Country Walks In Suffolk
Keeping fit and healthy is not all about going to the nearest gym, after all, how many of us have rolled up at the nearest gym on 2nd January with great intentions to get ourselves some exercise and improve our mind body and soul, and by March we’re looking for every excuse not to get on that treadmill. Why do we all assume that a gym membership is the key to fitness and happiness when in fact a good long walk through open countryside can be just as beneficial.
Once such place for great open spaces and hard-to-beat country walks is Suffolk, and there is something very English about Suffolk. Here you will find the quintessential English village. Along the river Stour south of Lavenham is ‘Constable Country’, home of England’s most famous landscape painter and the subject of his glorious paintings which so poignantly captured rural English life. The Stour flows peacefully through a chalky valley with willow and poplar lining lush water-meadows, and walks between Sudbury and Flatford capture the essential ‘Englishness’ of the scenery. Flatford is, of course, the location for one of Constable’s most famous paintings and is now a major tourist attraction. Upstream at Sudbury is the birthplace of another great English painter, Thomas Gainsborough. The long distance route The Stour Valley Path follows the river all the way from Newmarket to Manningtree.
Clare, Hadleigh, Lavenham and Long Melford all have important historic buildings and are worth exploring and, combined with a country walk in the local vicinity, can make a great day out. There are also many small attractive villages which make good bases for planning a walk. Suffolk is also home to several mediaeval wool towns, Lavenham being perhaps the most impressive example. Here fine timber houses, many now with a picturesque crookedness, demonstrate the wealth that wool brought to Suffolk in the middle ages.
For that bit of luxury after spending all day touring the wonderful sites of Suffolk, in the town of Lavenham you will find The Swan Hotel, with it’s 4 star rating it offers a blend of 15th Century heritage and 21st century comfort, and it makes a perfect base for touring. For those that appreciate fine dining, the restaurant boasts two AA Rosettes for its fine food.
Kris Smith has been living and writing about Suffolk for several years, and especially the Swan Hotel. For more details about the Swan Hotel go to http://www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk or call 01787 247477
