Il mio viaggio in Suffolk

I visited Snape Maltings this week, and had the great pleasure of hearing the brilliant young Leonkoro Quartet rehearse for a whole afternoon, which flew by, in one of the many impressive new studios "on campus". Roger Wright and his team at Britten Pears Arts do so much to make this a year round enterprise, in an otherwise music-deprived English region (made worse by recent ACE funding cuts to the Britten Sinfonia and Glyndebourne Touring.)

The only drawback, for a non-driver like me is, getting there. Snape Maltings is four miles from the nearest rail station, and then it's a further six miles along a busy A-road to Aldeburgh itself. Of course, during my visit, charming Britten-Pears people kindly gave me lifts where necessary, and it's a great way to catch up and chat. But, frustrated by not being able to walk/cycle these short distances, I bought a map. And saw a branch of the railway line curling round in a promising way towards Aldeburgh, but...concluding at the sidings for Sizewell Nuclear Power Station. From my background reading, a further power station instalment, Sizewell C looks likely to be built, and that bit of track will likely become very busy again. But alas not with Festival goers, as it ideally should be.

Pictured - the River Alde; beautiful, though another hazard for the through walker/cyclist.