3rd MAY – 9th MAY

On the Monday I took Sharon to see Hadleigh Castle as, like me, she hadn’t,t visited there before. It was sunny but chilly with a strong breeze, but you’d expect that being perched on top of a hill with no shelter from any winds blowing up the estuary. We had a lovely hour or so exploring the ruins and watching our boys enjoy surrounding area, and Sharon took a ton load of photos too. We even spotted a kestrel circling over the bigger remaining tower before ducking into a hole at the very top where we could just see it in the entrance way. Prior to that we had seen 2 kestrels flying close to each other nearby so I reckon it could be a breeding pair and there may be a nest in that hole.

Today, the 4th, we made a trip to one of our favourite places to visit Walton on the Naze. The reason we trip up there is because of the huge sandy beach which runs a couple of miles from the pier towards Frinton. You have to pick your times to visit though as the sand is covered by the tide most of its length so best go there at low water. We had a lovely walk from one end to the other and then had a nice coffee at a beach side cafe. The boys, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed themselves running along the sand, jumping the breakwaters and swimming. Its definitely worth visit sometime, well definitely be back up there soon.

On the way back home we often stop off somewhere along the way to have a little explore and this time we popped into Wivenhoe. Wivenhoe is a small town on the banks of the River Colne with a gorgeous quayside you can walk along admiring the old houses as well as the newer built ones. Theres a few pubs along the quayside which when open will serve food so worth visit. The riverside is the place we walked along and we were fortunate there wasn’t many people around as we walked from one end to the other before heading back through the town to the van, just in time to miss some heavy rainfall.

I made some ‘Cowboy Candy’, candied Jalapeños, this week for the first time also and it turned out great. I want to tweak the recipe slightly but I’ll post up the recipe here when I do.

On the 9th I was out early doors taking the pooches for a walk at Cherry Orchard Jubilee Park, which is local to me. Its a cracking walk as there is always something to see here and the boys love the space to roam. I enjoyed a nice latte whilst admiring the view, found some Bluebells, took pictures of some beautiful Apple Blossom, admired the pointy ‘fronds’ of an Osier Willow and basically absorbed the peace and tranquility off the surrounding countryside.

Thats all for this weeks diary piece, more to come next week……….