There and Back

Two visits to Flatford in different weather conditions. The first series of photgraphs are taken on the 9th January, after the torrential rains that poured over large parts of the country.The second set are taken (10 days later) in the same area, now largely covered in frost although a fair amount of water remains in the fields. So first the rain. This the start of our normal walk toward Dedham - `not today` we thought! Bridge Cottage, where you can see the `normal edge` to the path under water. Flatford Mill with torrents of water where there is normally a placid flow! The dry dock - somewhere under here. Days later the area is covered in frost! Bridge Cottage and tea rooms looking rather splendid in the frost morning light. Woodfarm Barns at Flatford Frost along the riverside paths Willie Lott`s cottage through the frosty grass. The riverside as you join the footpath leading across the fields. Altogether a period of dramatic weather which was well worth capturing. Home

Set by the River Stour, Dedham is in the heart of Constable Country. It was here that Britain's greatest landscape artist John Constable went to school. The attractive high street is lined with Georgian-fronted houses, old inns and a large art and crafts centre. The magnificent 15th C. church was built from the wealth of the medieval cloth industry. Dedham is frequently rated as containing some of England's most beautiful Lowland landscapes, particularly the Water Meadows of the River Stour, which passes along the northern boundary of the village forming the boundary between the counties of Essex and Suffolk.  So today we walked from Flatford, across these same meadows to Dedham. The view we had from just outside Dedham on this beautiful sunny, but cold, morning. Village signs always make me turn my head as they vary considerable, and some are just plain intriguing. I usually have to take the picture! As we approached the main street we walked past