Constable's own valley of slow river, water meadows and old mills on the Suffolk and Essex border, made for a gentle day
Two hundred years on, the River Stour still winds through much the same water meadows that John Constable painted, and Dedham Vale has changed less than you’d think. It straddles the Suffolk and Essex border across 91 square kilometres of low, soft farmland of willows, wet grazing and old brick mills. Flatford is the heart of the vale, the spot behind The Hay Wain, and the village of Dedham sits a walk away up the valley.
None of it is strenuous. Riverside footpaths link the two, and the Essex Way passes close by for anyone wanting a longer line. Woodland at Arger Fen adds a bit of variety, good for bluebells in spring. It gets busy at Flatford on fine weekends, so come early or out of season if you’d rather have the towpath more or less to yourself.
