Wayland Men's Shed

The May Outing - Southwold, Suffolk 2nd June
The original plan for Southwold was for the May outing – but it slipped into June. Grateful thanks to Mr Grahame Andrews – who arranged and led the outing. There were three cars, Al Middleton, John Ford, and Steve Franz kindly drove.
We left Watton around 08:15 (in the rain) and most chose the country route to Southwold – a very picturesque journey and much more pleasant than dual carriageway. We had agreed to meet at the café within the rear of the Adnams Shop (IP18 6GB) at around 10:00 (still raining). An excellent recommendation by our very own past local Mr John Parling. Great choice, great staff, and lovely environment. Highly recommended.
After suitable refreshments, and as the rain had stopped, we left the café and naturally dispersed into smaller groups so as to wander round the town to find our own unique photograph opportunities.
Southwold was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a fishing port, and after the "capricious River Blyth withdrew from Dunwich in 1328, bringing trade to Southwold in the 15th century", it received its town charter from Henry VII in 1489. Over following centuries, however, a shingle bar built up across the harbour mouth, preventing the town from becoming a major Early Modern port For modern day Southwold, I would say you could divide the town into three parts – The Sea (long promenade and Pier), The Streets (including a working lighthouse and numerous museums) and the Harbour. Each has its own charm and reflects the affluence the town holds. 
The original Pier was built in 1900. At 247 metres (810 ft) it was long enough to accommodate the Belle steamers that carried trippers along the coast at that time. The pier was entirely rebuilt and restored in 2001 and is now about 190 metres (620 ft) long. Southwold Lighthouse was commissioned in 1890 and automated and electrified in 1938. It stands as a prominent landmark in the centre of the town and is a Grade II listed building. It is 31 metres (102 ft) metres tall, standing 37 metres (121 ft) metres above sea level. 
The Harbour extends nearly a mile upstream from the river mouth and is mainly used by fishing boats, yachts and small pleasure boats. At the seaward end of the harbour is Southwold Lifeboat Station. The 
former Cromer lifeboat shed houses the Alfred Corry Museum, which features the Southwold lifeboat "Alfred Corry", which was in service from 1893 to 1918. 
For us Photographers – a goldmine of picture taking opportunities, so much choice of varying subjects to capture. 
Lunch was booked for 13:30, however in the meantime some of us sort shelter in the Soul Bay Pub, as the rain had returned. At 13:30 we all met in Southwold Fish & Chip Shop where you can dine in and where we received great service. 
Upon returning home, I opened the ‘Best Photograph of the day competition’ to all Shutterists that made this trip. An invitation was sent out to the group to submit their images to me which would subsequently be forwarded to a suitable judge. Mr John Chocqueel-Mangan accepted my invitation to be our judge as sadly John had to miss the trip, so it was good to get him involved. The group submitted a total of 8x images, so I requested a judgement of top 3, awarding Gold, Silver & Bronze.