Cavendish to Sudbury

Since we walked from Clare to Cavendish back in May, our progress had been stymied by the dreadful weather (the wettest April, May and June on record), too much work and two holidays (both with amazingly good weather) on the South West Coast Path and on Shetland. We were itching to get back to the Stour Valley Path, and aimed to complete the walk in three days. When we booked, just a week before setting off, we were taking something of a gamble with the weather, but it stayed fine all day. The wet summer means that everywhere was still beautifully green in late July, with pretty wildflowers. However it was occasionally slightly overgrown and that we were sometimes squelching through surface water or mud - the ducks liked it! We were pretty muddy by the end of the day, but we've known worse and our walking boots kept our feet dry (and my walking poles kept me upright!).

To get to Cavendish by public transport before the middle of the day meant an early start. We caught the 7.09 train from Downham Market to Cambridge then walked down to Hills Road and caught the number 13 bus to Haverhill. The bus manages to take an hour to cover a distance of just 18 miles (by the direct route) by wiggling its way through villages (pretty) and the outskirts of Haverhill (tedious). Nevertheless we arrived on time in Haverhill, which meant we had long enough for a cup of tea at the Costa on the High Street before catching the number 236 bus towards Sudbury. We got off by the Green in Cavendish and we were walking by 10.15.

We walked up Cavendish High Street and turned left onto a footpath opposite Pentlow Lane (where we turned right last time we were here). We followed footpaths through rolling countryside, frequently through the middle of wheat and barley fields, sometimes with poppies, to the village of Glemsford and then down to the Glem Valley. The metal bridge over the River Glem was somewhat overgrown and somewhat wobbly!

We walked for a short distance along the B1066, then turned left past farm buildings and up a green belt to woodland. The path followed to the left of Pond Plantation, then we turned right along a track which brought us to the entrance to Kentwell Hall. The Hall was closed today for a wedding, which didn't matter to use as we didn't have time to visit, and we had the added attraction of being passed by the bridal car as we walked down to tree lined drive that links Long Melford and Kentwall Hall. We didn't follow this all the way, instead (after passing some rare breed cattle) taking a footpath across a meadow to Holy Trinity Church.

Wikipedia says that 'Long Melford is unusual in that it has a parish church with dimensions more suited to a cathedral'. This is true, presumably because Melford was a wealthy 'wool town', complete with two stately homes (Kentwell Hall and Melford Hall). Long Melford church has ancient origins, but was substantially rebuilt by John Clopton of Kentwell Gall in the 15th Century. It's a fascinating place with a Chantry Chapel and an unusual separate Lady Chapel - and pretty hollyhocks growing alongside the Church and Lady Chapel.

We ate our lunch sitting on a seat on Long Melford's Green, then walked past Melford Hall which is owned by the National Trust and which we visited a few months ago. Beatrix Potter was a regular visitor to Melford Hall and they were having a Beatrix Potter day today. We walked down Long Melford's main street, past the shops, hotels and tea shops - and another bride and groom being photographed. The origin of the 'long' in Long Melford is very obvious!

We crossed the meadows to a weir then again (across the main river, but still with water between us and Sudbury), to the Mill Hotel. It looks like a big hotel, so I was pleased we hadn't been able to get a room there. We continued over meadows and crossed back over the River Stour, accompanied by the persistent ringing of Church Bells. Sudbury has lots of churches, but it turns out that the bell ringing was from All Saints Church, right next to the Olde Bull, where we were staying. We left the water meadows at Ballingdon Bridge and parted from the Stour Valley Path here, instead crossing the bridge and walking the very short distance to the Olde Bull, arriving about 3.30pm. We changed out of our muddy trousers then went to explore Sudbury, 18th century home of Thomas Gainsborough and 20th century home of Richard's Uncle Colin! It was a more interesting town than we'd remembered, with lots of medieval houses. We pottered around the market place then walked down to Friar's Meadow and watched people 'messing about on the river' before returning to the hotel.

We'd booked into The Olde Bull because, when booking at short notice, it was the first place in Sudbury I found with rooms still available. At that time, its reviews on Trip Advisor were distinctly mixed - most people seemed to like the food, but many considered the accommodation 'tired' [and in 2020, I'm not sure whether it is open at all]. However we enjoyed our stay. We were in 'The Brown Room' in the oldest part of the house, probably dating back to 1540, complete with beams and what the Olde Bull's website describe as a minstrel's gallery. It was slightly tatty in places, but the young owners (James Hale and Mike Hardy) who took the place over just in February clearly listen to feedback - so, for example, another guest had said on trip adviser that it would help if there were toiletries and hairdryers in the rooms; we arrived to find toiletries and hairdryers in place, just a couple of weeks after the review. The only slight problem was noise from the road outside. James and Mike's real passion is clearly good food, and we had a superb meal in the hotel's Trivets Restaurant in the evening. I had pan fried duck breast, lemon marinated chicken and 'Assington Mess' - and the 'July offer' was a free bottle of wine!

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