The cottage we're staying in is at a farm at the end of Daltes Lane, a long dishevelled one track lane snaking through farmland. The postman still makes his way down it in the exercise of his duties, noticeably so as loud muzak blares forth as he delivers here.
Also dishevelled is Walton-on-the-Naze. It was already fading into zombieness when we first together went in 2008 for the famed Tufty Club outing. No coaches this time from Loughton, we were the only family represented here for the last Thursday in July. It has faded even more. The car park has moved with the time and no longer requires a bag of pound coins to be fed into a machine. However we were forced to pay an exorbitant amount to park on rough ground.
We had a sandwich (well cheese and marmite toastie for me) before finding the RNLI shop was closed so we couldn't buy any Christmas cards. The market had shrunk again since our last visit. The Round Table fish and chip place where the Keel clan had to have lunch because that had always been the place is no more. Few out on the shrinking beach as the tide came in.
An expanse of rough grass now is all that is left of where one could play crazy golf or try putting or ride donkeys. We left after not much more than an hour.
We had an evening meal at the Toby Carvery in Clacton. Very busy, I was in the queue to get a slice of turkey for quarter of an hour! It was only as we were due to leave Bramley Cottage that we found the kitchen bin would open if you waved a hand over a sensor on the side.