Tails About Town – Sea, Sand and Southwold!
Written by Emma Kemsley
It feels like a long time ago since I wrote the first ‘Tails About Town’ column. Since then we’ve had Christmas (Fletcher is still working his way through a mountain of rawhide bones – in fact he’s currently munching on a Christmas pudding shaped one – hold on, the bone is now on my desk…), we’ve had NYE (Fletcher was a party pooper and put himself to bed, well my bed, which is not usually allowed, but acceptable as he was trying to escape my drunken cackling with friends), and we’ve had an adventure in Southwold.
I like to make the most of our region’s beaches during the winter, while they are crowd and children free and can be enjoyed by our pooches without any restrictions. So on a crisp, blue-skied, sunny January day we took a drive to Southwold, Suffolk.
Once out of the car and pulled at Spaniel speed to the beach, Fletcher was let off the lead to run free across the soft sand. The beach is Fletcher’s happy place, he absolutely loves it! Watching him leap and bounce across the sand, always brings a smile to my face and those walking by.
We discovered his love for the beach after spending last summer living in Ibiza. It’s where we also discovered Fletcher has some serious swimming skills. It’s not just a quick dip, he’ll swim for hours without a break, dive underwater for stones, and dive off worryingly high rocks – he is the Tom Daley 
of the dog world! I was a little nervous that he’d expect the North Sea to be the same as the Mediterranean and dive straight in, but a quick jump through a wave and dip of the paws, even he realised it was far too cold!
After walking for miles along the coastline taking in the stunning skyline, it was a quick stroll along the pier and through the town for fish and chips! The Little Fish and Chip Shop on East Street has to be one of cutest around. It retains a traditional exterior but has a stylish stamp on the inside, and they are dog-friendly – well they were until Fletcher let loose with his crying and howling because he was too impatient to wait for a sausage!
In a bid to get him out as quick as possible, we waited for our freshly cooked haddock and chips and enjoyed them on a bench overlooking the sea while the sun set. I’m starting to think January isn’t so bad…
