Constable Country & the Stour Valley

ancient towns and beautiful secluded villages, its landscape designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Both town and country are steeped in history, from Boadicea's stand against the Romans, invasions by the Vikings, settlement by the Normans and the early 'industrialisation' created by a thriving wool trade.

The River Stour, one of the longest and most beautiful rivers in East Anglia, little changed over the centuries, winds its way through a wide pastoral and wooded valley to the coast at Manningtree. Inspiration to artists over the centuries, its landscape inspired great works by Constable, Gainsborough, Munnings and Nash. Scenes represented in many of these paintings 'The Hay Wain at Flatford Mill' remain familiar to us today.

With delightful village pubs, fine restaurants, peaceful country walks and cycle-paths this is an area to explore at a leisurely pace.

Hadleigh

From the Norse ' Haethlega' a heath-covered place, there is evidence of 1st century occupation in the remains of a Roman villa on the east of the town and of a 5th century pagan Saxon settlement in the area around George Street. The ninth and tenth century saw occupation by Viking settlers. From then on Hadleigh's prosperity grew with the development of the wool trade in mid Suffolk. The inheritance for us is a plethora of fine medieval houses; the 15th century grade 1 listed Guildhall and Deanery Tower. Stay at The Lodge.

Dedham Vale

Very little has changed here over the past two centuries so that the village retains a delightful mixture of Tudor framed buildings and Georgian fronted town houses. A paradise for artists, Dedham was home to Sir Alfred Munnings, famous for his paintings of horses, and President of the Royal Academy from 1944 to 1949.

Nayland

A very pretty town on the banks of a particularly beautiful stretch of the river Stour in Dedham Vale, it makes a wonderful centre from which to explore surrounding historic towns including Lavenham, Long Melford and Bury St Edmunds - stay at 9 Gravel Hill.

Flatford

The scene of one of Constable's most famous pictures, the Hay Wain, showing Willy Lott's house in the background. Now run by the National Trust, the facilities include the Bridge House containing the John Constable Exhibition, Flatford Mill, Willy Lott's House and Valley Farm, which are leased to The Field Studies Council. The River Stour Trust operate an electric launch for river trips at certain times during the season.

Lavenham

Lavenham is the most complete and original of the medieval wool towns, with crooked timbered and whitewashed buildings lining its narrow streets, Lavenham flourished in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries as one of the leading wool and cloth-making centres in the land. To our great fortune little has changed and the medieval street pattern still exists with over 300 buildings officially listed as being of architectural and historical interest, including the famous Guildhall, a superb 16th century timbered building, originally the meeting place of the Guild of Corpus Christi. Almost as remarkable is Little Hall, a 15th century hall house. Stay at Pilgrims