It is a sound that stops me in my tracks every time I hear it – the unmistakeable throbbing hum that emanates from the giant wings of mute swans as they fly over Sudbury. It is a signal to look…

During the summer months our hedgerows are full of growth, flowers, and green fruits. So much so that it can sometimes be a little difficult to distinguish all the species that are present in an old well-established hedge. In the…

I should have known that this being 2020 that things would not go to plan; that my seemingly simple search for a robin would not be straightforward. What I had in mind was a seasonal article about our beloved redbreast…

This month the trustees of the Sudbury Municipal Charities are celebrating the 352nd Christmas Day Gifts distribution. Unfortunately, as a result of the pandemic, the elderly gentlemen of Sudbury will not be meeting to receive their clothing vouchers as is…

During the summer I stepped out of my house in central Sudbury and immediately felt like I was at the seaside. This false impression had been caused by the panicked squawking of a pack of gulls overhead. The reason for…

The Sudbury riverside placed, as it is, adjacent to the old market town, is eminently accessible to a large number of people on foot. It also attracts considerable numbers of visitors from elsewhere in Suffolk, North Essex and further afield.…

Muntjacs are now frequently seen in and around the Common Lands but their population growth brings its challenges writes Ross Bentley. I’m not sure who was most startled. Walking along Sudbury’s Valley Trail footpath recently, I was stopped in my…

October sees the grazing season drawing to a close and by the end of the month the process of removing the final cattle to their winter farmstead quarters will be underway. The grass has been well eaten-off through the summer…

All fishermen know that success comes with patience. Catching fish is a waiting game. And there is one creature regularly seen on the Sudbury riverside who has more staying power that any other: the grey heron. Most days on the…

The Sudbury Common Lands are now well and truly grazed off; the cattle having carried out their task to maintain these famous pastures as open grasslands. Steeped in fascinating history, the grazing records for these lands stretch back into the…