Environmental Authors ~ Roger Deakin of Walnut Tree Farm

Robinson's Mill on Mellis Common ('Mellis' named after its 'mills')

We were on our way home on Saturday when I noticed a signpost stating that Mellis was 2 miles away. The place name conjured up all kinds of rural pictures in my mind because it was the home of Roger Deakin (1943-2006), the writer and environmentalist. Deakin lived at Walnut Tree Farm, a moated farmhouse, which seems an appropriate residence for the author of Waterlog, his first book.

It was lovely to find that the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin is kept as a wildlife sanctuary, in conjunction with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

A lot of leaves had fallen, and it was beginning to look quite autumnal.