The cattle returned to the pastures on 1st May following the pomp and procession of the Turning On ceremony. This celebration serves as a reminder of the inalienable links between the town and the Sudbury Common Lands where, historically, Freeman…

With spring well on the way now is the time to think about getting out and enjoying the riverside. There is so much to see in terms of wildlife and scenery from the regal swans on the river to the…

The Sudbury Common Lands Charity was set up in 1897 and for ninety years the lands were managed with profit from grazing income in mind. In 1987, however, the Trustees took the decision to move to a new policy of…

With lengthening and warmer days, the promise is spring is now very much in the air and life is beginning to rejuvenate following the damp dark months of winter. So although our Riverside Project Team members continue to work through…

With January already behind us, work for the early part of 2015 is aimed at completing a programme of fence replacement, tree pollarding and hedge laying. The charity has been fortunate to obtain some funding towards these works under its…

The winter months are busy with work to replace or repair fencing, pollarding and coppicing trees, ditch slubbing with a JCB to improve the watercourses for wildlife and, of course, trimming the Melford road and Brundon lane hedges. The hedge…

November proved to be a month of two halves with lovely warm days for the first two weeks. Sunny days highlighted the turning foliage of the trees in all their glorious autumn yellows and russets. On the Valley Trail this…

It seems incredible that only a few weeks of the current grazing season remain before all the cattle are removed from the riverside, their conservation grazing work done for another year. This year the grass continued to grow and provide…

This month sees the start of the cutting and clearance of various flower-rich grasslands where timing has to take account of seed ripening. The cool and wet conditions through the second half of August did nothing to help ripen seeds…

Although we are continuing to make the most of summer, the wheeling screaming swifts are already departing having completed their breeding programme. They are heading south, leaving something of a gap in our summer skies. Martins and swallows, however, will…