Stour Valley and Dedham Vale

Autumn Colour, Gifford Hall Park.

The Stour Valley and Dedham Vale - Location...

The River Stour forms the border between North East Essex and South Suffolk from Sudbury to the sea at Manningtree. The lower section around Dedham, Essex, is called the Dedham Vale and is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), one level below National Park status. In 2010 it celebrated 40 years of AONB status, in recognition of its special landscape, architectural and cultural quality.

Only 60 miles from London along the A12 or mainline railway from Liverpool Street, it is a relatively undiscovered rural area of SE England bordering East Anglia. It is also easily reached from the Midlands along the A1 or M1, then A14 to Bury St Edmunds.

The Stour Valley and Dedham Vale - Why Visit for a Holiday?

The villages and countryside of North East Essex have nothing in common with the popular stereotype of Essex; they are undeveloped and untouristy. The largest town in the area is Colchester, the oldest recorded town in Britain, with remains of a Roman Wall and a Norman Castle that make it well worth a visit.

On the other side of the Stour, Suffolk is a rural county with over 5.000km of footpaths, bridleways and other waymarked routes. There is a variety of heathlands, forest and rolling countryside along with some internationally important bird reserves on the coast. See the About Us page for links..

Gentle Landscape...

The River Stour has cut through the London clay and glacial gravels of the last ice age to form small, but surprisingly steep hills either side of the valley. The combination of these steep hills and flood plains means that agriculture is less intensive than in other areas of East Anglia. Traditional grazing pasture is the norm along the valley, with sheep, cattle and even some alpaca! Just beyond Flatford Mill the river is tidal, with reedbeds, wading birds but with mud rather than sandy beaches!

Historic Buildings...

South Suffolk was the centre of the lucrative wool trade in the middle ages and this wealth is reflected in a magnificent series of flint built churches in Lavenham, Long Melford, Stratford St Mary, Stoke by Nayland and Dedham.

Luckily for us, Suffolk was largely missed out by the Industrial Revolution, so there is a wealth of black and white timbered Tudor buildings still surviving. Most of these are now private houses, but some are open to the public, for example in Lavenham.

Blue Sky and Firs, Wormingford.

Good Weather...

While we can't guarantee you'll have a Blue Sky in the Stour Valley when you visit, records show that it is one of the driest parts of Britain. When the West coast is blasted by Atlantic depresssions, often there's no rain left by the time it gets to us!

The Artistic Connection...

This gentle landscape inspired one of Englands' best loved artists, John Constable, who was born in East Bergholt and closely associated with Dedham. Some of his most famous paintings such as The Haywain and Dedham Mill were taken from the surrounding landscape. These can be seen on Walk 4.

Another famous artist, Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury and is highly regarded for his landscapes as well as his portraits. His landscapes, although unfashionable at the time, were to inspire the young Constable. The Gainsborough statue and museum can be visited on Walk 2.

Castle House, Dedham was the home of the 20th century artist, Alfred Munnings, and is open to the public during the summer. John Nash, the 20th century war artist lived and worked in a small cottage near Wormingford. This is on the route of Walk 1.

Scotland Place, Stoke by Nayland.

Come to the Stour Valley and Dedham Vale for gentle walking in classic English landscape, with a wealth of historic buildings and villages to explore. Good food and accommodation await at the end of the day...