South Lopham

South Lopham lies in South Norfolk - a few miles north of the border with Suffolk. It is famous for its Church which John Betjeman described as 'the grandest piece of Norman architecture next to the Cathedral'.

South Lopham Village Sign

It is also famous for the Redgrave and Lopham Fen which is one of the most important wetland sites in the UK. The fen is managed by the Suffolk WIldlife Trust and is home to the endangered raft spider. The fen is also the place where the River Waveney and River Little Ouse rise.

Redgrave and Lopham Fen

In his book Nature Cure (2005) - Richard Mabey (who lives at nearby Roydon) explores the fen and encounters some of the Konik horses which are used by Andrew Excell, the warden at the site, to help manage the habitat. Here is his description:

'I'd first seen the horses back in the early autumn, on a day when Redgrave Fen looked almost russet under the low sun. I'd been watching two roe deer pick their way through the distant pools, when half a dozen heads jerked upright from the undergrowth, peered around like periscopes, and then vanished again. They had a dusty, taut, rangy look about them.'

The fen is also one of the settings in Ruth Rendell's (writing as Barbara Vine) book The Brimstone Wedding (1996).

More photographs of South Lopham

Supported by Norfolk Tourism

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