A new exhibition is taking place throughout November and December at rail stations across Suffolk and Essex to celebrate the area’s National Landscapes, thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Community Rail Partnerships.
Rail stations along the Suffolk coast and North Essex will be exhibiting a series of posters that highlight everything that makes our landscapes so special and celebrate more than 50 years since they were designated as nationally significant areas.
Both the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape, which runs from Kessingland to the Stour Estuary, and the Dedham Vale National Landscape, which follows the Stour river valley from Cattawade to Bures, were designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1970.
The hand-drawn posters were created by Suffolk-based design agency, Steamboat Creative, thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and are being exhibited at stations in Suffolk and Essex throughout November and December thanks to support from the Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership and the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership.
Posters are packed full of fun facts, creative illustrations, information on the local area and photography and can be found and viewed on platforms and in waiting rooms at Lowestoft, Wickham Market, Melton, Woodbridge, Trimley, Felixstowe, Mistley, Wrabness and Manningtree rail stations.
The exhibition is the culmination of the five-year National Lottery Heritage Fund project that has seen the creation of the Landscape Lens fixed-point photography initiative, as well as a grant-giving programme and a series of outreach events.
The Landscape Lens project aims to help people connect with, learn about and enjoy the many special landscapes that make up our National Landscape, including rivers, coastline, woodland, farmland and valley scenery.
25 fixed-point photography posts have been installed in the natural environment at different locations across Suffolk and Essex, stretching from Walberswick in North Suffolk, all the way down to Wrabness and Mistley on the river Stour in North Essex, and inland as far as Bures.
Members of the public have been capturing spectacular photographs of the landscape through the seasons, showcasing the changing of the seasons, wildlife and nature in both the Dedham Vale and Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths.
The project and exhibition were made possible thanks to the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
For more information about Landscape Lens and the National Landscapes, visit coastandheaths-NL.org.uk or dedhamvale-NL.org.uk. For more information on the Community Rail Partnership movement please visit communityrail.org.uk
