Sudbury Water Meadows — Local services in Babergh

Always lovely to take a stroll along here. I often join the meadow from Brundon Lane where walking over a bridge, you can usually see about 40 or so swans congregating, a lovely serene sight. From there after climbing over an old fashioned turnstyle, you pass a field via a walkway where there are friendly horses and onto the water meadows, featuring various bridges and grazing cattle in areas. The gates for livestock means it's not practical for a bicycle, as I have learned after an initial whimsical venture there. Most popular for dog walkers and families. Can be quite muddy, especially around the gates and bridges, and uneven ground in places, so appropriate footwear is advised. I often finish at The Mill Hotel, but there are various other paths and walkways to explore. It's just one of the lovely free attractions in Sudbury that Gainsborough would have loved, you can see lovely sunsets and sunrises there. Pure...

Wonderful vast spaces but photos convey nothing of this - too many cattle and swan pictures. The magic of these meadows is the walks along the tranquility of the river Stour and the miles of deserted rail track with their overhanging trees and steep banks. Pictures need to convey the huge space of friars meadow, the intimacy of Kone Vale with its black poplars. Some walkers are fearful of cattle and will shun walks where these are present. Yet they are insignificant in the miles of meadow, rail track and smaller trails that make up this area of outstanding beauty. Photographic...

I love the fact that people of all types have a shared enjoyment of this wonderful place. Areas of natural beauty are few and far between these days but the meadows are wonderful in all weathers and every season. I wouldn’t however venture into this area in early evening as there are lots of feral children who hang about and cause distress to the cows and people just wanting to enjoy their own space. The river and all its fowl are wonderful to watch - I particularly love seeing all the...