In late June, I had a fleeting visit to Flatford Mill, which is maintained by the National Trust and is famous as a setting that artist John Constable used in his paintings, notably "The Haywain" (photographed in the series of pictures in this post). "The Haywain" is one of my favourite paintings and hangs in the National Gallery in London. There are miles of landscape in the picturesque countryside to walk at Flatford. When I visited on the Friday, there was some event going on with local schools, which meant that the place was very crowded, so I did not stay long. The below photograph is of the view that Constable painted in "The Haywain".
There is a little wildlife area here with birds, bugs, and plants to explore in a little trail. I captured a common robin.
There are a few walks around the river and some bridges across, and visitors can also do some tours on boats and hire a boat.
I went inside the little cottage, and the ground floor room is open to view how people used to live (probably in the time of John Constable in the early 1800s).
Below is the picture of "The Haywain" painting.
There is beautiful countryside to explore.
Inside one of the buildings is some information about Constable and the paintings painted at the location. There are a few locations at Flatford that the artist used in his work, such as wooden locks on the river and by the wooden bridge.
John Constable grew up at Flatford, and his family owned the mill. He was inspired by Gainsborough, who also painted the Stour Valley. There were many artists from the area or who were inspired by the Stour Valley. The valley had a rural charm of winding rivers and wetlands, nature, and pictursque buildings and spires. It is an idealist example of rural English countryside.
I enjoyed an ice cream with the view.
I wish that it had not been so busy as I would have liked to have had more of a walk here, and it was a beautiful day and not too warm for it.
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