HARWICH, ESSEX, ENGLAND

Captured in paintings by Constable, the Essex/Suffolk border features timbered houses, moated manors and fine church towers. Leaving the main roads behind, we shall travel across the open countryside and into the beautiful Dedham Vale –Constable Country, where the great landscape painter John Constable was born in 1776.

Captured in paintings by Constable, the Essex/Suffolk border features timbered houses, moated manors and fine church towers. Leaving the main roads behind, we shall travel across the open countryside and into the beautiful Dedham Vale –Constable Country, where the great landscape painter John Constable was born in 1776. Constable was always inspired by the place where he was born and he spent years filling sketchbooks with local material that he called upon later to immortalise in his famous pictures, and in later life he returned regularly to those haunting childhood scenes. From the gatepost of Willy Lott's cottage, Constable captured the rustic scene across the old millpond, depicted in 'The Haywain', probably the most well known of all his paintings. In the sleepy, unspoilt village of Flatford the serenity of the early 18th century mill building is reflected among the wildlife activity in the little millpond. We shall have a walk along a gently sloping path with a few steps to the centre of this rural hamlet with its unchanging scenery of willows, shimmering meadows and winding streams. Visiting a 16th century thatched cottage beside the river, now owned by the National Trust, we will see an exhibition of Constable's work which include several paintings of the delightful 'Bridge Cottage'. Nearby we will see Flatford Mill, instantly recognisable from Constable’s work. Continuing by coach along the country roads we reach Dedham – the attractive village where Constable went to school and now a designated National Trust land area. In the High Street we can stop to admire the 16th century St Mary's Church, and see Sherman Hall also dating back to the 16th century. We shall enjoy free time here. Our return drive to Harwich shows many more quiet country landscapes.

Our journey time will be approximately 45 minutes each way, with a short drive between Flatford and Dedham. There will be approximately two and a half hours of walking, over some uneven and sloping ground. The tour may operate in reverse order to avoid congestion at the popular sites we visit.

DESCRIPTION CORRECT FOR 2008 SCANDINAVIA & BALTIC SEASON