Being a 24 Hour Locksmith based in Suffolk, I get to travel a lot around our beautiful county and see all the lovely little picture postcard villages, hamlets and rural areas. Over 40% of my work takes me either to the outskirts of Ipswich or into the more rural regions of Suffolk to carry out my locksmith services for various customers.
Some of the roads in Suffolk can be quite tricky and hard to get around especially at this time of year now the light is fading early and winter is starting to set in, luckily I have my trusty van with its torquey diesel engine which allows me to reach even the most inaccessible of areas out in the far corners of East Anglia. It’s a good solid van and is fully fitted out with all the latest locksmith tools, locksmith accessories, lock spares and key cutting equipment.
During the last 2 weeks I have been doing a lot of Locksmith callouts out in rural Suffolk and have been to such places as Long Melford which is in the Stour Valley. The area is famous for some of the paintings that Constable did and it’s very beautiful. It also has a huge village green with a nice church and a street that goes on forever with trees either side of it.
Another place I have been too is Shotley which is a lovely place if you like the coast or estuaries. You can see both Felixstowe Docks and the Harwich Ferry Terminals from the river side. They are both amongst the busiest ports in the world and the Shotley area is a lovely place to go and spend some time in. Unfortunately I do not have time today as duty calls on providing locksmith services for my customers. Talking of which Shotley is famous for being the home of the former HMS Ganges which is still there but unused and falling into a state of disrepair which is a shame.
Felixstowe is a place I frequent often and is one of the busiest container ports in the world with a huge amount of ships passing in and out daily. Some of the world’s largest container ships can be seen there on some days. Felixstowe also has a fantastic fort at Landguard point which is an English Heritage property. The fort as it is was built in the 18th Century and you would have to be more than a Locksmith to get inside the walls as it truly is a solid structure. There are also some great batteries from WW2.
Rendelsham is a nice area with a great forest if you like walking amongst the trees. I had a job out there last week where I had to go and fix the damage another locksmith had caused when he failed to access a property on a routine lockout. He had drilled holes all over the place which was a pointless exercise as the door had multipoint locks down the side. The damage was not necessary. As usual I fixed the damage and left with a happy customer. I did not see any of the famous UFO activity on the way back to Ipswich, which was a shame as I might have changed their locks. Here is the image of the damage to the door and lock.
If you like castles then Framlingham and Orford are great places to visit. I had a couple of jobs out there earlier in the week. Framlingham has a large castle with 13 towers and is strange as it has no Keep. There are a lot of grounds to explore and a nice example of a Poorhouse. Framlingham Castle is in very good condition as English Castles go and is well worth taking the time to go and see.
Orford Castle is a 12th Century Keep built by Henry II which is in beautiful condition and was part of the coastal defences in WW2 being used as a Radar emplacement. It has a lot of passages and secret chambers to explore. Unfortunately the castle is closed at present.
While in Framlingham and Orford I had two jobs where I had to again remedy the damage caused by other locksmiths. This seems to be a growing theme at the moment and I think it’s not fair to the customers and gives us all a bad name. Here is one door that had a lock fitted and the screws have been placed on the outside of the door! This is not very good for security as anyone can just take the screws out and remove the lock. The previous locksmith should have sorted this dangerous situation out. The owners may have lost all their belongings due to this major oversight. You can also see where a large drill has gone through the keyhole and made it look as though a bus could drive through it.
Here is the state another house was left in when I arrived to remedy the damage. The previous locksmith had just drilled the locks out and left it at that. Apparently he did not have any spare locks handy to secure the house so just charged the fee and left the owner in the lurch. This kind of practise makes me quite angry as I take a great deal of pride in my work and like to leave a job knowing the owner is happy, safe and secure, especially when they have children in the house which this couple did.
Anyway that a little about my whistle-stop tour around Suffolk which I do quite often. If you are after a 24 Hour Locksmith in the Suffolk area that is conscientious, arrives on time, does not overcharge and has a professional, friendly and old fashioned “customer first” service please do give me a call and I will get to you as soon as possible come rain or shine and even in the snow. I am on call 24 hours a day every day of the week to get you inside, feeling warm, safe and snug again.
Thanks for reading – Paul.
Paul is a professional locksmith who lives and works in and around Ipswich, Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex.