It was another lovely afternoon. Time for another short walk. I thought of Long Melford and then found this site with a set of walks - The Suffolk Threads Trails...
"In the 15th and 16th century, the fate of a handful of Suffolk towns was changed forever by the wool trade. Lavenham, Long Melford, Hadleigh, Clare, Sudbury: all of them were producing woolen cloth that was in great demand across Europe to the tips of northern Russia. As the towns grew richer and richer, so did their architecture: resplendent churches and half-timbered merchants’ houses sprung up, giving the towns a distinctive beauty that still survives today. You can explore the Suffolk Wool Towns and experience this beauty firsthand following the specially created Suffolk Threads Trails."
I think they will provide me with a number of short walks to do this winter. Today I did the Long Melford one. Much of the route was familiar and I have walked at Long Melford many times before, most recently on this walk in July. But I had never done the bit along Bull Lane and back via the Melford Walk Local Nature Reserve - well not that I can remember, anyway.
This was my route, starting from the public car park opposite the entrance to Melford Hall, next to the old school.
Here are some of my photos.
Melford Hall was lit by the sun as I left the car park.
The Bull has been an inn since at least the 16th century.
Across the road is Brook House which was built in the late 15th century and in 1495 was the White Hart Inn.
Just along Hall Street is Cocoa-nut house, which dates from the late 14th century. Its name reflects that in the past it was an industrial site where coconut fibres were woven into matting.
There is a lot of smart-looking new housing development along Bull Lane, but this house opposite the end of King's Lane has been around a lot longer.
The Melford Walk runs along the route of the old bury St. Edmunds to Sudbury railway line.
I got some dramatic skies...
...and lots of berries along the way.
It was very pleasant under foot, even though at times it goes along the bottom of the old railway cutting.
The route returns to Hall St opposite Melford Place with its private chapel.
There are plenty of other historically significant houses along Hall St.
I passed my car, now all on its own in the car park, and headed towards Holy Trinity Church. past the sun-bathed Black Lion and its adjoining terrace of houses and Trinity Hospital, which was originally built in 1573, but was largely reconstructed in 1847.
According to this article about the church "The nave, at 152.6 feet (46.5 m), is believed to be the longest of any parish church in England. There are nine bays, of which the first five at the western end are believed to date from an earlier structure."
Now I was on the Stour Valley Path heading across the fields towards Kentwell Hall, famous for its Tudor re-enactments.
The trees along the drive to the Hall is an impressive line of trees festooned in mistletoe.
I turned around at the gates to Kentwell Hall...
...and headed back down the drive towards the village seeing the light fade...
...as the sun set.
The church was now silhouetted against the sky...
...and mist was already beginning to form.
I passed the gate to Melford Hall...
...and was soon back at my car. Well that was very pleasant and, yet again, perfectly timed. And what a lovely sunset.
You can see more details of my route in the leaflet or here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.
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