June 15. Dedham

 Much though we love a manor house, we've seen a lot and it's hard to tell them apart now. So we thought we'd take advantage of the weather to go places outside today. Fortunately, just near us is the Dedham Vale 'area of outstanding natural beauty'. That's an offical thing, at least in part because Constable and Gainsborough lived around here and created an image that modern Britain likes to mythologise like the ustralian outback or American West.

So we drove down to Dedham. Because it seemed idyllic we hired a rowing boat and set off down the river.

Of course we were immediately stryck by reality. It was a nice day, and in the UK it's Fathers Day and so extra busy. And the field opposite the cafe where we hired boats was thick with picnickers, most of whom had brought inflatable stand-up paddle boards (which I hate, the ergonomics make no sense). So the river was thick with people trying not to fall off and not looking where they were going, and other rowers who by definitions are not looking where they're going. Fortunately, once we got 500m downstream it thinned out considerably. By the time we got back the cafe was packed and there was a long queue waiting to hire boats.

After a drink we drove downriver a bit and stopped at Flatford. This was just as busy and is such a tiny village that you have to park a short distance away in a carpark and then walk. We soon discovered that it's popular because this was the location of several of Constable's paintings.

The landscape has changed a bit but you get the idea.

 

The places today were as busy as the places we've been in Europe. It changes the feel of it all; history as Disneyland. Which I appreciate we're absolutely contributing to. It's not always evident in the photos because we try to work around it. I don't know where it's heading and how things will look in the near future.

So we went on from there to Ipswich, specifically to the Ipswich waterfront area, for lack of a better idea. Ipswich is inland, but with a short, wide river, the Orwell, to the sea. It turned out to be semi-gentrified, which is to say it's been rebuilt but hasn't quite got the atmosphere or presence they may be hoping for. But good enough for us to walk about and get lunch before going back to Hintlesham.