^{Star Rating}

Details Sleeps: 5 Changeover: Monday, Friday & Sunday Rooms: 1 double, 1 Twin , 1 Interlinking Single (3'x6'3") Length of stays: 2,3,4,5 or 7 nights Price: from £315 to £481 for 2 nights break Children allowed:3 Babies allowed: One, sleeping in travel cot Dogs Welcome: 1 Large / 2 Medium Dogs, Dog charges apply   Please Note:  Steep steps

Checklist

	Open Christmas / New Year		Central heating		Television		Telephone
	Courtyard and Open gardens		Barbeque		DVD player		Cooker and hob
	Off road parking		1 bathroom		CD player		Washing machine
	Secure storage for bikes		Bath with shower attachment		Bed linen provided		Clothes dryer
	Bikes provided		Microwave		Towels provided		Clothes airer / washing line
	Ground floor bedroom		Fridge		Breakfast basket provided		Dishwasher
	Ground floor bathrooom		Freezer / compartment		Basics of tea, coffee, sugar provided
	Wood Burning Stove		Iron and Board		Internet Access		Off Road Parking

Situated on the main road between the A12 & the pretty coastal town of Aldeburgh, it is close to Snape and The Snape Maltings where the Benjamin Britten Music and Arts Centre is based.
 

Laundry Cottage (used for a time as the laundry for the main house in the 19th Century, hence the name) forms part of a group of appealing period buildings which benefit from access to a nature reserve from the rear of the property. It is the earliest dwelling on the site dating back to the 17th Century when it adjoined the windmill known as Plomesgate Mill which was in existence until about 1760. There is no trace of the windmill now but the cottage that housed the miller remains and now invites you to take a step back in time.


The cottage has its own small courtyard area and private garden which is screened by mature mixed hedging and is covered in rambling roses in Summer.

You enter the cottage through the kitchen, a light and airy room with leaded windows to three aspects. It still retains a fireplace with a working Victorian range and brick floor which together with the beamed ceiling make this a perfect place to settle back by the glow of the coals in the evening after a leisurely meal and allow yourself to be transported back to years gone by. The kitchen also has a modern electric Bosch double oven and electric hob, dishwasher, fridge and microwave - and someone else blacks the range for you !


Leading from the kitchen is a spacious sitting room with a heavily beamed ceiling, original Suffolk White brick  floors and a wonderful large, red brick fireplace with a woodburner which is set in a wood panelled wall. There are two large, comfortable sofas, subtle lighting and a selection of old prints and china which add to the relaxing and cosy atmosphere of this room.


The old door leads from the kitchen up the narrow and quite steep staircase which takes you into the master bedroom with its fabulous oak four poster bed. The period oak furniture is complimented by some stunning textiles which make this a wonderfully romantic room.

From the master bedroom you enter a wide inter-connecting corridor which gives access to the twin bedded room. Two full sized single beds, boarded floor with rugs and the chimney breast are features of this room. This room is furnished with antique pine.


In the corridor is a very special and wonderful Breton bed (3'x6'3"). These beds are like cupboards that are built into the wall and this one has the most amazing, ancient carved sliding doors and within is a full sized single bed -  you can take your book and a glass of wine, close the doors and be in a world of your own! Mark is over 6'3" and after trying this bed is now desperate to get one for himself.


The bathroom has a double ended Victorian style roll top bath on ball and claw feet with shower mixer taps, wash hand basin and wc.


There is part oil central heating which works when our own heating is on in our house, woodburner and oil filled radiators.


The restoration and authentic furnishing of this cottage is wonderfully atmospheric and the attention to detail and presentation that Martin and Beverley give it, thoroughly warrant its 5 Star rating by us.

To stay in this cottage is an experience not to be missed !

 

There are wonderful walks straight from Laundry as it has direct access to a beautiful Nature Reserve.

There are maps provided so you can explore the reserve and link up to the national coastal nature reserves and lakes areas.

The seaside at Aldeburgh is a 7 min drive away and there are unique walks from there along the Orford Ness Nature Reserve or beside the salt lakes to Thorpeness. Aldeburgh is a big Arts Centre with many excellent shops and restaurants and a pretty marina / harbour.

Well behaved pets are always welcomed and a charge is made for them - please bring suitable bedding and towels.

All prices include vat, towels, soap, linen, heating, a generous ‘Proper English Breakfast’ welcome basket , a bucket of coal and packet of firelighter.

The cottage is a complete little home and facilities include heating, TV, DVD/Video players, CD player and CD’s, DVD’s tapes, books, games and a fully equipped kitchen including a microwave. Cots and high chairs are available on request.

This is a special cottage situated in a very interesting coastal area ideal for guests who like to enjoy the countryside.

Please contact me with any further questions or booking enquiries.

           

While you are staying with us why not have a special                 Graeme Cavey is a local naturlist who would be very
treat and go Sailing for the day.                                                        happy to include you on his nature walks.
Click for days out sailing                                                                    Click for Guided Nature Walks

The beautiful Rendlesham and Tunstall Forests are right on your doorstep offering wonderful walks and bikes rides.
 
It is only 30 meters into The Nature Reserve from the garden gate.


Snape, with the famous Snape Maltings Art & Crafts Centre is just a couple of minutes drive away.
 

Snape Maltings is the wonderful Benjamin Briton Arts and Music Centre and has wonderful Concerts and has plenty to see and browse through for visitors. The Maltings are a mile or 2 from Cissy's and 3 miles or so from Aldeburgh on the other side of the Mere.

And it takes just 6 minutes to get to Aldeburgh, which is recognised as the nicest seaside town in England: being totally devoid of deckchairs, candy floss, amusement arcades and flashing lights but being crammed with fabulous restaurants, really great pubs, lovely old fashioned shops quaint architecture a vibrant Arts scene and some great local fishing boats which will sell you a freshly caught lobster or sea bass from their beach huts. 

... and check out ' My Sailing Trip ' which has a lot of photos of Orford, and Aldeburgh, naturally including many pubs and restaurants !

 

   

 
Aldeburgh salt marshes                                                         


Aldeburgh is perched on the edge of the shingle beach which tapers away into a massive spit which is a renouwn bird sanctury, you can get a boat accross at Orford with organised tractor trips around this fascinating area which for so long was 'Off Limits' being top secret test site for the MOD area.

Aldeburgh is one of the seaside treasures of England, so far removed from the candy floss and dismal amusement arcades you wonder why they were ever invented. Instead a lovely old fashioned high street backs onto the beach with real shops, not cloned ones, and real pubs and great restaurants. Fishermen pull their little boats up onto the beach and sell local fish and lobsters straight from their beach huts. There is a big marina which the Alde mere as its home.

A massive nature reserve stretches of miles down the split for land from Aldeburgh called Orford Ness, Right at the end are the mysterious MOD Pagodas, where much secret work was carried out in the 40's and 50's, these can sometimes be visited when they are used for big art installations and exhibitions, getting there by ferry and tractor from Orford is quite an experience in itself.

Orford of course not only has its very interesting Castle but is also home to The Butley Oysterage, one of the quaintest fish restaurants in England, you can cod and chips a slice of buttered bread and a cup of tea or a bottle of Dom Perignon and a dozen oysters ! They have their own oyster beds and have a great shop at the back where you can buy all kinds of fresh and smoked fish. There also a couple of famous gastro pubs in Orford .

Orford is also the ferry access point to the end of Orford Ness and you can check with the National Trust when they are running their Tractor tours of the Nature Reserve which is only accessible from here by ferry from the tiny picturesque harbour.

Check out the National Trust websites : National Trust - Orford Ness  and  Orford Ness - Access info

This is a beautiful area and it will amaze you with it's rural untouched qualities.

For more information, please visit: www.grove-cottages.com where I have an extensive insiders guide to South Suffolk and check out ' My Sailing Trip ' which has a lot of photos of Orford, and Aldeburgh, naturally including many pubs and restaurants !

 

  Below is a recent article about the Suffolk Coast

Joanna Symons, Telegraph Travel Newspaper January 2nd 2010.

'Popular though the Lake District and West Country are as tourist destinations, they can be rather damp. If you want to reduce the risk of a rainy holiday, statistics show that you should head east.

Suffolk for instance, had only about a third as much rainfall as the Lake District last summer. It also happens to have one of the loveliest stretches of coastline in Britain.

Like all the best bits of British seaside, the 20-odd miles between the towns of Southwold and Orford are something of a time-warp. You will find miles of heathland and forest, salt marshes, natural beaches, wild shingle spits and quiet river estuaries.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the coast and surrounds becoming an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and celebrations will include the opening of new walking and cycling trails.

Among my favourite places here is the beach at Walberswick, backed by ranks of dunes and saltwater channels that are perfect for crabbing.

For walks head to the national Trust-owned coast at Dunwich, the nature trails at RSPB Minsmere reserve or the Alde estuary between Snape and Iken. Queue for sublime fish and chips in Aldeburgh, and eat them by Maggi Hambling’s shell sculpture on the beach.

Take in a concert at Benjamin Britten’s Snape Maltings nearby, or time your visit for one of the local festivals (Aldeburgh in June or Southwold’s Latitude in July and Ways with Words in November).

Potter among the reed channels and islands of the magical boating lake at Thorpeness or sink a glass of the local Adnams beer at one of the proper, old-fashioned pubs that still flourish in Suffolk. Climb the keep at Orford Castle andstop off at Blythburgh church, the Cathedral of the Marshes, where light streams in through high windows from the vast East Anglian skies.'


The Met office regional statistics per annum.

                        The Lake District             Suffolk

Rain fall         2300 - 3900mm          600 - 660 mm