Dedham Vale Walks
Photo © Paul Franks (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Dedham Vale is a beautiful Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on the Essex and Suffolk border. The area offers walkers glorious scenery, diverse wildlife, pretty rivers and is also the setting for some of John Constable's famous paintings. Here are 5 great Dedham Vale walks you will find on our Walks in Essex app.
Dedham Vale - Dedham walk 1
1.75 miles
Take a walk through the lovely Stour Valley and Dedham Vale. This shortest route is a nice family-friendly stroll that starts near the village of Dedham, near Colchester and enjoys the beautiful countryside and a stroll alongside the River Stour. The walk also has a little detour that takes you to the actual viewpoint from the famous Constable 'Hay Wain' painting.
Dedham Vale - Dedham walk 2
3.75 miles
This second route is an extension of the first walk for people who want to stretch their legs a bit more. This route enjoys more countryside and more riverside walking, but also visits the pretty village of Dedham where you'll find a lovely church and pub for refreshments. As with the other routes, this also includes a small detour to the Constable 'Hay Wain' painting viewpoint.
Dedham Vale - Dedham walk 3
7.75 miles
This final route option is a gloriously epic adventure that explores a large area of Dedham Vale, traversing the Essex Way for a while through lovely open countryside and tracking the River Stour for a significant portion of the walk. The walk also takes you through the pretty village of Dedham itself with it's lovely pubs and church and visits the famous Constable painting viewpoint.
Dedham Vale - Stoke-by-Nayland walk 1
4.25 miles
This first route from Stoke-by-Nayland is a glorious walk around the undulating Dedham Vale countryside and is just across the county border into Suffolk. There is a significant portion of backtracking on this shorter route, so if you want to avoid this, the route below is a longer version that takes you on a full loop instead of tracking back the way you came. The area is also mildly undulating, so expect some gentle ascents on this walk.
Dedham Vale - Stoke-by-Nayland walk 2
6 miles
The second route from Stoke-by-Nayland is an extension of the previous walk and it's the option to choose if you want to enjoy the wonderful Constable countryside, but want to avoid the backtracking from the first route. There are some mild ascents on this route, and if that helps build an appetite, there is a great pub in the village to enjoy after your walk. There are also a couple of short roadside walking sections on this route, so please be careful on these.
Dedham walk 2 route map
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