle. The whole of the outer wall is still standing, along with 12 of the 13 towers. It was an impressive sight with strange chimneys up on the battlements.

Some of the outbuildings are missing but we entered the castle with great curiosity. All of the original interior buildings had gone but the walkway round the top of the wall was complete and begging to be explored.

chimneys on the fortified wall

looking down from the castle walls

one of the 3 chimneys connected to a fireplace

vast interior

The building occupying the position of the great hall was part of the poor house which the castle owner had built as he felt they needed supporting. Now it is the English Heritage shop and cafe. Compared to other poor houses the residents were well treated and not overworked. One resident entered the poorhouse pregnant had her child there and remained for the rest of her life. The baby daughter however left the poor house, married and had five children. Lottie took us round the ramparts with enthusiasm and then took us round the rest of the castle at a speedy pace. At one place we could see how a building built before the walls were thickened and reinforced had been incorporated into the outer wall. The curious chimneys had been added by the owner to persuade King John that it was a private residence not a fortification. That must have been tricky to pull off when the walls are two metres thick in places and only three chimneys were connected with a fire place.

Lottie allowed us to drink hot beverages while she lat patiently then demanded to move on.

After a last look around we headed to Sally for our lunch. While eating several cars came in and tried to park without success as the car park was full. One car parked on the end of the middle row then had to move as a Beemer couldn’t get past.

Having eaten we surrendered our parking slot and drove to Dunwich which boasted of heath land beach and marshes.

“What is that?” I asked on the way out of Framlingham. A tall man was pedalling a Penny Farthing along the road, towering above an old fashioned bone shaker.

“I don’t know how they ride those,” I said.

“I don’t know who though them up,” Van-Man replied. “It’s a crazy design.”

On the road to Dunwich Van-Man stopped at a big car park at Westleton Heath.

“Let’s walk Lottie here in case Dunwich is a bust,” Van-Man said. The whole area was a mix of trees and heath with gorse in flower on sandy soil.

marshland flowers

Lottie on the salt marsh

As we walked we found ourselves warhwed by big signs stating DANGER ARCHERY AREA. While we skirted the huge area I felt I was about to be attacked by Robin Hood and his Merry men, but they didn’t materialise. I guess they were still in Nottingham. Once clear of the archery we passed Exmoor ponies grazing also a long way from home. A sign proclaimed they helped keep the balance of trees to grassland. An electric fence prevented them straying over to the archery shooting range.

Sally in the car park

After a 40 minute walk we resumed the drive to Dunwich. The road narrowed as it approached the village but it was just wide enough for Sally. We followed the signs to the car park which turned out to be huge, free and right behind the sea defences. It was on the same level as the marshes and was possibly below sea level.

looking towards Sizewell

Having parked we stepped out to look around our Lurcher leading the way as if we hadn’t walked her. There must have been good sniffing there.

The beach was shingle and the sea defence a massive shingle dyke so we walked between the dike and the marsh. Of course Lottie had a dip in one of the marshy pools but emerged mud free. When we climbed the dyke to look at the sea with our reluctant hound trailing behind we found a slim sand path between the piles of shingle.

Lottie perked up and consented to walk along the sand.

When we turned around we could see Sizewell power station in the distance. However the area was picturesque and peaceful. Lottie charged around once we crossed the shingle and reached the marshy area

When we found an information board back at the car park it told us the original village had been swallowed up by the sea in the 11^th century leaving the small part we have today. We spent over an hour there drinking in the scenery.

I still miss our boat

We returned to the campsite after 4.00 but Lottie waited patiently on the grass while Van-Man hooked up the electricity and I put the seating down. We always travel with it up or a loopy Lurcher would jump up on the sofas and scrabble at them while we were driving along. After eating every scrap of her dinner Lottie came into the Motor home and slept. That was one exhausted Lurcher.