Sudbury Common Lands is a 50-hectare Local Nature Reserve on the western edge of the town, running along the River Stour floodplain. The meadows are managed as traditional wet grassland, with the river and its backwaters creating a habitat for kingfishers, herons, and in summer, reed warblers and wading birds.
The Common Lands form part of the Stour Valley Path, a long-distance walking route that follows the river through the landscape that inspired Gainsborough and Constable. Walking downstream toward Bures or upstream toward Long Melford is straightforward and offers the best introduction to the Stour Valley countryside. In wet winters, parts of the meadows flood dramatically.