Harkstead

Stour Estuary is a 2,523 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Manningtree to Harwich in Essex and Suffolk. It is also an internationally important wetland Ramsar site, a Special Protection Area and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and there are Geological Conservation Review sites in Wrabness, Stutton, and Harwich Part of the site is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and a small area is Wrabness Nature Reserve, a Local Nature Reserve managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.The estuary is nationally important for thirteen species of wintering wildfowl and three on autumn passage, for coastal saltmarsh, sheltered muddy shores, two scarce marine invertebrates, scarce plants and three geological sites. Birds include redshank, black-tailed godwit and dunlin, and there are nationally important sponges, ascidians and red algae. Harwich has thirty ash layers dating to the Eocene Harwich Formation and the succeeding London Clay. Wrabness has the most complete succession of ashes showing the importance of volcanism in southern England in the early Eocene. Stutton has fossils dating to the mid-Pleistocene, including extinct mammals such as straight-tusked elephants, mammoths and giant deer.

Holbrook is a village situated close to the northern shore of the estuary of the River Stour, in Suffolk, England. It is located on the Shotley Peninsula in Babergh district, around 5 miles (8 km) south of the centre of Ipswich. To the south of the village is the Royal Hospital School, which moved to this site in 1933 after having been housed at Greenwich Hospital since 1693. Lower Holbrook is a hamlet between the villages of Holbrook and Harkstead.

Wrabness railway station is on the Mayflower Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the village of Wrabness, Essex. It is 65 miles 6 chains (104.73 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Mistley to the west and Harwich International station to the east. Its three-letter station code is WRB. The station is currently managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving the station.

Chelmondiston is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England located on the Shotley Peninsula, five miles south-east of Ipswich. The hamlet of Pin Mill lies within the parish on the south bank of the River Orwell. The village comprises approximately 500 dwellings and has a population of just over 1,000. It is one of the largest villages situated on the Shotley Peninsula.

Copperas Wood is a 13.8-hectare (34-acre) nature reserve between Ramsey and Wrabness in Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, and is part of the Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Site of Special Scientific Interest.This is ancient sweet chestnut and hornbeam coppice. The Great Storm of 1987 caused severe damage, and some areas have been left to regenerate naturally. Around 100 bird species have been observed, out of which 43 are nesting, and there are 23 butterfly species and over 300 of moths.The Essex Way goes through the reserve from Wrabness Road.

The Stour Estuary is a nature reserve in Essex, England, east of Colchester on the estuary of the River Stour, managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The reserve is unusual in that it consists of two divergent habitat types: intertidal mudflats (fringed by saltmarsh and estuarine reeds), and 130 acres (0.5 km2) of deciduous woodland, mainly oak and coppiced sweet chestnut. The estuary is important as a breeding, roosting and wintering site for many waterfowl and other birds, including woodpeckers, nightingale, blackcap, common whitethroat, sedge warbler, reed warbler, European wigeon, common shelduck, northern pintail, common teal, dark-bellied brant goose, grey plover, common redshank, Eurasian curlew, dunlin and black-tailed godwit. Mammals to be seen include red fox (Vulpes vulpes), badger (Meles meles), grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius). Butterflies and rare moths include white admiral (Limenitis camilla), chocolate-tip moth (Clostera curtula) and peach blossom moth (Thyatira batis). In the Spring, the woodland floor is covered with wood anemones creating a spectacular display. The Stour Estuary is the focus of Arthur Ransome's 1939 children's novel, Secret Water.

Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey is a 77.1-hectare (191-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Wrabness and Ramsey in Essex. It is two separate areas, Stour Wood, which is owned by the Woodland Trust and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Copperas Wood, which is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.The site is ancient coppiced woodland on the southern shore of Stour Estuary, and is the only area in the county where woodland and coastal habitats meet. The dominant tree is chestnut, with a ground layer of bramble. Other plants include yellow archangel and dog's mercury.The B1362 road runs along the south of both sites, and The Essex Way goes through Copperas Wood.

Stour Wood is a woodland in Essex, England, near the village of Wrabness. It covers a total area of 54.07 hectares (133.61 acres). It is owned by the Woodland Trust, and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is part of the Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Site of Special Scientific Importance.

Wrabness is a small village and civil parish near Manningtree, Essex, England. The village is located six miles (10 km) west of Harwich. Wrabness railway station is served by trains on the Mayflower Line. Wrabness had a population of approximately 400.

Woolverstone is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England located on the Shotley peninsula. It is situated about 6.4 km (4.0 mi) south of Ipswich, near the southern shore of the River Orwell. In 2005 it had a population of 240, increasing to 265 at the 2011 census.It is now home to the Ipswich High School, which moved to the vacated premises of the former Woolverstone Hall School in 1992 after having been well established in Ipswich since 1878. The Woolverstone Marina and the Royal Harwich Yacht Club are also located in the vicinity. HMS Woolverstone, a Royal Navy landing craft training and loading base, was housed in the school and used moorings in the River Orwell between 1943 and 1944.

The Shotley Peninsula is a rural area east of the A137 Ipswich-Colchester road located between the rivers Stour and Orwell in Suffolk, England. The peninsula is named after the settlements of Shotley and Shotley Gate which are situated near its south-eastern tip. Other villages on the peninsula include Chelmondiston, Erwarton (Arwarton), Freston, Harkstead, Holbrook, Stutton, Tattingstone, Wherstead and Woolverstone. The population was 10,310 according to the 2001 Census, approximately 12.4% of the total population of Babergh District.

Holbrook Academy is a secondary school with academy status located in the village of Holbrook, 5 miles (8 km) south of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. It currently has about 580 students aged 11–16.The Holbrook Sports Centre is located on the school site. It was opened to the public on 20 January 2007 by Sally Kasnika (a former member of the English women's Basketball Team). The centre was built after the school received money from the Lottery Fund. The headteacher Simon Letman died on the 13 April 2019. The interim Acting Headteacher was Nicola Mayhew. Tom Maltby was appointed as headteacher from September 2020.