Nature through the eyes of my camera

Flatford is situated in the picturesque Dedham Vale. The River Stour runs through Flatford onto Dedham, Manningtree and finally the North sea, at Harwich.   The many trees that line the Stour from Flatford to Dedham are a magnet for photographers especially on frosty days in winter. Many people associate Flatford and the surrounding area with the artist and painter John Constable and his famous painting of the 'Hay Wain'.  Flatford Mill is a grade I listed watermill originally built in 1733.  Attached to the mill is the miller's cottage, also grade I listed.  The mill was once owned by Constable's father. Further on from the mill is Willy Lott's cottage (Grade I listed) which also appeared in Constables paintings.  The cottage was named after willy Lott who was a tenant farmer. Other buildings of interest near Flatford Mill are Valley Farm (Grade I listed) and Bridge Cottage (Grade II listed) Valley Farm Bridge Cottage       Many people associate the area with the

  Levington Creek looking out to sea and Felixstowe Docks Levington Lagoon is a 5 hectare nature reserve owned by Suffolk Yacht Harbour Ltd. and managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The lagoon was formed when the sea wall was breached during the floods of 1953.  The site is now a magnet for breeding, wintering and passage estuarine birds. Saltmarsh plants include sea lavender and sea purslane. Return to Index

  Bawdsey appears a desolate place on the Deben Peninsula, in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The four Martello Towers, machine gun emplacements and other WWII defences tell of the vulnerability of the area in the past to invasion. The remains of landing stages can also be seen on the beach, in front of Bawdsey Manor. Bawdsey Cliffs is a Site of Special Scientific interest because of its geological importance of exposed Gelasian (early Pleistocene) Red Crag, the most significant exposure of Red Crag in England. Further along the coast towards Shingle Street, small salt water inlets have formed, caused by shifting shingle.  Above the beach there are lagoons where a variety of birds can be spotted. Turnstones Greylag Geese Swallow Kestrel Return to Index