Setting off around the bridges walk in late July, I look back to see our driveway basking in glorious sunshine.
Gates frame the first two fields I pass.
A maple and an oak in full leaf look glorious silhouetted against the blue sky.
Lime trees form an imposing border on each side of the track leading down to the River Deben.
Looking across the fields I can see the village church in the distance.
A little further on the Deben quietly rounds a bend just before going under the first of the bridges.
This is a favourite spot for an artist whom I often meet painting here, and he is happy enough in this secluded setting to leave much of his equipment overnight at the side of the track.
The first of the bridges.
After the first bridge the track leads on to a field of oilseed rape, now brown and ripening in the sun,
This oak in full leaf looks imposing in the middle of the field.
A Scotts pine soars towards the sky ...
... while a stag-headed oak does the same.
Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) fights its way through bracken to get its share of sunlight.
Pods on the oilseed rape are drying out and will need to be harvested soon.
Elderflower (Sambucus nigra in blossom has given way to tiny green elderberries on reddish coloured stems.
In the hot sun this potato crop needs water, whereas earlier in the season it was often almost under water!
Looking out over the field of oilseed rape the village church stands proudly amongst the trees, with with the sixteenth-century manor house (now a prep school) in the foreground.
A grand farmhouse on the edge of the field of potatoes.
Growing along the edge of the potato field was a brilliant while border of chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) ...
... and nearby these thistle flowers were attracting the attention of pollinators.
Blackberries are just coming into flower and it's incredible to think that in just one month's time they will be ripening, a sure sign of autumn approaching.
In a shady spot near the next bridge the Deben meanders quietly through banks of great willow herb (Epilobium hirsutum).
The roots of trees growing along the bank dip into the water.
Late red poppies stand out along the edge of a recently harvested field.
What would an English summer be without cricket on the village green? This gathering supported the tradition, playing on the fields of the prep school as I was passing.
In a nearby field the cattle were taking refuge from the heat of the day by huddling in the shade of an enormous old oak.
The imposing gates of the prep school ...
... and the neighbouring village church.
The village pub looks inviting, but it's not open yet!
