England,  History,  Photography,  Travel Blog,  Walking

Reunion In Constable Country

May 6, 2021 /
Flatford Mill

Dedham Vale is one of those quintessentially English locations full of charm and full of history; the countryside is gentle yet beautiful, the villages within the Vale the stuff of picture postcard perfection. You could film a period costume drama here without changing anything except the traffic.

Straddling the boundary between the counties of Essex and Suffolk, this is where the world famous artist John Constable was born, lived most of his life, and was of course the subject of a large number of his most famous works. As you stroll around these parts it’s easy to see why Constable was so enamoured, it’s a lovely area to this day.

Dedham Vale

Our visit to Dedham Vale is for happy reasons. Michaela and her mum Norma have been kept apart by the rules of the pandemic, but with restrictions lifting in the UK, we are able to meet up, the first time we have seen Norma in person since September last year, before we headed out to Turkey. They have never before been separated for so long. 

Michaela tells the story….

We eagerly watch the evening weather forecast, hoping that for once this unpredictable English weather doesn’t spoil things, sunny spells till 3pm, we chat excitedly on the phone making last minute arrangements, it feels so long since I have seen Mum, video calls are great but can’t compensate for that personal contact we so need. Excitement builds throughout the journey, we arrive in Dedham village, there she is at last. We hurriedly walk towards each other huge grins on our faces, excitement building up inside. Frustratingly we aren’t allowed to hug yet instead we opt for for some silly on the spot dance, no doubt any passers by would have thought we were quite mad. Smiles and excited chatter is the theme of the day, I wonder if Phil will manage to get a word in? It is a fabulous feeling to be with my Mum at last.

….In case you’re wondering, I didn’t get too many words in. 

Fortunately Dedham is more or less halfway between our home and Norma’s and so forms a logical place to meet as well as a perfect setting. COVID restrictions mean we can’t yet meet indoors, but we are able to grab outdoor snacks and coffees and take a stroll around Constable country in the morning sunshine. 

One of the fascinating aspects of wandering through the Vale is that you can stand precisely where Constable would have positioned himself to paint those familiar scenes, and see just how little has changed in over 200 years. Standing next to Flatford Mill looking past Willy Lott’s House and taking in the very vista that Constable recreated has a perceptible tingle factor.

It’s a perfect setting for the long awaited reunion of these two lovely ladies.

Willy Lott’s House
  • The Hay Wain – original in The National Gallery, London
  • 200 years later

England is still strangely cold and Spring is late arriving; even the sunny days have hovered between 11 and 14 degrees (52 and 57 fahrenheit) when normally such days in early May would see temperatures more like 17 to 20. There are still morning frosts, much later than normal. Driving home after a sun filled morning we get a taste of the April norm which failed to arrive on time, as we are bombarded with hail, sleet, thunder and lightning on a rather entertaining journey.

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