One of our very favourite days in England, and nearing the end of our time in Essex, was the day we walked from Manningtree Train Station to Flatford and Dedham. We were a bit concerned about getting there because we had to "look for the trail" from the train as it passed through Manningtree on its way from Colchester to Ipswich. We'd been down this rail twice. Guide books kept indicating that having a car was necessary. We didn't believe it! When we arrived at Manningtree Station, we walked out of the train station and immediately saw a sign for Flatford. It was a beautiful day and a very fine 4 km walk to Flatford, mostly following the Stour River.
We loved the NT site at Flatford and it also housed a very nice wildlife garden and since one of our main reasons for spending 3 weeks in England was to look at gardens, it was very fitting. I wish we had discovered this place a little earlier in our journey because there were plenty of public footpaths to follow in the area. It is true that the place where John Constable painted "The Haywain" is very much unchanged.
From Flatford, we carried on to the village of Dedham, famous for its creamed teas. The route was over pastoral countryside and we were accompanied by lots of cattle. The creamed tea (tea with scones and clotted cream and jam) was a perfect fix for our two hour walk back to Manningtree Station.
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