With the cattle now removed to their winter quarters and the autumn colours fading and falling from the trees some may feel that the Sudbury riverside loses its appeal. It is, however, all about looking and listening and then it…

The end of yet another grazing season fast approaches and with it any lingering ideas that halcyon days are still with us are banished. The evenings are drawing in and cooler days mean that grass growth becomes imperceptible and no…

Many people enjoy the Sudbury riverside and see it uniquely as a place of informal recreation for walking the dog, picnicking, boating on the river, cycling, feeding the ducks and so on. They rarely give any thought to the economic…

In the 1690s, John Ray of Black Notley near Braintree, sometimes considered to be the father of natural history in Britain, wrote that butterflies existed ‘to brighten the countryside like so many golden jewels’. There can be few people who…

Each year the first Tuesday of July is a special day on the Sudbury Common Lands. It is the day when Freemen of Sudbury reacquaint themselves with, and reaffirm their ancient links and rights on the Sudbury commons, namely the…

At this time of year plant growth is spectacular. There is urgency to grow and produce flowers to attract insect or wind pollinators in order to set seed to ensure future generations so it is all systems go on the…

In spite of the extraordinary lack of rain the grass is now beginning to grow and the cattle are returning to the riverside following a tradition of centuries. Originally the cattle would have been left to their own devices but…

April sees the real beginning of nature’s unfolding pageant. Winter weather may still linger awhile with a brief spell of bitter chill, sleet and hail of ‘blackthorn winter’ but it will be short lived. Most will be unaware of spring’s…

Here in Suffolk we enjoyed another largely benign winter but it certainly came with a sting in its tail in the form of storm Doris. Doris would seem an unlikely sort of name to give a storm and, of course,…

The weather is always a favourite topic of conversation; it is either too cold or hot or perhaps too wet or dry. The most remarkable thing about the winter so far, apart from the dry and largely fine weather, has…