The Stour Valley was a constant source of inspiration for Constable.  For two weeks in early October 1827 he took his two eldest children, John and Minna, aged nine and eight, to stay with his brother and sister at Flatford. At this time, although ostensibly on holiday, he made many drawings of familiar subjects on the riverbank – the lock, the barges,  the footbridge and Bridge Cottage. He drew this view from the barrier of the boat-building dock at Flatford looking towards Flatford Bridge, and included the figure of a man fishing from a barge in the foreground.