Day trip by train - Guided Walk/Hike Around Constable Country in Suffolk!

Details

THIS TRIP IS NOW FULL, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT GENERAL@CULTURESEEKERS.ORG IF YOU WISH TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST.

Come along on Saturday 31st July for a guided walk/hike around picturesque Constable Country in Suffolk!

About the day
The day is part guided walk and part hike around the countryside where the painter John Constable (1776 - 1837) grew up and where he painted many of his paintings.

His most famous paintings include Dedham Vale (1802), Wivenhoe Park (1816) and The Hay Wain (1821). His paintings are now among the most popular and valuable in British art.

The area is on the Essex/Suffolk border and is of outstanding natural beauty, hardly changing since Constable's time and because of the fame of his paintings, the landscape today is protected. The Dedham Vale and Stour Valley embraces one of England's most cherished landscapes.

John Constable himself said of the area he grew up - "I associate my careless boyhood with all that lies on the banks of the River Stour. Those scenes made me a painter".

We will walk in his footsteps and visit the spots where he painted his famous paintings, see his studio, his boyhood home, where he went to school, his parish church and also Flatford Mill which was owned by his father.

I know the area very well, so I'll be the guide for the day. I will be using a microphone to project my voice to you don't have to be too close. Numbers will be limited to about 25 people. I will also be wearing a mask throughout and I've had both Covid jabs.

The guided walk/hike covers about 7 miles, across grassland and paths, so please wear sensible shoes. The landscape is very flat.

It's advisable to bring either a packed lunch or buy food beforehand. We will be stopping for lunch in Flatford which has a cafe or you can eat next to it at the picnic spot on the banks of the River Stour.

Aprox Itinerary for the day:
9:00am - meet at station and get GroupSave train tickets to Manningtree
9:30am - catch train
10:27am - arrive at Manningtree station and walk to Flatford
11:10am - arrive at Flatford & break
11:25pm - tour of Flatford visiting the site of 'The Hay Wain' & the sites of a few other paintings he did in Flatford
12:30pm - stop for lunch at Flatford
1:30pm - guided hike to East Bergholt to see his family home, studio and St Mary's Church (where his parents are buried & where he met his wife)
2:15pm - walk to the village of Dedham, follow the route he took to school, stopping to view the sites of some of this paintings
3:00pm - arrive at Dedham and see his school and the places he knew
3:15pm - pub or cafe break in Dedham
3:45pm - walk back to Flatford via the meadows
4:30pm - arrive back at Flatford & break
4:30pm - freetime
4:45pm - walk back to Manningtree Station to return to London

Trains going back at 5:02, 5:51, 6:02, 6:51 and at the same time past each hour.

Payment
Full Members of the group will be free, everyone else the cost is £7 per person (payable in advance when you RSVP, I can't take cash on the day).
To become a Full Member, go to: https://www.meetup.com/london_cultureseekers/dues

Full Members - If you are a current Full Member or have just become one, please email me at (general@cultureseekers.org) and I will add you to the list of attendees.

Train Tickets
GroupSave 3for2 train tickets work out at £20 each (pay in groups of 3 when you turn up on the day).
Please note: these are group tickets, so you will have to travel to and from Manningtree in a group of at least 3 people (doesn't have to be the 3 you purchased your ticket with).

COVID rules