In November 2023, about 50 ESW members boarded a coach and travelled to Stoke-By-Nayland on the Norfolk / Suffolk boarder, where we enjoyed a four night stay in a lovely 4-star hotel. It being the end of November, the hotel was decked out in a Winter Wonderland style to help us start getting into the christmas spirit.

For each of the three days we were there we had the choice of going on a long or short walk; a day out in a local town (via coach); exploring the hotel grounds and surrounding on foot; or indulging ourselves in the spa for all or part of the day.

The walks covered the areas Long Melford; Lavenham; Dedham; and Flatford - made famous by being the location for many of John Constable’s paintings, including the Haywain. The weather was kind to us most of the time but due to rainfall for a number of weeks leading up to our stay, many routes were very muddy underfoot or even unpassable in some places, such as the fields enroute to Flatford Mill where the river had burst its banks and created a tempoary ‘lake’.

Then, if the walking didn’t wear us out too much, we had after dinner entertainment each evening including a presentation about the local area, bingo, quizzes and of course the ‘obligatory’ disco!

The mini holiday was a great success and lots of thanks and congratulations were given to Helen for organising it all.