The Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley Project Area is a magnificent landscape fully of beauty and hidden treasures. Planning a visit? Here is some inspiration for your next trip!
Find out more information, including visitor guides, podcasts, and videos to help you plan your visit, go to www.dedhamvalestourvalley.org/visiting.
1. Arger Fen & Spouse’s Vale
110 hectares of ancient coppice woodland, naturally regenerating woodland, wet meadows, and wilding. There are many native trees that can be found here, and the nature reserve is one of only a few ancient woodlands in Suffolk.
The mix of trees provide an ideal home for rare species including the hazel dormouse and barbastelle bat. Visit throughout spring and summer to enjoy the fabulous display of woodland flora. A trail map is available on the reserve’s webpage.
www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/arger-fen
2. Cattawade Marshes Nature Reserve
Cattawade Marshes is an 88.2-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between East Bergholt and Manningtree in Essex and Suffolk managed by the RSPB.
The grazing marshes at Cattawade are of major importance for the diversity of the breeding bird community. You can watch oystercatchers, redshanks, and lapwings here.
There’s no public access to the reserve itself but the public footpath on the south side of the river allows excellent views of the reserve.
3. Cavendish
This beautiful Suffolk village with its idyllic Green, and pastel-coloured houses is a frequently photographed gem. The church is one of 4 churches in the country where the chancel is built at a lower level than the nave. Above the pulpit is an hour glass for timing sermons and in the upper tower there’s a room where the priest would have lived.
Sue Ryder established her first nursing home in Cavendish in 1953 for survivors of Second World War concentration camps after serving in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.
4. Kentwell Hall
One of England’s finest moated Tudor houses was built between 1500 and 1540. Set in the beautiful village of Long Melford, which itself boasts the longest high street in England, Kentwell Hall includes gardens and a farm and is open to the public.
5. River Stour
The river is a peaceful water way today, but 200 years ago, it was the main trade route into north Essex and Suffolk. This river traffic stopped many years ago, but the river is navigable from Sudbury to Cattawade and popular with paddleboarders, canoeists and people hiring rowing boats from Flatford and Dedham.
The River Stour provides a fantastic opportunity for seeing the Vale from a different angle. Get close to nature on the river, either under your own steam, or you can take a gentle potter on an electric powered boat, with the River Stour Trust which operates from Sudbury
6. St Mary’s Church, Wissington
Located in this sleepy hamlet, Wissington or ‘Wiston’ church can be found on foot along the Stour Valley Path and has medieval wall paintings dating back to 1280, including St Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds, thought to be the earliest picture of him in English art, and spanning the north doorway is a magnificent dragon.
7. Stunning Stoke-by-Nayland
Occupying a commanding hilltop position, Stoke-by-Nayland is dominated by the magnificent 15th century church. The 120-foot tower is visible from miles around and was clearly an influence on John Constable who depicted this and other church towers within the valley. The village is awash with delightful historic timber framed buildings.
8. Stour Valley Path
Enjoy the beauty and tranquillity of the Stour Valley countryside and explore its rich historical associations with this 60-mile route, from Newmarket, near the source of the River Stour, through the AONB, to Cattawade where the river joins the estuary.
This long-distance route has everything, from rolling countryside and historic villages to idyllic riverside scenery and wildlife.
9. Sudbury
Sudbury is an ancient market town in the heart of the Stour Valley and is the birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough who often painted views of the Valley.
There are an impressive 242 listed buildings in Sudbury, many alluding to the prosperity on the town’s industrious past. Today, the town has a huge range of places to stay, eat and shop, as well as a community theatre and boat trips on the River Stour.
Explore Sudbury with a variety of tranquil walks along the riverside and Sudbury Water Meadows. There are also regular markets that take place on the Market Hill. Find out more at www.sudburytowncouncil.co.uk.
10. Willy Lott’s House
Named after the farmer who lived here between 1761-1849, the iconic house in Flatford was added to over three centuries. Parts of the house can be seen in several John Constable paintings including The Mill Stream and The Hay Wain.
Whilst you can’t go in the House, up the lane towards the car park there is a free Constable exhibition to explore and you can grab a coffee at Flatford Mill. Find out more at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/flatford.