Sutton Heath Walk

Today we have a guest post from Joyce. On one of her walks recently somebody commented that if I wasn't on a walk then there was no record of it to remind people. Well I couldn't be on this one as I was still in Spain on a day trip to Setenil de las Bodegas and Ronda. So Joyce took some photos and wrote up today's. Over to you Joyce...

Hi everyone….while John was enjoying a few more days exploring Spain our usual weekly walking group tackled a new route near Woodbridge. This was the invite:

"Tuesday 22nd Oct I'm offering a different (and later) walk at Sutton/Rendlesham in the hope of some sandy conditions underfoot. We will meet at Sutton Heath Car Park, Woodbridge Road, B1083. Nearest Postcode IP12 3TG at 11am and we will do a 10 mile walk towards the River Deben."

This was the route...

Sutton Heath is a special place for many people and the miles of paths are very popular. Lowland heath is rare in Britain and provides a home for numerous animals, insects and plants. We used some of the iconic Sandlings Walk route and it provided us with broad, sandy tracks.  Scots Pines are a feature of the Heath and are native to Britain. These trees have orange flaky bark and produce lots of small cones. They provide a home for many insects and birds. Even the wood from dead trees is important as it provides a home for insects and fungi. We certainly saw lots of fungi.

Here are some photos.

We all agreed that a short stop at The Sorrel Horse pub at Shottisham would be a good idea before we tackled the muddy part of the walk.

 

[Note from editor: What has Roland been up to to deserve this?].

We passed Wood Hall Manor – popular as a wedding venue.

We were heading Westwards now towards the River Deben and we were rewarded with some spectacular views. The River Deben never fails to disappoint and in particular the Tide Mill at Woodbridge looked fab in the sunshine. We passed lots of vast fields on which turf is grown for prestigious sports pitches.

Our last section took us through Sutton Hoo. This is the site of two 6th- and early 7th-century cemeteries. One cemetery contained an undisturbed ship-burial, including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, most of which are now in the British Museum. You can read more here (and John's post from a visit earlier this year, here).

A lovely 10+ mile walk for an Autumn Day and one to be repeated asap

Thank-you Joyce! I wish I could have been on it. And a lovely job with the photos and write-up. Give us some more soon.