Lucy from Bradford says "SOUTHWOLD!"

Super bridesmaid Ella organised Lucy's hen party and shared the following advice with us.....

The Brief

The brief was a weekend away in a house - needed to be in a town so that there would be plenty for everyone to do and as it was mid-March, it couldn't be too weather dependent. We fixed on Southwold as it was only a couple of hours from London and had lots of good shopping as well as nice restaurants and pubs. 

Accommodation 

We stayed at Saxon House (booked through Prestige Holiday lettings who were very helpful) - only a few yards from the beach and within 10 mins of the town centre. http://www.prestigeholidaylettings.com/House_for_rent-Saxon%2BHouse%252C%2BSouthwold%252C%2BSuffolk-ID2023.html

Friday night 

The bridesmaids arrived on the Friday afternoon, fully loaded with food and drink for the weekend. London based hens arrived at about 8pm by a minibus which picked them up from central London after work (booked through http://www.jrtravel.co.uk/faq.html also very helpful). We had bought pizzas and nibbles which meant a stress free meal and a chance for everyone to get to know each other.

Brewery Tour

On the Saturday we had arranged for those that wanted to have a tour of the Adnams brewery followed by a tutored tasting of both wine and beer - excellent value at about £10 per head and bookable through their website.  

Games

The afternoon was spent pottering around the town shopping before re-convening for pre-dinner drinks and a game of "Lucy Morgan Mastermind". The bridesmaids had put together a list of questions about Lucy which everyone had to try and answer with prizes for the best and worse scores. Obviously the questions had been chosen to cover the most entertaining and embarrassing incidents of Lucy's life so far....much hilarity ensued. The loser ended up with a mug embossed with "who the hell is Lucy Morgan?".

Dinner

We then went for dinner at Sutherland House restaurant

http://www.sutherlandhouse.co.uk/page/restaurant-bar

They'd sent us the menu in advance and we'd all made our choices which certainly reduces stress on the night for them and us. A really excellent meal - they fell over themselves to make it special, with amuse-bouches and free fizz. At the end of the night we went back to the house (dancing not featuring on the bride's wishlist) for cigars, gin and tonics and chat until the early hours.

Fried breakfast the next day before the minibus returned to take everyone home."