Tried and Tested 25 Park Lane
Welcome to the latest edition of our Tried and Tested blog series, highly commended at the East of...
by Morris / Tried and Tested
Welcome to the latest edition of the Best of Suffolk Tried and Tested blog series. In this edition, Kyrah, our Guest Support Assistant, her mum and her sister enjoyed a sunny weekend in one of Suffolk’s much-loved coastal towns, Aldeburgh. Together, along with Peggy, their four-legged friend, they put Crabbe Corner, a beach chic holiday cottage to the test.
From a walk on the beach and a tour around Fisher’s Gin Distillery to dining out, a trip to an ice cream parlour, exploring the high street and more, Kyrah and her family really did make the most of their weekend in Aldeburgh and had a fabulous holiday home to retreat to at the end of each day.
Ideal for a family holiday, which includes the family dog, Crabbe Corner sleeps four across two bedrooms and boasts some fabulous views of the beach and sea.
Our #TriedandTested blog series was highly commended at the East of England Tourism Awards 2022. We put real people in real holiday homes and write about our experiences, all with the aim to help our wonderful guests find their next Suffolk holiday retreat. What you see is what you get, the photos are taken on our phones, and the blog is written openly. Find out how Kyrah and her family got on when they #TriedandTested Crabbe Corner.
Crabbe Corner is perfect for a coastal holiday with family, including your four-legged friend. Situated right on the seafront, it’s just a stone’s throw from the shingle beach and high street, making it the ideal location to explore Aldeburgh.
The house itself has been renovated and has a stunning coastal theme throughout. A split level cottage with access points to the high street and seafront, it homes a well-equipped kitchen, with a G&T station and a homely living room, which has views of the sea.
There are two well furnished bedrooms, one double bedroom with views of the sea, which can be enjoyed from the perfectly placed window seat and a twin bedroom offering plenty of space to unpack. With an ensuite and family bathroom, there’s enough space for everyone to get ready in the mornings.
Outside you’ll find an oasis of calm in the courtyard style garden. Views of the sea can be enjoyed from the garden and also the end of terrace maisonette.
Aldeburgh is a coastal town on the Suffolk coast, popular with locals and holidaymakers, and it’s easy to see why.
Steeped in history and character, Aldeburgh was once the home of composer Benjamin Britten and has plenty of historic buildings, including the 400 year old Moot Hall.
When visiting Aldeburgh, you’ll find a beautiful shingled beach, with 19th Century Villas lining the promenade and fishing huts where you can purchase produce directly from the fishermen. This, coupled with a bustling high street of independent and high street shops, an abundance of cafes, restaurants and pubs, antique stores and galleries, means there is something for everyone.
If you enjoy walking, why not take a walk along the beach to the nearby village of Thorpeness, or head out for a walk across marshlands following the River Alde.
With an independent cinema, yacht club, golf club, boating pond, tennis courts and more Aldeburgh really is a fantastic destination for a coastal getaway.
As soon as we caught sight of Crabbe Corner we were blown away by its amazing location, perfectly situated on the high street and sea front. Once we’d unloaded our bags from the car, we set about exploring the cottage, and were impressed with how perfectly furnished it was. From the open plan kitchen / diner to the comfy bedrooms and lovely courtyard garden (which one member of the family certainly took a shine to), we couldn’t wait to spend the weekend here.
The welcome pack was the perfect welcome to our holiday, and after tucking into the delicious wine and biscuits, it was the perfect way to get our holiday started, as we set about planning what we were going to do.
As the weather was so nice, we decided to head down to one of the many local pubs for a refreshing drink in the evening sun. We visited The Hart, a classic English pub close to both the beach and famous fish and chip shop. We spent a couple of hours in the beer garden, unwinding from our week, and enjoying a good catch up with old friends. Afterwards, we headed to the fish and chip shop next door for a fish and chip supper, after all, it was right next door.
After a delicious dinner, we walked back to the cottage, whilst taking in the lovely sunset. We retreated to the garden for a cup of tea before jumping into the comfy beds ready for a well needed night’s sleep. The high quality bedding and mattresses meant we had the best night’s sleep we’d had in a long time.
Feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead, we enjoyed breakfast in the cottage before heading out for a walk along the seafront. We stopped at the boating pond on our way back and Peggy loved meeting some new four-legged friends, who were also on their holidays. Afterwards we headed back to Crabbe Corner to enjoy some chilled time ahead of our very exciting afternoon visiting a local distillery.
Crabbe Corner really is a great cottage to relax and unwind in. You could spend hours staring out of the window at the sea, or people watching as they pass by. For me, it was a good book, sat on the window seat in the double bedroom, the perfect spot to catch up on some reading. Before long it was the afternoon (time really does fly when you’re on holiday), and time to get ready for our tour.
After seeing some amazing reviews online, and also being recommended by friends, we decided to book in for a Fisher’s Gin Tour, and it really didn’t disappoint, we had the most perfect afternoon. The videos which were shown to us of the rivers from Aldeburgh to Iken were really interesting. We got to make our own tea from the botanicals used to produce the gin and had a delicious fish platter.
We got to try copious amounts of gin and gin cocktails, so if you’re not staying locally, I’d recommend using one of the local taxi firms to take you back to your holiday cottage. The day was so much fun, and educational too. The knowledge of the staff was incredible and they were all so lovely. We’d highly recommend a visit if you’re in Aldeburgh.
After such a fun afternoon it was time for dinner. When planning our time in Aldeburgh we knew we had to visit the Regatta, so we made sure to book in advance to avoid missing out. We had seen some amazing reviews, so we were all really excited to be dining with them.
When we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted by the friendly staff, who showed us to our table and made sure we were truly looked after.
Not only was the service amazing, so was the food. Mum and I both had a starter and were nearly full before we even had time to think about the main. Freya on the other hand had the right idea about going straight to her main course, perhaps saving room for a dessert, for which she chose a delicious raspberry macaroon.
With very full bellies we headed back to Crabbe Corner and enjoyed a film on the Smart TV. The living room is the perfect place to spend family time together, pure comfort and happiness. After the film it was time to retreat to our very comfy beds.
After another great night’s sleep, we decided to head out to Delphine’s Diner for breakfast and make the most of the sunny day which was on offer. Just a short walk from our cottage, we made sure we got there early to get a table as we’d heard how popular this quirky 50’s diner is. Our first impressions as we walked through the door, amazing! We loved the unique appearance. And as for the food? Another WOW factor for sure!
After breakfast, we spent a few hours wandering around town and doing plenty of shopping. On our journey we stumbled across an amazing ice cream parlour, called The Parlour, you’ll find it at the back of the flower shop. You choose your flavour of ice cream, and a topping which gets smashed into your ice cream on a metal pan. Ice cream with a twist! We were really pleased to have found this treasure and will certainly be returning here in the near future.
After spending the afternoon exploring Aldeburgh, we headed back to Crabbe Corner for an afternoon nap (who doesn’t love a holiday nap) and some dinner.
We decided to end the day by watching the sunset down on the beach, it was so beautiful. The sound of the waves crashing along the shore, the birds chirping, and, of course, the stunning sunset made it the perfect end to the perfect day.
We packed up all our things ready for our 10am departure and started to reminisce on our stay and how much we had enjoyed ourselves. What we loved most about Crabbe Corner was its location and comfort. We had so much to do around us, the possibilities were endless. And as for the property, it was the perfect place to spend some precious time together in the comfort that felt like home. The kitchen especially shone through to us from the moment we arrived and to say it was fully equipped would be an understatement. It had all we needed and more. We were so impressed with the quality of the linen, the towels were fluffy and the bed sheets were so comfy. We were provided with some really lovely smelling toiletries, another lovely touch to the cottage.
Thorpeness is so close to Aldeburgh, that if we had more time we certainly would have taken a walk there and spent the day making the most of what the fairy-tale village has to offer. From boating on the Meare to mini golf. We’ll certainly be taking advantage of this next time.
Aldeburgh has such a great range of pubs, restaurants and cafes. With such a range to choose from, we’d love to explore and dine out more next time.
A quick look through the visitor book during our stay soon showed us we aren’t the only ones who fell in love with Crabbe Corner.
Crabbe Corner is definitely the place to stay for a family with a four-legged friend, our Peggy loved the garden.
So much to explore and the best place to relax in the sun. She had the best time in Aldeburgh and made lots of furry friends on walks. We can’t wait to return in the future and make more wonderful memories in this truly beautiful town.
by Morris / Tried and Tested
Hi! I'm Morris, the Best of Suffolk seagull representing stylish places to stay in Suffolk....
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