The short cut route is actually really pretty - a lovely walk along the Stour.

14 at the appointed time, and one on the train half an hour later caought us up at Dedham, making15. It was hot and sunny of course. Although the afternoon of this walk is more memorable, I really enjoyed the morning, which had a reasonable amount of shade and especially the descent into Dedham was easy on the eye. There was a certain amount of indecision at Dedham about where to have lunch, which version of the walk to do, whether to stop for a drink, whether to try and go swimming . . . in the end 10 opted for the short walk, and I have to say in the afternoon heat I was glad not to have gone further. As for swimming, it was very noisy at Dedham Lock with beatboxes blaring and a big gang of youths having fun in the water. I hear that one of the long walkers attempted to get in further up the river. Meanwhile we chose not to go to East Bergholt despite much moaning from one walker; all 10 short walkers stopped at Flatford, some having an overpriced beer as it was too soon after lunch for cake; and most of us had further refreshments at the station buffet. Some took them on the train but I think six of us waited for the next one, the slightly delayed 1620 which unfortunately brought us back in the peak of the evening rush. Another top day out.

5 of us did the full route, and then had a lovely and very welcome cream tea in Flatford Mill NT tea garden. After saying goodbye to the others who took the short route using the Stour Valley walk, we walked along the pretty riverside path. After this however, there is a longish stretch of tedious road walking. This may be welcome during the muddy months, but we were wishing that a longer route incorporating the Stour Valley path was possible. We arrived at Manningtree station and allowed two trains to go past whilst we enjoyed cold drinks from the bar in the outside seating area. This is a lovely walk, and it appears to be scheduled mainly in the summer months, so maybe a few tweaks could be made to reduce the road walking.

Hello I would love to join this walk, where and what time is the meeting point and is it possible to have the leader phone number just in case? many thanks annelaure

@Annelaure: if you haven't been on one of our group walks before, please check out the FAQ page: https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/swc/index.shtml. In practice people do tend to stick together and this is a familiar walk which many of our regulars will have done before, but you'll get brownie points if you turn up with some information about the walk rather than just tagging along.

Thanks for your answer. I am a keen hiker and been so for over a décade. I definitely will bring my positive energy to this walk. But i have no sense of direction that is why i respectfully ask if i may know the meeting point précisely and perhaps the details of the leader. I did once a walk with you already. It was delightful but i was nervous i would not recognise the group and miss the walk.Also may i kindly ask around what time we are expected back on london? Lastly i would like to add i dont live in london so if this or the above disqualifies me to join i would be sorry but would understand. Many thanks in advance for your consideration. Best regards, Annelaure

@Annelaure: I'm not sure I can add much to what's on the FAQ page. If you've been on one of our group walks you'll know that people meet on the platform where the train arrives. Everyone is welcome on our walks regardless of where they live; it's just that the arrangements assume that most people will be travelling from the capital. The Manningtree walk page suggests allowing 9½ hours for the whole day (from leaving London at 1000), meaning you could expect to be back by 7.30pm (and that allows for a slowish pace with plenty of stops for refreshments, sightseeing, etc). Anyway, please do come on this walk. It will be fun to meet a keen hiker with no sense of direction!

Thanks yes I will join the walk hopefully i will recognize you or you will recognize me.can I leave my number somewhere to be called or could I get someone s number in case I don't find yoy? Again i am not from London and notseasonned with trains etc..thanks and v much look forward . Ps will people take a packed lunch or eat at the pub?

Annelaure, there will certainly be people bringing a packed lunch and probably also others having a pub lunch; people each decide what they want to do. Can I stress that this is a self-guided walk and there is no plan - I don't know who will be coming on the walk, the group will almost certainly not stick together, for instance some people may want to do the short cut and others the full walk, while people with sandwiches don't usually wait for others to finish a pub lunch, and therefore not everyone will finish at the same time.

I am doing the Walk Today as well.

16 today, despite the pricey ticket. (As two learnt to their cost, even pricier if you try to buy it the train). The group split into 15 and 1 slow guy at the back. At Lawford, one of the 15 dropped back even further to admire the church, one of Britain’s top 1000. When the slow guy got to Dedham, there was no sign of the others. Had he looked in the churchyard, he would have found a few there, devouring their comestibles. Others had sped on to find sustenance in Stratford St Mary. The slow guy went in the Sun for a lone cider and,on leaving, discovered the graveyard crew. Then the church guy at the back showed up and he went in the Sun. The rest moved on and split into short and long cutters at the river. Just as well Constable isn’t painting these days. His pictures would have been dotted with the over-abundant, obtrusive “No BBQs or Campfires” signs that mar the riverside. There was a further reunion at Flatford Mill but the short-cutters moved on again and got the 16:03. cloudy morning sunny afternoon A grand day out.

You can do this for £15 return on ', hare fares', an anglia promotion https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/harefares?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnMWkBhDLARIsAHBOftqqJr3pSqw6H2r3HywNQPqyQk-m4dqTn-OORQaZrVQpoGlSMOPLtL8aArPkEALw_wcB Spotted by my ramblers group doing a Manningtree walk on Saturday.

8 assembled on a day mostly sunny not too hot The clever ones had picked up on Pete G’s fares tip. Good progress made to Dedham, though there was a little confusion over the prescribed way through the playing field. Loads of butterflies, mainly brown ones. Most of us had lunch in the churchyard, then retired to the Sun for a spot of whistle wetting. After, I think all took the shortcut along the river. Because it’s nicer, not to skimp on miles. OK? Some continued shortcutting to Flatford but about 5 went to look at East Bergholt church. Then down to Flatford and the obligatory look at the Hay Wain’s pond. And a tea stop where the others had enormous slices of cake. You know me, I’m not one for cake. But I had to do something while theirs was being galumphed down. Then the final stretch, quite overgrown and well butterflied, to Manningtree station where we only just.caught the 16:19. The shortcutters had caught earlier ones. Good day out.

6 on a sunny day. Barely a cloud in the sky. There was a little consternation past Lawford when the paths didn’t seem tally with the directions. Most of us went left round the big field. This took us through a wood with a stunning display of celandine and we were soon back on course. On to Dedham, where 3 visited the Sun, which was friendly enough. The others picknicked and moved on ahead of us. We laggards eschewed Stratford St Mary and took the river shortcut to East Bergholt, which was very pleasant. We noted, though, that the bridge we would have crossed to continue to Flatford was no longer there, either washed away or demolished. Not that that bothered us. A look round East Bergholt’s church, then on to Flatford Mill where we were reunited with the others and had tea and cakes by the river in the sunshine. We got to Manningtree station just as the 16:50 was arriving so no time to explore the delights of the buffet bar. A good day out.

4 on a pleasant sunny day. Perhaps the ticket price is a deterrent (a return - with reductions - is now £17). But the new trains are quite swish. 2 other walkers were spotted with a book copy. (Don’t they know it’s out of date?) Buttercups took a starring role today, ably supported by cow parsley, hawthorn, speedwell and comfrey. Some of the meadows were stunning. If only I’d had a few crayons with me. I could have given Constable a run for his money . The Sun was fully booked but my three speedier walkmates managed to get into the Marlborough. I just sat on a gravestone and wept. But it was a comfortable gravestone. The tea rooms were open and doing good business. Only one pub open in Stratford St Mary (another reopens ‘soon’). The village is spoilt by traffic and the A11, almost enough to warrant taking the short cut. But the church is impressive. And so to East Bergholt where they still haven’t got the bells on the church roof . A lot of boaters on the Stour and, something I’ve not noticed before, people on punts. Flatford Mill was busy and the NT just had a kiosk going with a big queue. I got the 16:50. Memo to self : Only try to get contact details from people on our walk.

Hi. Is this walk prone to flooding in bad weather? Thank you very much.

Let's hope not...

I've never done a walk in extensive rain, but I'm tired of being stuck indoors and am tempted to come! Any weather tips? I assume waterproof clothing is a must.

Waterproof jacket and trousers, yes :(

Station buffet bar is open til 9 pm.

There were two weather forecasts for today. One - believed by most walkers, I suspect - was for torrential rain. The other had the rain clearing to sunshine. In fact we had neither. It was cloudy with some light rain , the latter being in the morning (apart from one unsporting shower just before the end for three of us). It was hard under the grey skies to imagine the sunny scenes with fluffy white clouds painted by Constable. But we did our best, comparing a few famous scenes to dingy pictures on our smartphones. It was almost completely dry underfoot: no floods or gloopy mud. There were 6 of us, which made keeping within government guidelines easy. We had three men, three women, and one newcomer to the walks. We got to Dedham at midday and there was some discussion about whether to lunch there or later, but at least one of the pubs in Stratford St Mary later turned out to be shut and another was about apparently not doing food, so it was just as well we eventually decided to lunch at Dedham. Two had sandwiches. The other four tried the Sun without success, but after much scanning of a tablet computer by the maitre d’ (or whatever we call these new pub greeter people), we were admitted to the Marlborough Head. The food came very zippily, probably because we were the first customers, and was very good. The sandwichers came in for drinks. In the afternoon two got a bit separated from the others, and the others went the wrong way slightly, inadvertently taking a shorter route to East Bergholt. Getting to Flatford Mill, yours truly was aghast to discover that my three companions did not want to stop for tea. So I sat in the garden of the National Trust tea room alone - not just without companions but almost without any other customers, inside or out. I have never seen the place so empty, nor enjoyed the Haywain site in solitude before. When I had finished tea it turned out that the missing two walkers were inside the tea room, so I hooked up with them for the final leg. We got to the station in time for the 4.53pm train and there met the other three who had been to the station buffet. I regretted not having time to buy a takeaway beer from the buffet to have on the train, but I needn’t have worried because - wonder of wonders - there was one on the train, a sparkling new train at that. The buffet guy very kindly urged us to sit in the adjacent first class, saying it was declassified, so very posh we felt all the way back to Liverpool Street, me with my can of Southwold bitter.

I did this walk yesterday as well but later than the group. I was intending to take the shortcut described in the instructions but by mistake took the second left instead of the first left at the fork in para 34, thus creating my own shortcut. That turned out to be quite fortunate because Fen Bridge is actually closed at the moment for safety reasons and it’s not possible to cross the river as described in para 41. The stretch along the Stour was one of the most beautiful bits of the walk and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. Had tea at the Bridge Cottage Tearoom which got quite busy towards closing time, as did the path along the river. Lots of dog walkers.

There were 4 of us who gathered at Manningtree station on an initially cloudy morning which managed to turn quite wet as soon as it had a chance. The views over the flat meadows carpeted with buttercups and later gently rolling hills were nevertheless stupendous particularly in the afternoon. The weather for once lived up to its expectations of w='sunny_and_warm’ post lunch. The Sun Inn Pub served some very good Italian food to three of us while the fourth member disappeared to have a quick power nap in the graveyard (or so he said); only one degree less mysterious than the spy I had on a recent art study trip. Dedham has some wonderful architecture in St Mary’s and the former Methodist church (now arts and crafts centre). Fine Dutch gabling too in many houses. Only one, now that the sun was shining, made a small detour to admire another St Mary’s, this time in East Bergholt, and had a glance at the Old Hall in passing. Most interesting was the cage with huge bells , still rung by hand, next to the church. Caught up with patient fellow walkers to continue for tea at Flatford Mill. The extensive valley views were reminiscent of Albert Cuyk’s paintings with young bulls larking about and wandering through the Stour river. We all agreed that the afternoon was the most delightful part of the walk: after Flatford Lock, along the Stour, slowly meandering, both us and the river, to Manningtree station, where 3 got the 5pm train. One thought it was a shame to leave at such a beautiful moment and went back to the Stour for another hour to enjoy early evening sun & extended walk (Recommended: small diversion direction Cattiswade, only drawback is a 10 min walk along busy road but the current route is a 20 minute unexciting inland walk). Pia

initially cloudy then sunny and warm after lunch

If you looked at this post on Monday morning, please note I have changed the train time since my first draft of the post

I did this walk yesterday; there are signs along the route highlighting the closure of footpaths for maintenance; this only seemed to be a problem in the final stretch towards Manningtree station, but in actual fact the route is still accessible.Hilary

10 walkers assembled on Manningtree platform and set of on this delightful walk. The powers that be had been busy installing new clearly marked finger posts throughout the walk. Plenty of succulent blackberries were picked on the initial leg up to St. Mary's Church and a couple of sheep allowed walkers to scratch their backs - must have been the heat. As Hilary pointed out there were some minor diversions but not at all onerous and very well detailed. 2 Ramblers were met doing a walk-over for the Hampstead group, one whom I'd not seen for many a year and I found she has still hadn't forgiven me for defecting to the SWC :-( The paddocks just after the railway crossing were an absolute delight to pass with two recently arrived foals. Their minder/stableperson gave us a fascinating talk on the breed of the horses and their new offspring before we continued on to Dedham. Two further walker's joined us just before we arrived there explaining they had caught a train 2 minutes later than the one posted so 12 on the walk. Most took lunch in the back garden of The Sun which sported it's new Michelin award plaque for 2018. Some of us took a quick peek in the Parish Church after lunch where a wedding was about to take place - we'd failed to bring fascinators and dickie-bows etc. and so we slipped quietly off, heading for Dedham Mill. A splinter group took a wrong turning to Dedham Hall, but quickly corrected themselves and no yellow cards were issued. At the Mill, many of the locals had taken to boats or thrown themselves in the Stour to cool down and here our group split into two with half electing to do the shorter walk and the other half a modified version of the longer route. The short-circuiteers visited another St. Mary's at East Bergholt for a respite, briefly spotting Miriam as she headed towards Flatford Mill. We too headed for the Mill and took tea in the NT Cafe. Our Arts Connoisseur gave us all a commentary on Constable and where he had painted the Hay Wain and so on as we walked. On the final leg back to Manningtree, there had been some work done on the path (which could be an absolute quagmire after rain). The path had been widened, flattened and straightened and will hopefully be a lot easier to walk in the rainy season. A final drink was had at that so unusual cafe/bar at Manningtree Station where some of the long routers caught up and we all took the 5:19 back the Great Wen. A varied and informative day out in a hot day made bearable by much woodland and a few cumulus clouds

4 started on a day that started slightly damp got wetter briefly then dry and was cool and overcast It was largely firm underfoot but there were patches that would have kept any mudlarks happy. The end stretch after Flatford was slippery, uneven and a bit splishy sploshy. A light sprinkling of bluebells en route as well as both campions. Too early for the buttercups. Two ate in the Sun, two picnicked in the rain. Not sure what happened to the faster two later, but the slower two skipped tea and headed for the station and caught the 17:19

The "faster two" pressed on, stopping briefly at Flatford Mill and making an interesting detour to the church at East Bergholt, which i am planning to use as a case example of poor project planning, 16th century style. we just missed the 1619 so had time for tea at the station cafe (coffee only served until 11am) where I mentioned that I had once been asked if I was Mr Tiger . . . but the previous comment shows that I too have been labouring under a misapprehension about his identity;-)

Is anyone planning on doing this walk? It's a lovely area, especially now that Essex is no longer out of bounds!

Hi, I would be very interested in doing the Sunday walk - Constable Country. Who else will be going on this walk? I have not done a walk with Saturday walking group before so would really like to get an idea of who/how many will be attending. Thanks everso, lily 07741 493832

Lily, Hi. That is difficult to say with any certainty. Our walkers do not usually confirm they are coming beforehand. But, if you’re lucky, you might get some reassuring messages. If you want to be sure of a large crowd, you can be more confident of numbers on the Saturday walks when 20 or even 30 might show up. Sunday walkers tend to be a more select band, rarely reaching 10. Looking at the most recent Sundays, the reported numbers were 9,30, 4, 14, 2 (The 30 was a special to Wales, the lows were probably due to the weather). Currently light cloud (no rain) is predicted for Manningtree. Over the last 20 outings the Manningtree walk attracted an average of 11 people (though this would include Saturdays)

Hi - I'd like to do this walk too, but I too have never walked without a leader before and also am not sure how to access the walk instructions, so if a seasoned walker is going and would perhaps be happy to show Lily and me the ropes (so to speak), please post on here. Thanks

There are at least 2 ways to find the directions. In the text above, where it says "Directions: here" click on the word "here". Or you can click on the blue square that says "1.39" They both take you to the walk page. Then click on the blue "Download Walk" button to download a pdf or click on the "Walk Directions" button for an online version.

Hi, Mr M Tiger You have been most helpful, thank you so much. Well,like Summer I would not feel comfortable doing the walk without a leader so to speak. Hopefully, others may join the conversation before Sunday and if that is the case then certainly I will go. This walk sounds lovely. Meanwhile, I'll take a look at the Saturday walks and will be in touch again, Friday or Saturday - fingers crossed we'll have more confirmations. Thanks :-)

Hi there. I will be doing the walk. I've got a map (although I'm not great at map reading!), a GPS, plus will have the directions on my iPad. And if all that fails, it's only Essex - I'm sure we won't get stranded!! Hope to see you on Sunday. Sue

I plan on going, and I am sure there will be others.

Hi, just an update, I will have to drop out of this walk I'm afraid I need to finish off a form that I thought was for the following week! Hope you all have a lovely day out and catch up again, hopefully. Take care lily

I'm going too! But, I'll need help, if you follow me we can get to Scotland!!!

15 including one late riser and two who dropped out early. cloudy cool am sunny warm pm The gizmo gang raced ahead but Mr Tiger, stolidly plodding along with written directions, had to put them right once or twice. 7 visited the Sun which was accommodating and friendly. Food was good as was the beer. In a rare moment of extravagance, Mr Tiger himself ordered some food. Jaws dropped, as did one or two forks. Good idea to get there 12-ish before the Sunday rush. Tea was had at Flatford Mill which closes at 5. Our group just caught the 17:53. Faster walkers would have got an earlier one. I put money in the box at East Bergholt’s church every time I visit but they still haven’t put the bells on top.

Forget to mention the stunning display on the water meadow next to Dedham Lock. Buttercups and other stuff.

Two of us who set of at what seemed to be a comfortable pace soon lost sight of the following pack and only saw them again once more in the distance. We decided against stopping at the Sun Inn (too early both in the day and the walk), only to discover that the Black Horse pub in Stratford St Mary was not serving food. As my fellow walker had sandwiches anyway, we stopped off at the farm shop just before St Mary's church for additional supplies and then retired to the churchyard where we had a pleasant alfresco lunch in the sun. (It's worth noting that the farm shop also has a café, which might be worth flagging up as a possible alternative late lunch stop). We followed this up later in the walk with tea and cake at Flatford Mill before continuing on to Manningtree in time for the 15.57 train. Alas it benefitted us not, as a broken down train ahead of us meant that we got back to Liverpool Street over an hour late. It was an enjoyable walk though, and as Ian says, the buttercups were stunning.

hi it's going to be a hot day...just wondered if there is any shade on this walk please?

Updated directions placed on website this afternoon.

I'll wear my favourite hat then!

a good walk and even managed a swim in the river Stour. There was quite a lot of tarmac walking after dedham on the main walk and being such a sunny day Dedham was very busy.The river was lovely to swim in.

Yay! Well done for swimming. It is indeed delightful, is it not?

How many on the walk, btw?

20, Weather Sunny and hot. Most had lunch in the garden at the Red Lion, food and beer was reported as very good. After lunch five of us took the short cut along the river bank which was busy with picnickers. Three went in for a brief swim dodging the onslaught of rowers and canoeists. We waited at the NT Flatford Mill tea room for the main group but seems they got distracted so we went on without them. From memory the river bank is more natural going upstream from Dedham but it is probably easier to get into the water downstream. This is one Essex walk that is worth the travel effort.

24, I was in the main walk group, we got to Flatford Mill Café around 4pm, met up with 1 walker who did the short cut. Most surprisingly, 4 more walkers showed up at the station. They took the slow train at 10:02 by mistake in the morning but we were pleased to see them all the same. It was a perfect day to see the Constable country.

Lets be 'havin you? Manningtree is miles from Norwich!

Manningtree is indeed miles from Norwich, but since Norwich is the final destination of the train you're getting, it's helpful to be told this. It's the final destination that is prominently displayed on departure boards, so knowing this information helps you to locate the right platform quickly.

Just 3 on this walk in glorious warm and sunny 24C weather. I have done this walk quite a few times over the years but only in autumn and winter so what a treat to do it on a perfect early summer's day on dry trails and paths across fields and through woods. Dedham looked as if it had been prepared for a period film set with the main street's buildings looking quite splendid. A high quality lunch was taken at the Sun although for my veggie option I would have liked a slightly bigger portion. Still this was solved at the excellent Bridge Cottage Tearoom where we had tea and huge slices of cake. A duck ambled in to join us but was swiftly shown the door. We set off on the final leg and easily made our "target" 16.53 train - and what a pleasure to do the raised path in dry weather rather than splattering your way through mud. A perfect mid-week day out.