Willy Lott's House

To Flatford Mill in Suffolk, where I took this photograph of the scene of one of Britain's most popular paintings -  "The Hay Wain" by John Constable. I think this image is a better view of the scene today but I took the shot I have blipped from the spot where Constable painted his version - carefully located using a postcard of the painting. Although Willy Lott's House, on the left, is intact and readily identifiable, the painting cannot be accurately recreated today for several reasons:

None of the trees in the painting survive today.

Water levels in the millstream are much higher than in 1821 - this part of Suffolk has sunk by c30cm in the last 200 years.

To the right, an embankment obscures the view of the meadows in the painting.  It was built in 1949  to prevent flooding.

We then walked through glorious gentle hills to East Bergholt, where Constable was born. There, beside the splendid church, is the unique bell cage.  A new church tower was constructed in 1525 but not completed, due to a shortage of funds. The bell cage was built as a temporary measure in 1531 but continues to be used, housing the heaviest five bell peal in the country, rung every Sunday and on special occasions.

Thence, to Manningtree in Essex, a pleasant enough place but I think the local tourist office exaggerates a little when they describe this view, across the Stour Estuary, as "arguably one of the most spectacular views in Great Britain."