We have enjoyed a largely glorious autumn devoid of grey rain lashed days with strong winds. The rather quieter weather allowed the leaves to stay on the trees and as they lost their chlorophyll they displayed a wonderful range of…

During November the riverside landscape changes dramatically. With the last of the cattle departing from the pastures their agricultural function ceases until the following spring. People tend to think that when the cattle are removed at the end of the…

May’s newsletter highlighted the very obvious wonders of nature in the glorious display of buttercups. For the most part, however, we do not witness such spectacles as a general rule in lowland England. For meadows bursting with blooms one has…

Farming in a traditional way brings enormous benefits for wildlife. Here on the Sudbury riverside the Sudbury Common Lands Charity is currently able to continue the ancient tradition of livestock grazing which has disappeared from much of the Stour valley…

This time of year is often blessed with hot sunny days and long warm evenings when everyone can get out and enjoy the natural beauty of Sudbury’s wonderful riverside. How very fortunate the town is to still have such a…

What a June it was! Rain and yet more rain in hugely ferocious downpours interspersed with a few sunny intervals. The vegetation grew and grew so that it was full on with the strimmers, mowers and blowers to keep everything…

  The Friars Meadow County Wildlife Site has changed dramatically over the years as the management has extinguished the coarse grasses. Time was, in high summer, when mists of Yorkshire Fog grass pollen would drift in dusty swirls as the…

May is the month when the natural world is bursting with exuberance, the month of annual rebirth and renewal of life. Whilst all of us will come and go, nature will come and go and come again and again for…

Shortly we will witness the return of grazing livestock for the new season and thus continue the very ancient tradition of summer grazing on the riverside. The cattle are absolutely crucial to the management of the Sudbury Common Lands pastures…

The first day of March is apparently supposed to mark the first day of spring. This may be the case for those who like to neatly categorise the passing days and months into an orderly manner. Nature, however, works to…