walking through woodbridge

On an extra sunny day, we drove south to Woodbridge, on the banks of the River Deben. There's a lovely walk along the river:

The town is famous for its restored tide mill, which is one of the oldest in the country. A mill was first recorded on the site in 1170, and the current building dates from 1793:

Moored near the tide mill was this Cath Kidston-style houseboat. How fab to sit on the deck (after taking the laundry in) to watch the sun glinting on the water and the boats sailing by:

We also discovered some wonderful shops. Julie Phipps on Church Street specializes in contemporary crafts and vintage housewares. There are several excellent bookshops on the Thoroughfare, including a children's bookshop, as well as RE + new, a showcase for local artists and handcrafted and midcentury modern furniture.

We fell in love with this bent ash chair by Dan Hussey:

He makes his chairs by steam bending green ash sourced from carefully managed, coppiced Suffolk woodlands. Each chair takes about a month to make, and it shows. Simply beautiful.