On Friday, I did something nice for my mum. I took her on a family history outing to Glemsford in Suffolk. She has been doing the family tree and many of our ancestors came from that small village and worked in the Coconut mat, silk and horse hair factories.

We managed to find the house that 3 of the families we were looking for, lived in. We also found the roads where the factories would have been, but alas there was no sign of them any more. Just the road names to tell us what used to be there.

We also visited the nearby town of Long Melford where the children would have gone to school (a 6 mile walk). There is a massive church there and we scoured the grave yard looking for familiar names, but My ancestors were too poor to have proper headstones. We found time for a Pimms though, as you do.

We also visited a National Trust property to get a feel for the history of the area. Famous locals include Beatrix Potter, Gainsborough and Constable. Many of the river and country side scenes are familiar as they all painted the area a great deal.

After lunch in Sudbury, it was off home via Lakeside. A day out isn't complete without shopping!

And even though, the junction we required off the motorway was completely closed, we still easily navigated ourselves to the right place. Proof that women can drive and read maps, just not when men are in the car intimidating them ;)