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Location Plan of the Kingfisher Car Park, Sudbury (one end of the Valley Trail)
 The 3-mile Valley Trail follows the disused railway line, starting at the Kingfisher car park in Sudbury and ending at Rodbridge Picnic Site. It is owned and managed by Babergh District Council (up to the Ballingdon railway bridge) and Suffolk County Council (from the Ballingdon bridge to Rodbridge) as a recreational path and to enhance its nature conservation value.
Cyclists as well as walkers can use the whole trail and horse riders are welcome between Rodbridge and Ballingdon Bridge. It is also part of the Stour Valley Path and St Edmunds Way long distance walking routes and connects to the wider countryside via numerous public rights of way.
The Valley Trail runs through the Sudbury riverside meadows, which are the oldest continuously grazed pastures in East Anglia. The majority of these have been part of the Sudbury Commonlands Charity since 1897 and are traditionally managed.
The Valley Trail was originally part of the Great Eastern Railway linking Colchester to Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. Trains operated along here from 1865 to 1967 and proved to be cheaper and more efficient than barges. The development of the railway was important to Sudbury’s expansion during the second half of the 19th Century, but by the 1920’s the development of the road system lead to the eventual closure of the railway beyond Sudbury. |