Best bits: tea and lemon drizzle cake, finally seeing the sea.
Worst bits: poor Viv developed a sore ankle, Emma’s Mum was unwell
Distance: 22.1 miles
The sun was shining this morning when I woke up and it promised to be a nice day. After a quick car shuffle by Viv and Kathy, we were off again.
The first part of today was road walking with a brief interlude through a woodland area before we were back on the road. There wasn’t much scenery of note apart from the occasional lovely thatched cottage.
A group of deer were grazing in the fields, they stayed still for a while watching us and then decided to run off across the fields and disappeared pretty quickly.
Later on there was a rather large herd of alpacas or llamas in the distance. They too were just looking at what we were up to.
Then we were back on the sea wall looking at similar scenery of boats and avoiding nettles. We could see Aldeburgh in the distance, but we had to walk up the side of the estuary first.
For a short time, I was walking in front of Viv and Frank. We went through a small gate and across a wooden boardwalk. All at once I heard a tremendous clatter and a thud. I turned round to see Viv lying on the boardwalk with the contents of her rucksack pockets in the undergrowth. Fortunately, she hadn’t hurt herself.
The scenery was much of a muchness and it was difficult to get some good photographs today. This shows Viv in the distance and gives you a sense of the vast nature of the marshlands. 
After around three hours, we arrived in Snape Maltings where we were glad of a toilet stop followed by a visit to the café for tea sandwich and cake.
Emma was supposed to join us here, but unfortunately she had to take her mum to A&E. The next leg of our journey was on the Sailor’s path which was mainly through beautiful woodland paths. The signposts were beautifully marked with a ship. 
It wasn’t long before we saw Barney and Tich followed by Kathy and her friend.
We walked with them for a couple of miles before leaving them to go home and give Frank a lift too. Viv and I continued on into Aldeburgh.
I received a lovely video message from the Marie curie team in Scotland. It made me laugh as it looked like they were having such fun making it.
Once at Aldeburgh, we went in search of somewhere for a cup of tea and a rest.
Finally, after what seems like weeks of walking around estuaries we were back at the sea. I was so excited to see the vast expanse of the horizon and the sound of the sea with the waves crashing on the shore.
We took pictures with the iconic giant shells on the beach.
We walked along the vegetated shingle beach, through Thorpeness with its lovely houses, the house in the sky, the Thorpeness country club and some flats painted in some rather bright colour choices before arriving at Sizewell. The nuclear power station was hidden from view today but we will be walking past it tomorrow.
It was only a short trip back to Kathy’s. Poor Viv had to ice her ankle and take painkillers before having a soak in the bath. I’m not sure she’s going to make tomorrow’s walk.
I had a shower followed by doing a load of washing. Viv made a rather tasty lasagna for supper and then it was an early night.
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