In The Stour Valley

Off to "Silly Suffolk" today for a walk in the English countryside. Incidentally, although people like to make fun of Suffolk folk, the adjective "silly" here derives from the old word "sælig" which means "holy" and is a reference to the great number of fine churches in the area, one of which we'll pass towards the end of today's stroll.

Starting (and later finishing) at the village of Long Melford in the valley of the River Stour, we'll make our way downhill, looking out for a footpath on our right.

After a bit of nettle-bashing through a narrow path, we found ourselves in arable farming country. There was just a little sunshine penetrating the clouds, but that soon vanished till right at the end of our walk. I'm not complaining; it was plenty warm enough for walking.

This is perhaps not the most photogenic scenery you'll ever see, though I enjoy walking through it, seeing how the crops are progressing, listening out for snatches of birdsong from the hedgerows, finding hidden paths and occasional wildflowers.

It was not too difficult to notice this colourful bank of Poppies, Thistles and Red- and White Campion.

Nettle-Leaved Bellflower always looks like it might have escaped from a cottage garden though it's actually a native wild flower. It has an assortment of folk names including Throatwort (because it was thought to be a cure for sore throats), Our Lady's Bells (its blue colour being associated with the Virgin Mary), Coventry Bells (it's common near that city) or even Bats-In-The-Belfry ( maybe the stamens hang down like bats inside bells???).

We found a narrow footbridge leading across the little River Glem, one of the tributaries of the Stour.

Then it was a return to the field-edge paths beside crops of sugar-beet, wheat, barley and oats.

The "tramlines", lines left unplanted to be followed by crop-spraying machines, may appear to weave about drunkenly, but they actually run parallel to the field boundary, which in turn follows the course of a minor stream. The effect is further exaggerated by the low angle of view.

A dead tree still stands proudly overlooking the ripening wheat. Harvest will not be as ridiculously early as it has been several times recently. When I was a schoolboy, helping out with harvest work during school holidays, cutting the barley (always the earliest grain crop to ripen) didn't start till mid-August, now the first combines may be in the fields by the middle of July.

It's easy to say that global warming has contributed to the early harvests but there are other factors too, such as development of new varieties of grain. It's also easier to dry grain these days thanks to modern equipment.

We're now approaching Kentwell Hall, as we get near to completing our circle. You wouldn't expect to find an old broken-down trailer in the grounds of a stately home, but this is left from an auction of old agricultural equipment. This one obviously didn't sell - can't for the life of me imagine why someone didn't snap it up!

Kentwell Hall dates from the late 15th to early 16th centuries and is still lived in as a family home. In order to finance the upkeep of such a huge building it also opens its doors to the public, but not in the same way as pioneered by the National Trust or English Heritage. Kentwell Hall favours historical re-enactments and other themed extravaganzas to bring in the crowds. It may not be to everybody's taste but thousands of school children must have had an interest in history awakened by being allowed to dress up as a medieval peasant!

It really is a magnificent building and it won't surprise you to learn that further income is derived from filming in and around the Hall - everything from Witchfinder General starring Vincent Price, to 1969's Wind in The Willows starring several of the Monty Python team (released as Mr Toad's Wild Ride in some countries).  

Walking across the parkland we spotted this little detail on one of the trees which made a nice little study.

But we're on our way back to Long Melford and there's its church appearing across the meadow.

Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford is one of the finest of our "wool churches" - financed by the wealth of the woollen industry in the Medieval period, in this case by the Clopton family who lived in Kentwell Hall. I've been inside before and you can read about it here. (I know that people don't always follow these links, but if you haven't seen inside I recommend that you click on this one).

There are plenty of flowery gardens in Long Melford, but we'll be seeing some flowers in the next post and besides I'm ready to sit on one of those benches on the green and eat my picnic lunch. Then, all being well,......

...my brother, Les, will buy us ice creams.

Thanks, Bro. 

And if you read this blog regularly you should thank him too, for without him driving for me I wouldn't be able to get about to these lovely places, especially since I've not been using public transport since you-know-what.

Take care.