Getting to Blythburgh
Blythburgh is at the head of the Blyth estuary, where the A12 crosses
it on a causeway. The arrow on the
map
of NE Suffolk points to our house, part of a former 18th century House of
Industry. A
close-up map shows the centre of the village, and in particular the church
and the pub. The NW arrow shows the entrance to our house
(#22 Blyth View), while the arrow in the village itself marks the entrance
to the church car park. This is a gateway to the SW of Church Lane,
SE of its junction with Priory Road. If you drive to the exhibition,
please park in the church car park.
By train and bus (or bicycle)
The nearest station is Halesworth, which has a reasonable if rather slow
service from Liverpool Street. For example, on any weekday there
is a train from Liverpool Street at 0938, arrives Halesworth 1157, with a
bus connection
(Anglian
service 521) from Halesworth station at 1210, getting
to Blythburgh at 1226. A 521 bus leaves Blythburgh bus shelter
at 1659, reaching Halesworth station at 1715; the 1730 train arrives back
in Liverpool Street at 1947 (two minutes earlier on Saturday).
Cyclists may wish to note that Blythburgh is about 5 miles north of Darsham
station, one stop closer to London. The 0938 gets to Darsham at
1148; the train back in the evening leaves Darsham at 1738. There
is no sensible bus connection between Darsham and Blythburgh.
The journey from Cambridge by train is maddening; although
both parts of the journey, Cambridge Ipswich and Ipswich
Halesworth, are operated by one railway, the connection in Ipswich
is seldom convenient. Probably the best bet is the 0843 from
Cambridge, arrives at Ipswich 1002; the 0938 from Liverpool Street reaches
Ipswich at 1102, and Halesworth at 1157. See above for the 521
bus connection to Blythburgh. On the return journey, the 1730
from Halesworth gets to Ipswich at 1826; the next connection to Cambridge
is at 1916, arrives 2039.
By car from London and the SE
Blythburgh is well served by reasonable roads, but in August there
can be a lot of holiday traffic, particularly at weekends. The A12
bypasses Ipswich, and it is the obvious route from London.
From Norfolk
From Norfolk the Broads form a substantial barrier; either go along the coast
through Great Yarmouth, or take the A146 from Norwich to Beccles, then the
A145 almost due South from there. There's an entertaining ferry
across the Yare at Reedham, but there can be long queues during the holiday
season.
From Cambridge and the Midlands
From the Cambridge area the easiest route is to take the A14 East
past Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds, then take a left exit along the A1120
just beyond Stowmarket (Framlingham northern bypass). The
A1120 joins the A12 at Yoxford, and it's less than ten minutes from there to
Blythburgh. Church Lane is the first turning to the left as you
enter the village proper; there's a turning to the right immediately opposite
it. The car park entrance is the first turning to the left off
Church Lane, after a blind bend to the right. There are lots of
other plausible routes, including taking the A143 from Bury St Edmunds to
Harleston, then cutting across country to Halesworth on the B1123, which
actually continues to Blythburgh. There are lots of ingenious
routes through the middle, via Eye for example, but the roads aren't
all that good, and it's easy to get lost. Going from Newmarket to
Thetford via Barton Mills is likely to be a disaster; the A11 in the Elveden
area simply isn't up to holiday traffic.
Hospitality during the weekend August 18th-19th
One or other of us should be At home at 22 Blyth View throughout
both days, but if anything unforeseen happens we may need to rally round
at the church. The safe option is to go to the church first -
you can see the building and the paintings, and get to Blyth View with a
clear conscience.