Walks

The undulating landscape

Between the wars my granddad toured Suffolk in a horse-drawn caravan. He didn't own a horse - he'd persuade local farmers to tow the van from village to village. At the time he was a missionary (for the Church Army, I think) so I'm not sure if he the towing was out of respect for a holy man or a guarantee to be rid of a trouble-maker. I wish I'd asked him.

In his book about those travels, Granddad - like so many others - lambasted those who describe Suffolk as a flat county and presented the upper reaches of the Stour as evidence to the contrary. This walk takes in much of that area.

Distance: 13.4 miles
Ascent: 270 metres
Duration: 3 hours 58 minutes

Walk 28: Long Melford from Lavenham

In places it's possible to believe nothing's changed since Granddad's time. At Kentwell Downs a scarecrow still provides a low-tech solution to protecting seed and on one wall of the Lady Chapel of Long Melford church, the times-table remains as if this room was still used as a schoolhouse.

As for the church itself, the best view is from three fields away when only the very top is visible, poking out behind the undulating landscape, providing a hint about the majesty and splendours within.