Group Walk

Southern England / E&H,N&S

Essex & Herts

20ml.

9am

Meet at The Recreational Ground car park, School Street, Stoke By Nayland, CO6 4QY. ///riot.pursuing.indicated. Map : LR155. TL985364

A meander through both Essex and Suffolk countryside taking in some of the very best of Constable Country. We will have two short morning breaks; first at Stratford St Mary to rest our legs and then at Flatford Mill (public toilets/ NT shop) with the possibility of an ice cream. Our lunch break will be taken at Dedham after approx. 12 miles (public toilets/ shops/ café/ pubs)
In the afternoon we follow the river Stour and gently rolling countryside back to Stoke By Nayland taking a brief stop at Rivers Hall Farm

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of John Constable and we will pass the setting for what is probably his best known painting The Hay Wain. A hay wain being a cart traditionally used to transport freshly cut meadow grass. Constable is less well known for his depictions of people and also for his religious paintings - in fact he painted just three - and the best of these, The Annunciation, hangs in St Mary’s church Dedham. The church should be open for us to take a peek. This Special Constable is occasionally on exhibition loan and if that proves to be the case, we have another special constable up our sleeve - or possibly on the wall! Special thanks to Bill Bowers for the route