Ruth and Stuart are hosting a series of walk-and-talks and a swim through the Stour Valley during the summer of 2017 with local experts on the river's connections with ecology, literature, wildlife, history, writers and artists. The idea is for us all to exchange information and share individual knowledge and experiences with each other. Every participant's viewpoint will be as valued as another’s.
Important information
Tickets are free but places will be limited to small groups, so booking is essential. Walkers are assumed to be self reliant, wearing appropriate footwear and clothing and bringing water to drink. All walks will be led along public rights of way but will encounter some uneven ground, gates and stiles, with the exception of Walk 1 which will be accessible to wheel chair users. Under 16’s should be accompanied by a responsible adult. Sorry no dogs allowed on the walks except assistance dogs. The walks will be documented using GPS, photographs, film and/or audio recording.
Accessibility information is supplied below for each walk. If you need BSL interpreter support please get in touch as we'll try to arrange this.
Pdf of the leaflet is downloadable here...
Important information
Tickets are free but places will be limited to small groups, so booking is essential. Walkers are assumed to be self reliant, wearing appropriate footwear and clothing and bringing water to drink. All walks will be led along public rights of way but will encounter some uneven ground, gates and stiles, with the exception of Walk 1 which will be accessible to wheel chair users. Under 16’s should be accompanied by a responsible adult. Sorry no dogs allowed on the walks except assistance dogs. The walks will be documented using GPS, photographs, film and/or audio recording.
Accessibility information is supplied below for each walk. If you need BSL interpreter support please get in touch as we'll try to arrange this.
Pdf of the leaflet is downloadable here...
| trrtu_walks_a5ls.pdf |
Walk 1 Manningtree/Mistley, Sunday 23rd July, 2 – 4pm
Witches and Witch-Finders in the Tendring Hundred in 1645 with Alison Rowlands
This walk will explore Manningtree and Mistley looking at the role local inhabitants played in the first phase of the East Anglian witch hunt of 1645-1647. This was the largest witch-hunt in English history, and has become infamous because of the involvement of two local witch-finders, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne. who both lived in Manningtree in 1645, as did several of the women who were to become victims of their witch-finding activities. We will explore the activities of the witch-finders, local Justices of the Peace and townspeople who acted as accusers and witnesses in the trials. We will also gain an understanding of how witch-finding activities spread from Manningtree to other places in the Tendring Hundred, and why the witch-finders headed across the River Stour into Suffolk to continue their activities in the summer of 1645, rather than further south into the rest of Essex. Professor Alison Rowlands of the University of Essex is a leading expert in the history of witchcraft and witch-trials.
Accessibility information: This walk is accessible to wheel chair users as it is mainly on public streets and pavements. The terrain has slight inclines and some cambers. There will be people to assist on the walk if necessary.
Thanks to all who came and braved the rain! Blog post here.
Witches and Witch-Finders in the Tendring Hundred in 1645 with Alison Rowlands
This walk will explore Manningtree and Mistley looking at the role local inhabitants played in the first phase of the East Anglian witch hunt of 1645-1647. This was the largest witch-hunt in English history, and has become infamous because of the involvement of two local witch-finders, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne. who both lived in Manningtree in 1645, as did several of the women who were to become victims of their witch-finding activities. We will explore the activities of the witch-finders, local Justices of the Peace and townspeople who acted as accusers and witnesses in the trials. We will also gain an understanding of how witch-finding activities spread from Manningtree to other places in the Tendring Hundred, and why the witch-finders headed across the River Stour into Suffolk to continue their activities in the summer of 1645, rather than further south into the rest of Essex. Professor Alison Rowlands of the University of Essex is a leading expert in the history of witchcraft and witch-trials.
Accessibility information: This walk is accessible to wheel chair users as it is mainly on public streets and pavements. The terrain has slight inclines and some cambers. There will be people to assist on the walk if necessary.
Thanks to all who came and braved the rain! Blog post here.
Walk 2 Nayland, Tuesday 25th July 10am – 1pm
Tales from the River Bank with Darren Tansley
Darren is the Water for Wildlife Officer at Essex Wildlife Trust and knows the area very well, having spent his life exploring and understanding the local landscape since he was a boy. He will recount stories from his youth, look at the seasonal wildlife and habitats along the River and discuss some of the many challenges they face, both natural and man-made.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Nayland Village Hall
End Point - Nayland Village Hall
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Tales from the River Bank with Darren Tansley
Darren is the Water for Wildlife Officer at Essex Wildlife Trust and knows the area very well, having spent his life exploring and understanding the local landscape since he was a boy. He will recount stories from his youth, look at the seasonal wildlife and habitats along the River and discuss some of the many challenges they face, both natural and man-made.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Nayland Village Hall
End Point - Nayland Village Hall
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Walk 3 Wrabness, Sunday 6th August 10am – 1pm
Coastal Foraging Walk with Matthew Rooney
Matthew is a botanist, ecologist, forager and biodynamic mushroom farmer. He will take us foraging down into the valley, past Grayson Perry’s A House for Essex, down to the seawall. We will head up river, exploring the saltings along the way, and discover the edible plants that grow there, some of which are suitable for cooking and some that have medicinal properties. We will walk back along Church Road, stopping at the 11th century Church on the way.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Wrabness Railway Station
End Point - Wrabness Railway Station
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Coastal Foraging Walk with Matthew Rooney
Matthew is a botanist, ecologist, forager and biodynamic mushroom farmer. He will take us foraging down into the valley, past Grayson Perry’s A House for Essex, down to the seawall. We will head up river, exploring the saltings along the way, and discover the edible plants that grow there, some of which are suitable for cooking and some that have medicinal properties. We will walk back along Church Road, stopping at the 11th century Church on the way.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Wrabness Railway Station
End Point - Wrabness Railway Station
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Walk 4 Flatford to Cattawade, Saturday 19th August 2017 10am – 1pm
Walking out of Constable Country towards my own with Simon Carter
Starting with scenes of Flatford familiar from Constable we will look at how subject matter and the means of recording it pushed Constable into evolutionary painting. We will talk about the things we can learn from other artists. From the more pastoral river navigation scenes of Constable we will be walking towards the open tidal river, with hints of the coast that is Simon’s subject, from fresh water to salt water, from an owned landscape to a public and open landscape. We will think about the way this landscape approximates to how painting has been practised since Mondrian. We will talk about drawing and the collecting of information, and how this affects the way the painting is made in the studio. Simon is a painter based in the north coast of Essex and currently the president of Colchester Art Society.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Flatford Mill NT
End Point - Cattawade (with optional return walk back to Flatford on the other bank of the river)
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Walking out of Constable Country towards my own with Simon Carter
Starting with scenes of Flatford familiar from Constable we will look at how subject matter and the means of recording it pushed Constable into evolutionary painting. We will talk about the things we can learn from other artists. From the more pastoral river navigation scenes of Constable we will be walking towards the open tidal river, with hints of the coast that is Simon’s subject, from fresh water to salt water, from an owned landscape to a public and open landscape. We will think about the way this landscape approximates to how painting has been practised since Mondrian. We will talk about drawing and the collecting of information, and how this affects the way the painting is made in the studio. Simon is a painter based in the north coast of Essex and currently the president of Colchester Art Society.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Flatford Mill NT
End Point - Cattawade (with optional return walk back to Flatford on the other bank of the river)
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Walk 5 Wissington to Wormingford, 13th September 10am – 1pm
Words from Wissington to Wormingford with James Canton
James will be discussing the links between literature and landscape based around a visit to Wissington Church and a walk over the Stour up towards Wormingford. Dr James Canton has written widely in creative non-fiction forms and taught on the MA in Wild Writing at the University of Essex since its inception in 2009. His book Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape (2013) is inspired by rural wanderings in the county. His latest work Ancient Wonderings: Journeys into Prehistoric Britain is published by Collins in June 2017. The Oak Papers that James will talk about on the walk remains a work in progress.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Wissington Church
End Point - Wormingford
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Words from Wissington to Wormingford with James Canton
James will be discussing the links between literature and landscape based around a visit to Wissington Church and a walk over the Stour up towards Wormingford. Dr James Canton has written widely in creative non-fiction forms and taught on the MA in Wild Writing at the University of Essex since its inception in 2009. His book Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape (2013) is inspired by rural wanderings in the county. His latest work Ancient Wonderings: Journeys into Prehistoric Britain is published by Collins in June 2017. The Oak Papers that James will talk about on the walk remains a work in progress.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Wissington Church
End Point - Wormingford
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post here.
Swim at Dedham, Saturday 16th September 10-11am
with Kevin Sheath from Dedham River Swimmers
Please contact us if you would like to join Kevin on a swim in the River Stour. The swim will be suitable for all swimming abilities and the river is shallow enough to stand at any point along this stretch.
Thanks to all who came along.
with Kevin Sheath from Dedham River Swimmers
Please contact us if you would like to join Kevin on a swim in the River Stour. The swim will be suitable for all swimming abilities and the river is shallow enough to stand at any point along this stretch.
Thanks to all who came along.
Walk 6 Saturday 30th September 10am -1pm –
A Walk through the East Country with Jules Pretty
Jules Pretty will be leading and narrating a walk on the valley sides and bottom of the Stour Valley. It will begin and end in Nayland, taking in the Suffolk side, walking through buzzard and red kite country, through woods and meadows, dropping down to Wiston Church to see the wall paintings of the medieval dragon, and return along the river itself. Professor Jules Pretty is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Environment & Society (University of Essex) and the author of award-winning coastal book, This Luminous Coast, and the newly published The East Country.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Arger Fen
End Point - Wormingford
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post shortly.
A Walk through the East Country with Jules Pretty
Jules Pretty will be leading and narrating a walk on the valley sides and bottom of the Stour Valley. It will begin and end in Nayland, taking in the Suffolk side, walking through buzzard and red kite country, through woods and meadows, dropping down to Wiston Church to see the wall paintings of the medieval dragon, and return along the river itself. Professor Jules Pretty is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Environment & Society (University of Essex) and the author of award-winning coastal book, This Luminous Coast, and the newly published The East Country.
Accessibility information: This walk will be on public footpaths through mixed terrain and there may be some stiles or other obstacles. It will be suitable for accompanied children.
Start point - Arger Fen
End Point - Wormingford
Thanks to all who came along. Blog post shortly.
