Bury St Edmunds Comedy Festival
We all need cheering up in the cold, dark days of winter so this new festival, which starts in February and runs until March, could be just the ticket.
The line-up includes Jason Manford, Luke Wright, Seann Walsh, Daniel O’Reilly, Pauline Eyre and Daliso Chaponda with the town’s Theatre Royal and the Apex staging most of the events.
Furthermore the Abbeygate Cinema will be holding the Comedy Club Comedian of the Year event building to a final on February 28th.
More details at visit-burystedmunds.co.uk
Photo Jason Manford provided by Bury St Edmunds Apex
Branch out and discover our region’s parks and woodland
Brandon Country Park is a nice one to discover – made up of over 30 acres of managed parkland, a ‘haunted’ mausoleum, lawns and ponds plus an historic walled garden. Open all year round from dawn until dusk. Find it on the Bury Road into the small Suffolk town of Brandon. The prehistoric flint mine of Grime’s Graves is nearby.
Bury St Edmunds and surrounds offers Nowton Park with almost 200 acres of tree-filled, landscaped countryside, Hardwick Heath and the always interesting Abbey Gardens, although the latter is rather denuded at this time of year,
A few miles out of town there’s West Stow Country Park with trails, plus heath and woodland walks, bird hides, a lake and the River Lark on this 125 acres site. They are also holding a Dragon Festival here this month.
Moving into the rest of West Suffolk you’ll find Clare Castle Country Park which features a castle keep, Victorian railway buildings, trails and waterways. It’s a good starting point for several walks and cycle routes.
Heading to the Suffolk/Essex border Agar Fen and Spouse’s Vale offers a mosaic of ancient trees (and naturally regenerating woodland) alongside wet meadow and fen. Walking trails are generally good but muddy after rain. You’ll find this pretty reserve in between Bures and Leavenheath.
Last, but by no means least, Bradfield Wood (in between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury) is one of Britain’s finest ancient woodlands and is run by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Some ash coppice stools here are thought to be over 1000 years old. Stoats, yellow necked mice and badgers are residents.
Photo West Stow Country Park – Credit: Geoff Price
Follow the Lovejoy trail
The still popular TV series about Ian McShane’s likeable rogue antiques dealer marked its 40th anniversary last month. Scenes from the early series were filmed in and around Long Melford, Bury St Edmunds, Clare and theBelchamps before moving to rural mid Essex. If you enjoy antique hunting, and some sightseeing, a leisurely drive from Lavenham to Clare takes you through prime Lovejoy country.
Go wild at our nature reserves
Just outside Bury St Edmunds, Lackford Lakes is a winter haven for wildfowl and a site well known for one of Suffolk’s most mesmerising natural events: starling murmurations. As dusk settles you may spot thousands of starlings rising in unison above the lakes, forming a living cloud that dances across the sky – Suffolk’s answer tothe northern lights. Out on the water, goldeneye, shoveler, and pochard are regular winter visitors, gliding across the lakes. After exploring the trails, the visitor centre offers a chance to warm up with tea and cake.
Overlooking the River Alde, Snape Marshes is a serene place for winter walks, where the only sounds are thewind in the reeds and the occasional flick of wings across the water. The riverside paths wind through open views and quiet reedbeds, ideal for spotting waders and waterfowl.
Stour trek
As well as the parks and forests we have mentioned, Sudbury’s ancient water meadows offer a peaceful stroll by the River Stour. There is a three mile Meadow Walk signposted so even though you may not see much in the way of wild flowers this time of the year you should spot some wildfowl on or by the water. Along the route you can stop off for warm refreshments at the Mill Hotel.
Food for thought
Once known as the Museum of East Anglian Life, more recently it has become The Food Museum, and it stages a Flavour Week this month (Feb 14th-19th). Visitors to this Stowmarket site can go on a multi-sensory journey through the winter harvests. Food education charity TastEd describe it as “food education pared down to its simplest form, but the impact on the way children relate to it can be huge.”
