Ninety years ago, Mr RC Notcutt gave Kyson Hill in Woodbridge to the National Trust. It was the trust's first Suffolk property, 1.6 hectares (4 acres) with wonderful views of mudflats, quiet hills and woods to the east, and of the River Deben winding its way towards the sea.
It's become a favourite spot for locals and visitors alike, where you can observe the river's wildlife and soak up the historic significance of this beautiful location. The Deben rises just west of Debenham, a trickle that becomes a stream, making its way through the village where it's forded twice. It flows roughly north to south for 20 miles, through Woodbridge, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea at Felixstowe Ferry.
The importance of the Deben to Suffolk and its place in the nation's history can't be overestimated. It was once a watery highway connecting the county to the continent and the world beyond. This wasn't always benign; at one time the Deben was a main thoroughfare for Saxon invasion of the Anglia region, although that turned out OK.
On the north bank, on a high plateau overlooking Woodbridge is the Sutton Hoo burial site, close to what is thought to be a key centre of Anglo Saxon administration. The Romans also used the river to import men and arms, and export slaves and produce, and from the Middle Ages, it was a centre for boatbuilding, rope-making and sail-making. Edward III and Sir Francis Drake had fighting ships built in Woodbridge; Nelson had ships built on the.
