Manningtree
Saturday 7 June. The weather forecast for this walk was pretty dire – heavy rain showers, possibility of a hail storm and even a chance of thunder and lightning, just to add to the drama. I expected it to be a washout but whatever showers there may have been, they thankfully passed us by. I was delighted to welcome a newcomer to our group, so eight of us set out from Manningtree station to walk up to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Lawford, which was built during the 14th Century.
As everywhere this year, the countryside looked very lush. From the church we ventured forth across fields, through paddocks and along the ridge of Dedham Vale, affording views across the valley and meadows full of buttercups.
Once we reached Dedham, where we stopped for lunch, some of us picnicked, some chose to eat in the Marlborough pub or in one of the cafes. The Church of St Mary in Dedham is worth a visit. The name Dedham derives from the Saxon ‘Dydda’s Ham’ – the hamlet of the family named Dydda. Dedham is now more than just a hamlet, an attractive small town where the painter John Constable went to school.
By the time we started out again, one of our members had left our group to take the bus to Colchester, so seven of us made our way to the River Stour and across the relatively newly restored wooden footbridge towards East Bergholt, Constable’s birthplace. Alas, the original house no longer stands but a plaque on the garden wall indicates the location.
The parish church of St Mary’s (Suffolk) is of special interest. It does not have a bell tower but, instead, it has a large bell cage which was erected in 1531 as a temporary measure after its original bell tower had collapsed and it is still there to this day. It is located behind the church and holds five bells which are currently the heaviest still rung purely by the force of hands, but only on Sundays and for special occasions.
On we went past some attractive houses and cottages and along meadows with sheep and goats grazing towards our next stop, Flatford Mill. The path took us past Willy Lott’s House next to the pond, famously captured in Constable’s ‘The Haywain’ painting.
Flatford Mill belonged to John Constable’s father, Golding Constable, and Willy Lott was one of his Foremen and a good friend of his son, John. The Mill stopped in 1901 and is now a Field Study Centre with a museum, a tea room and shop, now all in the hands of the National Trust. Needless to say, we stopped for refreshments before making our way back to Manningtree station.
The small pub cum café located at the end of platform 2 is always a welcome place for picking up a last-minute ice cream, snack and liquid refreshments before making the journey back to London. Even at this stage in the day I was still in disbelief of the ‘good luck’ we had by not getting soaked to the skin or pummelled by hail stones, however our arrival in London told another story as it was pouring with rain.
My thanks to you all for making this outing such a pleasant experience; to Mary-Jane for additional photos and to Julian who had accompanied me on my recce.
Happy walking – Sigrid
