Aldeburgh

So after spending almost two months in Aldeburgh, I got to know the place extremely well. Considering I had never heard of the town nor visited Suffolk, I soon fell in love with the area. I won't lie, when I first arrived I wondered how I was going to cope in such a small, quiet town for an entire season. With no phone signal and no chain shops in the entirety of Aldeburgh, I felt like I was on some kind of yoga retreat however, it was all very refreshing. 

For anyone who hasn't been to Aldeburgh before, you must go - it's a seaside town like no other.

Top 5 things to do in Aldeburgh:

Thorpeness Meare

Covering 60 acres, the Thorpness Meare is a boating lake like no other. With many islands for you to discover

The Yacht Club

Catering for all aspects of sailing, Aldeburgh’s Yacht Club is the place to be. The clubhouse offers delicious food and drink as is a great place to socialise.

The Scallop

This 4 metre high steel Scallop is a famous tribute to Benjamin Britten.

The Beach

Aldeburgh’s shingle beach is perfect for a morning swim or the place to relax in the sun. Sit on the beach wall and enjoy your fish and chips and ice cream.

Thorpeness Country Club

Tennis tournaments, bingo and curry nights. The perfect place to spend summer days.

Top 5 places to eat/drink in Aldeburgh:

The Cross Keys

Located on the sea front on Aldeburgh, the Cross Keys is the best place to spend your evenings. The social hub of Aldeburgh.

Aldeburgh Fish & Chip Shops

They really are worth the wait – the queues may put you off but Aldeburgh is famous for its fish and chips for a reason.

The White Hart

\With its pub garden where you can enjoy fish and chips and its very own stone baked pizzas, this is the place to spend the early part of your evening.

Munchies

Freshly made local food, serving you the best breakfasts, lunches, snacks and drinks throughout the day. With its very own ice cream parlour, you really can’t go wrong.

The Ice Cream Parlour/Shingle & Sherbert

With 30 delicious flavours to choose from there really is a something for everyone. The biggest and best selection in Suffolk. 

Life as a Seasonnaire

Two months in a seaside town representing one of the biggest British brands.

The best summer job?

I think it could be. 

Jack Wills Seasonnaires are brand ambassadors who live the Jack Wills' lifestyle. In the UK there are four summer seasonal locations: Aldeburgh, Salcombe, Rock and Abersoch. With the aim of increasing brand awareness and driving footfall into store, a girl and a boy are sent to each location where they are based for the summer.

Having never heard of Aldeburgh before, the concept of moving to a town I didn't know and living with a boy I barely knew was daunting to say the least. However, within days of being there I felt as if I had known Will for years.

As Seasonnaires, we were expected to work in store for a minimum of 12 hours a week. I had never worked in a store before but with the Jack Wills in Aldeburgh being so small, I very quickly got the gist of it all. We worked closely with the store staff as they knew the area best and had an idea of what people in Aldeburgh would like to happen in their town. 

In terms of marketing, one of our main strategies was social media. Through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, our aims were to deliver brand message, engage audience and drive people to engage with the products. We also had to gather content at all times using the GoPro.

In addition to this, it was our responsibility to execute events throughout the summer. These needed to be specific to our location, tailoring them to suit the area and the people there. In our last week in Aldeburgh we held a party at the Yacht Club which was a huge success. We kitted the marquee out with Jack Wills branding and threw party pants and Seasonnaire T-shirts into the crowd throughout the night. Check out the following video I made from the night...

Being a Seasonnaire was the most incredible experience which I am so lucky to have had. 

Here are some of my favourite memories:
- Wills 21st Birthday
- The Marmalade Ball
- Aldeburgh Carnival
- The Jack Wills Closing Party
- The Thorpeness Fireworks

Thank you Jack Wills for the best summer, I will never forget my time in Aldeburgh and the friendships I made. 

The Marmalade Ball

The Thorpeness Meare is a boating lake like no other. 

Dug by hand, the lake with its islands covers sixty acres and has  over 40 acres of water.

Every year the Marmalade Ball is held at the Thorpeness Meare. For many, this is the event of year and I now know why. 

This year the theme was Moulin Rouge, so as you can imagine it was all about feather boas, head dresses and bow ties. 

The marquee itself was quite literally a scene from the movie, taking us all out of Thorpeness and to Paris for the night.     

We decided to go all out and bought a dinner ticket. With all the entertainment and the amazing food, it was well worth it. 

  

Can-can and burlesque dancers kept us entertained with an extremely impressive pre dinner performance. 

Following the dinner was a live band and dancing then a DJ taking us into the early hours of the morning. To finish the night, we all rowed back home across the meare - not your normal transport home! 

Overall such a special night, I will definitely be back next year.