Somersham, Suffolk

Nettlestead is a dispersed village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England.The surrounding villages of Nettlestead include Somersham (the closest), Little Blakenham, Baylham, Barking, Willisham and Offton.

Flowton is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, with a population of 117 people. The name 'Flowton' originally derives from the word 'Flocctun', meaning a flock of sheep or a sheep farm. The parish is located around six miles north west of Ipswich, which is the county town of Suffolk. Flowton contains the hamlet of Flowton Brook, and consists of rural farmland accompanied by scattered farm houses and a few newer builds situated nearby the parish church of 'St Mary's'. In the 1870s, Flowton was described as: "Flowton, a parish in Bosmere district, Suffolk; 3½ miles WNW of Bramford r. station, and 5½ NW by W of Ipswich. Post town, Bramford under Ipswich. Acres 495. Real property, £994. Pop., 151. Houses, 34. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £140.* Patron, Henry Thornton, Esq. The church is good."

Valley Ridge (formerly known as SnOasis) was a proposed ski and sports resort in Great Blakenham near Ipswich, Suffolk, England. In March 2021, the plan was for a £500 million investment based around a 180-metre ski slope and a water park. Plans submitted in 2004 were approved in 2008, and after no work had started were renewed in April 2020, but substantially altered plans were released less than a year later. The approved plans include a 415 metre long slope which would have become the largest real snow indoor ski slope in the world, along with a casino and nightclub, and were opposed by local groups. The plans were abandoned because of a conflicting plan for extension of a nearby landfill site.

Offton is a village in Suffolk, England.

Little Blakenham Pit is a 3.4-hectare (8.4-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Little Blakenham in Suffolk.A 127 metre long tunnel from one of these chalk pits is used by hibernating bats, and it is one of the largest underground roosts known in Britain. Around 450 bats use the tunnel, mainly Daubenton's. Bats also share a lime kiln with a badger sett. The site also has chalk grassland.The site is private land with no public access.

Little Blakenham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around two miles north-west of Ipswich and a mile south-west of its larger sister village Great Blakenham, in 2005 its population was 310. The parish also contains the hamlets of Inghams and The Common. The tiny village nestles at the base of gentle hillside. The church tower is visible for some distance, rising out of the trees. The parish is long and narrow, stretching some three miles from its south-western limit, not far from Flowton Church, to its north-eastern extremity, beside the River Gipping near Claydon. The Grade I listed church of St Mary The Virgin is set upon a grassy chalky bank beside a narrow lane, a little above the houses of its village and beside the former Rectory - a house with Dutch gables which stands at a considerably lower level. The east window of the church is a rare example in Suffolk of a stepped triple-lancet window of the late Early English period (c.1250-80). The congregation is supported from Bramford.The village has its own version of an old carol, surviving the days when the churches standardised onto a common hymnal. Pete Jennings of BBC Radio Suffolk, and also Chairman of the Suffolk Pagan Society, found the words in a notebook started in 1891 by a folklorist called Charles Partridge. He was quoting Revd John Jackson of Little Blakenham, who had taken down the words from an aged parishioner. This had been published in "Suffolk Notes & Queries" No 121. Pete could not locate a version of the work locally, so researched at Cecil Sharp House in London, the headquarters of the English Folk Song And Song Society. The only thing Pete could find related to it was an Irish hymnal, which provided some similar verses and a tune, under the title "The Sinner's Redemption". Pete eventually offered the material to folk trio Artisan from Yorkshire. Enquiries by a former church organist uncovered the fact that a very similar version of the carol can easily be found in the New Oxford Book of Carols.

Barking Woods is a 98.7-hectare (244-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in six separate blocks north-east of Ipswich in Suffolk. Part of it is a 20-hectare (49-acre) nature reserve called Bonny Wood, which is owned and managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.These ancient woodlands have been documented since 1251. The canopy is mainly oak, ash and silver birch, and other trees include the rare wild pear. The flora is diverse, including herb paris, ramsons, sanicle and early purple orchid.Some areas are private land, but the nature reserve is open to the public, and a public footpath goes through Priestley Wood.

Bonny Wood is a 20 hectare nature reserve east of Barking Tye in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The site is part of the Barking Woods biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.Orchids in this coppiced wood include early-purples, lesser twayblades, common spotteds and greater butterflies. There are many birds, badgers and deer.There is access by a poorly signposted footpath from Barking Village Hall.

Willisham is a small village in the suburbs of the county town of Ipswich, Suffolk. The small parish village has been present since the 11th century and was included in the Domesday Book. During the 18th century the village was once home to wheat and barley farmers. During the 20th century the village has gained new homes with the local authority building at Fiske Pightle, and private dwellings in the cul-de-sac of North Acres being built in 1965/1966. In the year 2000 the village had 9 new houses built down Tye Lane. The village post office was renovated into a house 8 years ago. The 2011 census recorded a population of 362 people.During the 1870s Willisham was described as: "a parish in Bosmere district, Suffolk; 3 miles W of Claydon r. station, and 7 NW of Ipswich."

Elmsett Park Wood is an 8.6-hectare (21-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Elmsett in Suffolk.This coppice with standards site has diverse woodland types and ground flora. Plants indicative of ancient woodland include nettle-leaved bellflower, wood spurge, butterfly orchid and the uncommon spurge laurel.The site is private property with no public access.

Silverstone Festival (previously known as Silverstone Classic) is an annual three-day Festival featuring historic motorsport, live music and family-friendly entertainment at the Silverstone Circuit, home of the British Grand Prix. The event attracts hundreds of historic race cars in 20 races over the weekend, displays from over 100 car clubs with more than 10,000 classic cars, free access to the paddocks and grandstands, interactive activities, dynamic demonstrations, live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, a shopping village and lots more. Founded in 1990, the event was one of the first of motor sport meetings dedicated entirely to historic racing cars and celebrated its 30th anniversary online (thanks to COVID) in 2020 with postponed celebrations at the 2021 event. Originally held in late July, since 2022 the event has taken place over the August bank holiday weekend.

Middle Wood, Offton is a 23.3-hectare (58-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Offton in Suffolk.This is a medieval coppice with standards wood on wet boulder clay, and it has very diverse ground flora, including species typical of ancient woodland. Oak is the main standard tree, and there are orchids such as common twayblade, early purple orchid and butterfly orchid.There is access by a footpath from Offton.