The evening of June 15th was warm and balmy – a perfect summer’s evening, in fact, when around 20 adventure-seeking ladies boarded the coach for our Mystery Tour. At least the name of the coach company inspired confidence – “Boomerang Tours” – so we knew we would eventually arrive back where we started!
Anyway, both David, our driver and Alex, our guide seemed to know exactly where we were going so that was OK! We were on a wildlife and history coach tour and Alex called out questions along the way to see if we could guess the names of villages, plants, birds or animals that we might encounter en-route.
We were on a tour of the Deben villages and the countryside seen from the coach was a picture in greens and golds, splashed here and there with scarlet from wayside poppies!
Our first stop was picturesque Ramsholt Church with its round tower overlooking a peaceful bend on the River Deben. The churchyard was full of wild flowers and the church was cool and quiet inside. After looking round and drinking in the beautiful views under a bright blue summer sky we reluctantly moved on a short distance in the coach and came to The Ramsholt Arms. This pub has an idyllic location below the church on the sandy shores of the river, and on summer evenings there’s nowhere better to sit with a glass of something gazing at the sparkles on the water, or peering up and down the river to catch glimpses of herons or cormorants, or perhaps a barn owl swooping over fields on the opposite bank.
We stopped here for a drink and to sample the two home-made cakes baked the previous night by our guide Alex, and I can vouch for the fact that they were both delicious!
Back in the coach and down a few more narrow lanes to Bawdsey, at the mouth of the river, opposite Felixstowe Ferry, where the ferryman in his rowing boat plies his trade. We were too late to see it in operation, of course, but just in time to see the beginnings of a glorious sunset! After a short wander we boarded the coach again for a leisurely ride home.
En route we listened to more interesting facts from Alex about what we were passing – from details of the wildlife, trees and plants to historical facts and information about people and places connected with the area, from Saxon Ship Burials to Alien Encounters! We rolled into Capel just as it was getting dark – about 10.15 pm. after a delightful evening!
Capel Ladies Club 