Local guides
Where to eat in Dedham Vale: Beautiful views, independent vibes and creative small plates
Published 30 May 2022
Share Article
Credit: The Crown
There’s a reason the landscape artist John Constable hung out in the Dedham Vale: this Suffolk-Essex borderland, just north of Colchester and inland from Manningtree, could not be more painterly if it tried. It’s got it all, as spring slips into summer: the gentle weave of the river Stour, meadow-grazing cattle, distant clusters of houses and handsome churches, lanes frothing with cow parsley. AONB? Obvs.
But views alone do not sustain. So where to eat? A wander along Dedham’s pastel-pretty High Street could start with breakfast at the Essex Rose tea room, a pretty spot with leaded windows and bags of charm owned by Essex jam people, Tiptree; drop in later for cakes on tiered stands, ...
