Mark and Tim resting outside Cavendish Church before we've got going

From Cavendish we walked to Clare and next day drove a few miles to Lavenham for a circular walk.

We avoided most of the rain, though it was hard to find shelter when it did come. The fields are open and broad, ditches and old hollow ways tangled with undergrowth and sheltering wildlife. Hares raced madly across open fields.

Then we were back in Clare with its many antique shops and Lavenham with half timbered houses and shops leaning in towards the road below.

The mediaeval streets of Lavenham

Lavenham

This provides some fascinating town walks and we took a circular trail from the car park of The Cock. The town's prosperity was based on the wool trade and now tourism ensures some regular income.