Mettingham Castle

Tags

Bungay, Mettingham, Mettingham Castle, Suffolk, walking, Waveney Valley

Last May, just over a year ago, I had to take my car to the garage to have new brake discs and pads fitted.  Instead of going back home to wait for the work to be done (which would have meant Richard having to get involved) I decided to stay in Bungay.  Bungay is a pleasant market town but it doesn’t have enough to amuse me for two or three hours in the early morning.  It has a couple of places where I could have a tea or coffee, a museum, a castle and a few useful shops none of which were open.  I decided I would go for for a walk out of the town.  Bungay is situated in the Waveney valley right at the border between Suffolk and Norfolk.  It is surrounded by water meadows.

My route took me up Annis Hill towards Mettingham.

Annis Hill, looking down towards the town

The day was perfect; the first really warm day of spring last year.  The birds were singing and everyone I met was smiling.

I took this photo of an oak tree on my walk (the 6th May 2022) and I can see that greening was more advanced then than it was on the 6th of May this year, which has been quite cold so far.

I loved this long narrow field, almost a ‘ride’ with high hedges on both sides.

Photo-bombed by a bee!

At the top of the hill the road is level and in places the views of the surrounding countryside are wonderful.

I looked over the Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) to the wheatfield beyond. Many people in Suffolk call Cow Parsley ‘Sheep’s Parsley’. My husband Richard, who grew up in rural Cheshire called it ‘Mothers Die’ as a boy.

I loved the Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) full of ‘candles’ arching over the lane.

At the far end of this lane there is a bend in the road and I was soon at the place I had been aiming for; Mettingham Castle.  Mettingham Castle is mostly a ruin and is in private hands so I was only able to look at it from a distance.  I think the idea of owning a castle, even a ruined one appeals to many people but the responsiblities and costs are often overlooked. Here is a short history of the village, castle, college and church written by Alfred Suckling in 1846; the foundation deed of the castle is dated 21st August 1342.  Here is the Wikipedia article.  In the past the castle has been open to the public on three days during the year; I am not sure what the present arrangement is.

Mettingham Castle

Mettingham Castle – the gatehouse

Mettingham Castle

Mettingham Castle

Mettingham Castle

Plants growing on the ancient walls

I hadn’t the time to stay longer or walk further so I retraced my steps back to Bungay where I found the café next to Bungay Castle and had a refreshing cup of tea.  I then walked back to the garage and sat for half-an-hour in a rather hot and airless waiting room until my car was ready.

I remember this walk very fondly.

 

Flatford Mill

Tags

Constable, Dedham, Dedham Vale, Flatford, Flatford Mill, John Constable, lock, mill, National Trust, River Stour, Suffolk, the Hay Wain, water meadows, Willy Lott's House

My birthday falls at the beginning of September but last autumn, as we were very busy during that week we decided to put off any celebration or outing until later.  A whole month later we found we had the time, and the weather had improved enough for a trip to Flatford Mill in the Dedham Vale.

Flatford Mill is owned by the National Trust and looking at their website we saw that we need not book a slot to visit but, as parking space is limited we thought we would set off fairly early.  The weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon but the morning was glorious with plenty of sunshine.

We live in North Suffolk in the Waveney Valley and Flatford Mill is in the south of the county on the River Stour near the border with the county of Essex.   If you click on the link just below you will see a map of Suffolk.  Near the top of the map to the right of centre are the towns of Bungay, Halesworth and Harleston.  We live in-between and almost equi-distant from those three towns.  At the bottom of the map in the centre you will see the town of Sudbury and to the right of that is Dedham Vale.

https://images.app.goo.gl/fqi1Da7AAMkpD9GY8

Many of you will recognise the name of the place we visited for my birthday treat.  Some of you may have been there already.  Flatford Mill was owned by the painter John Constable’s father and John was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour.  It is a short walk down a fairly steep winding, wooded lane from the village to the mill.

We wandered round the outside of the mill and over the bridge to the other side of the river.

The River Stour

Buildings near to the Mill, seen from the bridge. The building on the right of the photo with the flat roof is the café owned by the National Trust where we had a sandwich lunch.

Bridge Cottage

The attractive flowerbed next to the cottage

Bridge Cottage seen from the other side of the river

We found the lock which has recently been restored.

We also found the rear of the mill buildings and the mill pool.

The Stour is a lovely river.

We re-crossed the bridge and walked back down towards the mill, admiring the brick and timber buildings.

After our lunch we sat outside the mill in the sunshine.

This is the corner of the mill building, seen from our bench. I doubt whether the wall was there in John Constable’s time.

It was satisfying to sit looking at a view that Constable looked at every day when he lived in that building and had also included in many of his paintings such as The Mill                      Stream, The Hay Wain and The White Horse.

Beautiful effect of sunlight filtering through the trees.

Above are three slightly different views of Willy Lott’s House as seen from outside the mill.  We then walked down the lane towards the house to get a closer view.

Willy Lott’s House

Willy Lott’s House

Willy Lott’s House

Just look at these glorious roof tiles!

An overgrown withy fence round an allotment with views of the countryside beyond

Forget-me-nots among the nettles

Lush growth next to the river

We then thought we would walk across the water meadows to Dedham which is just into Essex.  Dedham was also painted by Constable and we could see the church tower in the distance.  I have seen this same church tower every time I have travelled down the A12 on my way to London.

As you can see from the sky in these photos, it was looking more and more like rain so we reluctantly turned round and made our way back to Flatford.  The water meadows were more water than meadow, thanks to the very wet weather we had had during September and we would have had great difficulty getting to Dedham dryshod.  The last two photos above show Dedham church tower.

Jolly ducks on the water.

We had a last look at the Stour and then went home in the rain.

Castle Acre Priory

Tags

architecture, Castle Acre, Castle Acre Priory, Cluniac, day out, English Heritage, monastic, priory, ruins

It was Richard’s birthday in the middle of August and to celebrate, he decided he would like to visit Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk.  The Priory is a ruin which is cared for by English Heritage.

Because of Covid-19 restrictions we had to book a ‘slot’ and pre-pay for our visit.  We were so happy to have Alice staying with us for a week; she had arrived the day before and accompanied us on our trip.  We made a picnic lunch to take with us and set out at 11.00 am as our ‘slot’ was at 1.00 pm.  I drove us there and because the traffic was light we arrived in very good time.  We ate our picnic sitting in the car in the car-park;  it was a dull, cool day and the only benches and tables were beyond the reception building.  We had liked the look of Castle Acre village as we drove through it, (it also has a castle and an interesting-looking church) but it was very crowded with visitors wandering about the narrow lanes.  We will return in happier times, I think.

We donned our masks and presented ourselves at the reception desk where we were given a map of the priory and I bought a guide book.  Just outside the reception building was a charming herb garden.

Castle Acre Priory herb garden

There were a couple of stands of plants for sale. I resisted buying from them with difficulty!

This was our first view of the priory ruins on leaving the herb garden

Castle Acre was chosen by William de Warenne, a Norman knight who had fought at the Battle of Hastings, to be the headquarters of all his newly acquired Norfolk properties.  The castle, the priory and the massive 12th century town defences were all built by successive generations of the de Warenne family.  The building of the priory was begun in 1090 by de Warenne’s son.

The west front of the priory church

Just look at this exquisite blind arcading!

Have a closer look…

Carved archway in the west front

More intricate carving, with a couple of grotesques

We always seem to visit a place which is currently having work done to it!  Last year we visited Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire because I wished to see its stunning facade.  ‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall’.  When we got there (in the pouring rain, I might add) the whole of the front was covered in scaffolding because of on-going restoration work.

This time, a number of projects were being worked on at the priory which restricted where we were able to go.

The Prior’s chapel is to the left as you look at the photo and the Prior’s great chamber/study is on the right with its fabulous bay window, added in the early 16th century.  Further round the corner on the right side of the building you can see the side view of an early 16th century oriel window.

The Prior’s study with the oriel window is on the left and a late 15th century two-storey porch is on the right. The taller building behind the porch is the Prior’s lodging. You can also see the connecting passages and galleries of the west range joining the lodging to the Prior’s chapel behind the great chamber.  The Prior’s chapel was also connected to the Priory church so the Prior had no need to go outside at all, unless he wished to.

Another view of the Prior’s buildings

This is part of the decoration on the oriel window. It must be a portrait of someone, don’t you think? Such a wonderful face!  Apologies for the poor photo.

From left to right; entrance to the west range of the priory, then a kitchen and behind it the refectory and then the building on the far right is the reredorter or latrine block.

Restoration work is being done to the bridge (in the foreground) over the leat and also to the south boundary wall. The leat is a diversion of the River Nar; this leat was used by the monks to take the waste away from the reredorter. They dug the channel close to the priory and then built the latrine block over the top of it. The leat is dry at present.

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Castle Acre Priory was a Cluniac priory, a daughter-house of the great monastery at Cluny in Burgundy.  With the support of kings and nobility many Cluniac priories were created in England between 1076 and 1154.  During the wars with France the Cluniac priories had restrictions placed on them because they were ‘alien’ even though most of the monks were, in fact, English.  Gifts to the priory were reduced and the French monks were repatriated. Only after obtaining English or ‘denizen’ status did their situation improve again and their numbers increase.  Castle Acre was suppressed by Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII and the deed of surrender was signed on 22 November 1537.  Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk acquired the lease of the priory’s site, lands and rights.  By the following summer the priory buildings were being demolished, though the Prior’s lodging was retained as a house.

Richard and Alice at the Priory

My girls!

Elinor with the reredorter in the background. You can see clearly here how the building straddles the leat.

Richard, Alice and Elinor

It started to rain, and we decided it was time to go home.

Alice and Richard approaching the bay of the south aisle of the priory church under the south-west tower

The ceiling of the bay under the tower

Arched exit from the south-west tower

View from under the south-west tower looking towards the inside of the west door and onwards to what would have been the north-west tower

As usual, I also took photos of the plants living on and near the ruins.

A Willowherb. It could be Hoary Willowherb ( Epilobium parviflorum) because of its very hairy stem and leaves. Growing on a wall would account for its small size.  (There are other willowherbs which are hairy which accounts for my doubtful ID).

Many plants growing on one of the walls

White Stonecrop (Sedum album)  I find its red leaves most attractive

White Stonecrop

White Stonecrop

Horse Chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum) These leaves are badly affected by leaf blotch caused by a fungus.  Horse chestnut trees are also often badly attacked by Horse chestnut leaf-mining moth larvae

Wild Teasel ( Dipsacus fullonum)

Wild teasel

Maidenhair spleenwort ( Asplenium trichomanes) Recognizable by its black midrib

I think this might be Roseroot (Sedum rosea).  Not a plant one would expect to find in this part of the country

Harebells ( Campanula rotundifolia) and Black Medick ( Medicago lupulina)

Harebells

Common liverwort/Umbrella liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha )  Common liverwort is a thallose liverwort; it has flattened leaf-like structures (thalli) with forked branches.  Common liverwort is also dioicous – it has separate male and female plants. This photo is of a female plant as it has star-like umbrella structures some of which are showing yellow mature sporangia or spores.  Common liverworts can also reproduce asexually by ‘gemmae’ produced in gammae cups which can be seen centre bottom of the photo on the thalli.  The gemmae are knocked out of the cups by splashes of water/raindrops.

Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum )

Wallflower ( Erysimum cheiri)

I think this is Common calamint (Clinopodium ascendens )

Common calamint

We had a very enjoyable few hours at the priory and I hope to return to Castle Acre one day to look around the village and revisit the priory.

To end this post, I have added the following English Heritage guide to Medieval Monastic life….

and, here is the Salve Regina, a chant that would have been sung (probably not to this tune) when Castle Acre Priory was in its glory.

 

South Elmham Minster

Tags

historical site, insects, plants, ruined chapel, South Elmham Minster, Suffolk, walking, wild flowers

WARNING: OVERLONG POST

It was our 26th wedding anniversary the Thursday before last and we had intended to go out for a walk and take a picnic with us.  However, the morning was very wet and, even though the rain had stopped by midday we decided that walking through long grass and along overgrown paths and then trying to find somewhere to sit and eat our lunch without getting wet would be too difficult, so we put off the walk until the following day.  I did the ironing instead.

Friday was a much better day for a walk, with warmth, some sunshine and a fair amount of cloud.  There was a light shower of rain mid-morning and another just as we approached our picnic spot but not enough to dampen our spirits or make the going, or sitting, any trouble.

As usual, I took my pocket camera with me and looked out for things of interest.  You will have to excuse the quality of the photos; I have to take the pictures as quickly as possible so that I am not left behind.  Also my camera has decided it doesn’t like pink and has changed all the pink flowers to blue or purple.

The beautiful almond-scented Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) was already in bloom along the lane just a few metres from our house.  This is a native plant.

I quote here from my ID, ‘Harrap’s Wild Flowers’ by Simon Harrap ” The name (Meadowsweet) refers to its use in flavouring mead and other drinks, rather than a predilection for meadows, and also used as a strewing herb, scattered on the floor to freshen up the house.”

The Dogwoods (Cornus sanguinea) have been marvellous this year. Most were past their best already but I felt I just had to record this shrub’s swansong.

This is a plant I have known since I was a small girl. It used to grow prolifically in the places I played. Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea)

The plant gives off a very strong pineapple scent when it is crushed.  It is an introduced plant, coming originally from east Asia and was first recorded in the wild in this country in 1871.

Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). This tiny little plant was right next to the Pineappleweed (which you can see bottom right of the photo). It gets its name from the shape of the seed pods.  You can see them surrounding the upper white flowerhead; they are grey-brown in colour and triangular.  Shepherd’s Purse is an ancient introduction to this country.

Hedgerow Cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum). This is one of the plants my camera decided should not be as pink as it is. It has rather lovely darker veins on its petals. This is yet another introduction, this time from southern Europe and was first recorded in the wild here in 1762.  I have added a link for you to see the usual colour of the flower.

Creeping Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans). I love the zingy lemon-yellow of this flower! Next to a buttercup it looks too bright but on its own backed by its lovely soft green leaves it looks glorious.

Italian Alder (Alnus cordata). Halfway down our lane a row of Italian Alders were planted as a windbreak. What attractive trees they are! Here you can see the substantial heart-shaped glossy leaves, dark cones from last year and the new green cones. This tree has beautiful long catkins in the spring which flutter in the strong winds that blow here.

Pretty pink and white striped Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis ) along the edge of this crop of Field Beans.

As you can see from this photo, it was quite breezy during our walk; not the best conditions for getting good pictures in a hurry! In amongst the grass you can see the brown seedheads of Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra). The hard flowerheads of this plant have given it the name ‘Knap’ weed; ‘knap’ meaning knob.

In olden times, this flower could be used to tell a girl whether she would marry soon.  She had to pull all the expanded florets off the flowerhead and then put the rest of the flower inside her blouse, next to her heart.  After an hour she should take it out again and if the previously unexpanded florets had blossomed, that was a sure sign that the man she was going to marry was soon coming her way.

By this time we had left the lane and were walking along a footpath between fields.

Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare). Sitting on the flower on the right is a Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobilis).  Only the males of this harmless shiny green beetle have the distinctive swollen ‘thighs’.

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum). This is the only photo I managed to get of this pretty plant and most of it is out of focus because of the wind blowing it about.

Harrap’s tells me it is ‘honey-scented when fresh but smells of new-mown hay when dry.  Formerly believed to discourage fleas and was incorporated into straw mattresses, especially for the beds of women about to give birth, hence its name.’

I cannot confirm the information about the scent because: 1. I would have found it very difficult getting down low enough to smell the plant and would then have struggled to get back up again, so I didn’t. 2. The wind was blowing too strongly for the delicate scent to be discernible and 3. I haven’t got a strong sense of smell, anyway.  We’ll just have to take Mr Harrap’s word for it.

Lesser Trefoil (Trifolium dubium). This plant with its three leaflets joined together is widely believed to be the true shamrock.  There are other plants which are also thought to be the shamrock; white clover, black medick, watercress and wood sorrel.

This plant is one of the hop trefoils; its seedheads look like tiny heads of hops.  Once the seeds begin to ripen the petals don’t fall off the plant but turn brown and the standard, the upper petal of the flower, folds down on either side of its centre line over the ripening pod like a ridged roof.  If you click on the photo above to enlarge it and look about a third of the way up from the bottom, you will find a seed head in the centre.  Does that make sense?

Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis).

Another not-as-pink, pink flower.  Here is a link to images of what a Pyramidal Orchid really looks like.

I believe this plant might be Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus). The leaves look too evenly-branched to be the native Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) though the latter plant is what I would expect to find here. Oxford Ragwort is found mainly in urban settings. It escaped from Oxford Botanic Garden in 1794 and then spread rapidly via the railway network. It sounds like the main character in a John Buchan novel!

Ragwort is poisonous, its leaves containing an alkaloid poison that can remain in plants that have been dried with hay.  Animals are not aware they are eating it when it’s in hay (though they will avoid it when it is growing in the field) and the alkaloids will destroy their livers in just a few months. Understandably, farmers will try to get rid of all the ragwort they find.

Our aim was to picnic at South Elmham Minster and we discovered it surrounded by trees.  It is on private land but the owners allow walkers to visit it as long as they respect the place.

Here is Elinor discovering and photographing the entrance to the site.

Richard, Alice and I had been here before, when we walked to it from St James in April 1995, nearly two years before Elinor was born!  We hadn’t been back since, though it is only half an hour’s walk from our present home.

The entrance and path leading to the ruins of the ‘Minster’ were very overgrown which somehow added a frisson of mystery to the occasion.

To the Minster

There was a lot of Comfrey growing next to the path.

Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). These flowers were lavender-coloured.

And there it was!

South Elmham Minster

Instead of me writing screeds about this interesting ruin I will recommend this article for you to read, if you so wish.

Here is an information sign with the ubiquitous ‘artist’s impression’ of the Minster.

Here is a message we found. We have no idea when the damage was done or when this sign was put up. It looks fairly recent.

We wandered around for a short while and then sat on the bench provided under the trees and had our lunch.

Our picnic spot

Below are a few photos of the ruins themselves.

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An interesting tree-trunk.

Many of the trees surrounding the Minster were Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).  Hornbeam trunks are said to be ‘fluted’ which might describe the tree above.

Hornbeam pleated leaves with bunches of fruits

The Hornbeam nut forms with a three-lobed bract attached that sometimes grows as long as 5cms.  This acts as ‘wings’ when the nut is released from the tree in the autumn.

I think the Hornbeams have been coppiced in the past though Hornbeams are usually pollarded.  Local children have been making dens under the trees.

Lesser Burdock ( Arctium minus)

Cleavers or Goosegrass (Galium aparine)

Above are two different plants with fruits covered in hooks.  The stems and leaves of Cleavers also have bristles that cause them to stick to anything that touches them.

An enormous Bramble patch! (Rubus fruticosus agg. )

A bird had made a nest in one of the hollows in the wall. It was empty.

Another enormous Lesser Burdock; it must have been almost 2 metres tall. By this time the sun had come out and the air was becoming warm.

The ditch; looking left

The ditch; looking right

There was another exit path from the Minster which crossed the wide surrounding ditch.  This ditch is fairly deep though my photographs do not show this at all clearly.

A Hoverfly, I’m not sure which one, on a large Buttercup flower; again I’m not sure which buttercup.

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica). In reality this flower is a little pinker than this photo shows.

Woundworts have been used to stem bleeding and treat wounds since the time of the ancient Greeks.  Formally, the leaves were usually used as a poultice.  Ointments and infusions were also made with the leaves and the flowers made into conserves.  In fact, the volatile oil in Hedge Woundwort does have antiseptic qualities.

Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)

The Dog’s Mercury was all in seed. This one appears to have lost a few of its upper seeds.  Dog’s Mercury is extremely poisonous to animals and humans alike.

We left the Minster and walked home in the sunshine.

Mayweed.  I wasn’t able to check to see if it was Scentless or Scented Mayweed.  The white outer ray florets were just emerging round the central disc-florets of these daisy-like flowerheads.

Lesser Stitchwort (Stellaria graminea).

Field Rose (Rosa arvensis).

Field entrance

I didn’t take many photos of our surroundings as we walked and most of those shots were not suitable.  I am glad this one came out as it shows the countryside through which we walked.  Old-fashioned small fields with high dense hedges.  Lots of birds were still singing and wherever we walked we heard numerous skylarks.

A drainage ditch

Richard pointed out the cracked clay sides of this ditch.  The water though not deep, was running quickly along and was particularly clear.  We saw small fish swimming in it.

Further along, the ditch was crossed by a small bridge with what I assume is a gate to prevent sheep from crossing from one field to the next.

A cart pond.  In former times, when carthorses needed to drink, the cart drivers could get into these ponds and out again easily without having to take the horses off the cart.

Pyramidal orchid

Field edge full of orchids…

…and yet more

A selection of different Vetches

Hedge Bedstraw ( Galium album)

Borage ( Borago officinalis)

Agrimony ( Agrimonia eupatoria)

A field full of wild flowers

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the field because of a deep ditch around it.  I had to take my photos using the zoom on my camera.

Sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia)

I think the pretty pink and white clover in the centre of the photo is Alsike Clover ( Trifolium hybridum)

I think the owner of this field has sown some wildflower seed mix here.  I have never seen so many different flowers all in one field before.  From what I hear from the stories of the elderly people I know at church, all the fields were covered in wild flowers like these when they were young.  Intensive agriculture was becoming the norm thirty or forty years ago: hedges were ripped out and everything was sprayed to kill off the wild flowers and most of the insects.  This was still being done when I moved to East Anglia in 1988 and the birds I heard regularly then and the quantities of moths, butterflies and other insects I used to see then are much reduced.  I especially noticed the difference when I returned to East Anglia in 2006 after our 18 months in Somerset.  Far fewer insects certainly.  However, we had got used to hearing and seeing Buzzards during that 18 months while in Somerset and I was greatly surprised and excited to see and hear a Buzzard in Suffolk for the first time in 2007.  They are well established here now.

Common Mallow ( Malva sylvestris)  The Common Mallow is an ancient introduction to this country.  It seems to line all the lanes at this time of year.

This is the rather handsome caterpillar of the Peacock butterfly . I found it crossing the lane as I was nearing home.

You will be glad to know we all got home safely having met no-one on our walk and only saw a lady driving her pony and trap and I think a couple of cars along the lane.You will be especially glad to know that this is the end of the post!

A New Year’s Walk at Dunwich

Tags

Alexanders, conservation, Dunwich, Dunwich Greyfriars Trust, erosion, fungus, Greyfriars Monastery, Greyfriars Wood, Holly, ruins, stinking iris, Suffolk, sycamore, trees, walking

I hope you all had a merry Christmas and that you will have a blessed and healthy new year.  I apologise if I haven’t visited your sites/blogs recently but I will endeavour to do so very soon.

I would like to thank all my kind followers, readers and visitors for continuing to support me despite very few posts during the past couple of years.  I am just embarking on my 7th year as a WordPress blogger, which amazes me and dismays me at the same time.  What on earth have I achieved in those six years since January 2014?  Not much, I think!

 

ooooOOoooo

 

My daughter Alice and her husband Phil came to stay with us this Christmas and Alice brought her cat Mona with her as well.  Mum came for lunch on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day so our house was nicely full of family.  I took Mum to Midnight Mass at Eye church on Christmas Eve getting back home at 1.15 am.  Next morning I went to our church at Rumburgh and helped Richard get it ready as it was our turn to hold the Christmas morning Communion service this year.  I also stayed for the service and helped tidy up afterwards.  I had put the turkey in the oven to roast before leaving for church and by the time I got home again it was time to take it out.  Alice had prepared all the vegetables for me while I was out so I had no trouble getting on with the meal on my return.  Boxing Day was easier as I didn’t have to go out in the morning but I had just as much food to cook.  By the time we had finished lunch and I had made us tea and coffee I was ready for a rest.  Richard did a wonderful job clearing the table and doing all the washing-up and dishwasher loading and unloading on both days!  Phil went back home on Friday 27th but Alice and Mona stayed on until the following Monday which was lovely!  I was so happy having both my daughters with me this Christmas!  We all went out for lunch in Halesworth on Saturday and then drove to the seaside at Southwold.  We walked the whole length of the promenade and back again and then to the end of the pier and back before returning to the car and going home.  It was very busy with other walkers, chilly and breezy, fine and dry and we were glad of the walk.  I took no photographs.

I spent most of Monday and Tuesday shopping for Mum and us, doing the washing and putting the things back into the spare room that had been removed to make room for our guests.  Richard and I both felt we needed to get out of the house again but wanted to walk somewhere different.  On New Year’s Day we decided that Dunwich Heath would be a good place to go and thought that it would have less mud and puddles to wade through than most walks.  However, when we got there the crowds were so great that there was nowhere to park and a queue had formed so we turned round and drove to the beach car park.  We found a space, though that car park was very full too.

Here it is on our return from our walk.

Here is a view of Dingle Marshes over the tops of parked cars.

We started off by walking down to the beach to look at the sea.  The beach was quite busy with walkers and dogs and the wind off the sea was biting.  We didn’t stay long.

A sepia view of Dunwich beach.

We left the beach and walked up towards the main part of Dunwich village.  We turned off the lane and took a footpath that climbed up through Greyfriars Wood.  At the top of the incline the path then went along the edge of the cliff.

The disconcerting sign.

Most of the East Anglian coastline is eroding fairly quickly.  After every storm we expect to find that large chunks of the cliff have broken off and fallen onto the beach.  Our friend Cordelia’s daughter has written a book about what it is like to live in a house on the edge of a cliff in Suffolk.  The book is called ‘The Easternmost House’ and is available in paperback and on Kindle.

Here is a view from the path. See how close the edge of the cliff is!

I always like to see what plants are growing wherever I walk, as you know. This is Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima )

This plant has many names; Roast-beef Plant, Gladdon or Gladwyn, Bloody Bones, Blue Devil, Dragon Flower, Dagger Flower are a few of them.  If the leaves are rubbed they give off an odour like stale, raw beef.  The flowers are pale mauve/purple, sometimes with some yellow colour as well and are veined with darker lines.  It comes into its own in the autumn and winter when the seed pods burst open and reveal these glorious orange seeds.  The leaves are evergreen, typical iris leaves.  The name Gladdon or Gladwyn comes from the Old English word for a sword.

Beautiful orange seeds!

Further along the path at the edge of the wood I saw this rotting tree-stump with toadstools on it.

Woods near the coast are very rare as trees do not usually fare well in salt-laden air and suffer in the wind and storms.  This mixed woodland was planted in the eighteenth century by the family who owned the village at that time.  The Dunwich Greyfriars Trust which manages the wood today say that only Sycamore trees (Acer pseudoplatanus) are hardy enough to grow on the side of the wood nearest the cliff edge and that there are no young trees in the wood.  They are trying to overcome the latter by fencing off areas where large trees have fallen and open glades have appeared.  The fences prevent deer from destroying all the seedlings and saplings that will appear in the sunlight and it is to be hoped that the wood will begin to regenerate.

These are the ruins of the Greyfriars Monastery.

All that is left of the 13th/14th century monastery are these ruins, thought to be the refectory at the southern end of the complex.  The cloisters, with accommodation for monks and visitors, and an enormous church were further to the north and were all destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.  The nave and chancel of the church together were about 58 metres long and up to 17 metres wide (190 feet 3.5 ins x 55 feet 9 ins).  There is a perimeter wall around the site of the monastery which was built sometime after the main buildings were constructed and has been repaired and rebuilt many times in the intervening years.  There were three gates into the complex; two which still stand on the western side allowed access to the main road that ran into and away from the medieval town of Dunwich.  The third, now lost to the sea gave access directly into the town with its large port which was also lost centuries ago.

The western gates

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It is always interesting to see how these old buildings are constructed and with what materials.

The Dunwich Greyfriars Trust work hard conserving what they can of these ruins.  They have capped off most of the walls to prevent rain and frost damage.  If you look carefully at one of the photos in the slideshow you will see a sign asking visitors not to climb on the ruins. You can also see in my other photos how much notice the visitors take of the sign!

Greyfriars ruins

Part of the complex showing the perimeter wall

The perimeter wall comes to an end here at the cliff edge. Much of this part of the wall is original 14th/15th century work and hasn’t been rebuilt.  Eventually the whole monastery complex will end up in the sea.

We re-entered the wood near to the cliff edge

The sad but beautiful trunk of a long-dead tree

We found a little bridge, built fairly recently.

There is a lot of Holly (Ilex aquifolium) in the wood

The leaves on this dead holly branch were shining like bronze.

We emerged onto the road next to the perimeter wall

An interesting mixture of flint, beach pebbles and pieces of stone recycled from elsewhere

We stood in the main gateway and looked across the area that had once been monastery land. A pony now keeps the grass in order.

The smaller west gate as seen from the road

A very nice example of flushwork over the gateway

In the gateway

You may have noticed how green everything is. This is Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)

This plant is an ancient introduction, probably at the time of the Roman occupation.  Its unusual name refers to its Macedonian origin, Alexander the Great’s birthplace.  It is wholly edible and the name Smyrnium is from the Greek word for myrrh and refers to its myrrh-like taste.The leaves can be made into a white sauce or used as a herb.  The young stems can be cooked and eaten like asparagus, the flowerbuds may be used in salads and the roots cooked as a substitute for parsnips.  I read that an old Irish recipe lists alexanders, watercress and nettles as ingredients for ‘Lenten pottage’.  In the 17th century its black seeds were sold in apothecaries’ shops as Macedonian parsley seeds and Nicholas Culpeper the herbalist listed many uses for it including the power to cure not only flatulence but snakebite too!  Until recently Alexanders was only to be found in the south and east of Britain and close to the milder coast.  However, I have noticed its spread inland and northwards of late.

The Greyfriars Trust have been trying to manage the spread of Alexanders in the wood.  It grows so densely it prevents seeds from germinating and smothers other plants.  We have had a mild winter so far with some frosts that have melted by midday and no snow as yet.  We have had lots of rain and so many plants have continued growing through the autumn and winter and plants, like Alexanders that died after flowering in the early summer have new plants growing from seed already.

This is the lane that passes along next to the monastery wall and enters what is left of the ‘town’ of Dunwich.

This is near where we first entered the wood at the beginning of our walk. You see how Alexanders is spreading everywhere.

Dunwich village.  Lots of cars parked in the road and many of the cars’ passengers are probably in the ‘The Ship’, the inn with the tall chimneys just beyond the black car.

I am indebted to the excellent website belonging to the Dunwich Greyfriars Trust for much of the information in this post.  My other reference books have been the Reader’s Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain, Reader’s Digest Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain, Culpeper’s Colour Herbal published by W Foulsham and Company Limited, Collins Complete Guide to British Wild Flowers, Collins Complete Guide to British Trees, Flora Brittanica by Richard Mabey, Vickery’s Folk Flora and Harrap’s Wild Flowers.  The photographs are all my own.