Weekend in Chelmsford

Last weekend Bradley and I, plus our friend Di, spent two nights visiting our friends Si and Vicki, and their super cute daughter Aaliyah in Chelmsford, Essex.

We went up by train on Friday evening. Chelmsford is located just outside London, and lots of people who live there commute into London everyday. I could easily imagine myself living in the countryside, while still being close enough to London to get there easily, but the expense and travel time puts me off slightly!

We woke up on Saturday morning to a delicious breakfast of pastries and coffee, and then headed off to Heybridge to have lunch at the Tiptree Tea Rooms by the seaside.

We were lucky enough to have amazing weather both days. It was really sunny and about 30 degrees, so we were able to eat lunch next to the harbour and watch all the boats coming in and out of the Lock.

Tiptree are famous jam makers in the UK, and it was hard not to be distracted by all the different types of jam available. They even had Manuka Honey from New Zealand.. only at twice the price that you'd ever pay back home.

The food was delicious, Bradley had the Ploughman's platter, with three different types of meat, plus bread and cheese, while I had the home-made Quiche and coleslaw.

Aaliyah, Di, Vicki, Brad and Si enjoying the sunshine

The deserted tea rooms - everyone was outside in the sunshine

So many types of Jam!!

Home-made Quiche

The Ploughman's Platter

After lunch we went for a walk along the waterfront, it was nice to walk off our huge lunch and enjoy the fresh air.

On our way back to the minibus (Si had requisitioned his work vehicle, which turned out to be a 16 seat minibus!), we stopped again at the Tea Rooms for an ice cream to cool down after our walk. Also, who can resist a Mr Whippy with a flake...

We made two stops on the way home. The first was the Tiptree Jam Factory, where they make all the yummy jams we had just seen in the Tea Rooms. We filled our basket with mini jars of jam, and continued on our way.

Our next stop was The Food Company in Marks Tey. It had the biggest range of American food products we had ever seen (outside of the States). We wandered around for a while picking up an assortment of goodies, such as Mint M&M's for Bradley, Pink Lemonade for me, plus Pop Tarts and Mrs Pepperidge Cookies. 

We ended up with much more than we had anticipated, but had to leave a lot behind in the store, as we didn't want to be weighed down by hundreds of bags on the train home!

Look at all the Syrups!

We had to take a photo of this huge Monkfish on display. I had Monkfish while in Dubrovnik, not really knowing what it was. I almost wish I had stayed in the dark.

The shopkeeper said they don't usually display the whole fish, and we both agreed that is by far the better option.

Once home, we sat out in the sunshine and relaxed for a while before wandering into town while Aaliyah had her afternoon nap. We also thought we should get some fresh air to wake up before we all needed an afternoon nap.

We came across a man sitting outside a coffee shop with four huge dogs, I had to pat each of them, they looked so hot! Apparently he brings them into town quite often for people to pat, and sometimes charges them!

The church where Si is a Youth Pastor

Si is a Youth Pastor at the amazing Church in Chelmsford, I love how every town and city in England has stunning Churches. Bradley and I took off our shoes and enjoyed the rare opportunity to walk barefoot on the soft grass.. over gravestones.

Chelmsford is famous for being the birthplace of radio after Guglielmo Marconi opened the world's first wireless radio factory. It was also the location of the first public broadcast in the United Kingdom.

The Marconi Factory

We didn't have much planned on Sunday. Si went off to Church, and the rest of us had a sleep in, and then a yummy breakfast of French toast and bacon.

It was even hotter than the day before, so we wandered into town again in search of a paddling pool for the backyard. 

They were in short supply due to the unseasonably hot weather, but we managed to track one down, and spent the remainder of the day with our feet in the pool and enjoying the sunshine, before it was time for us to catch our train back to London.

Aaliyah leading the way back home

Family photo! Regretting I didn't bring my togs..