The River Gipping rises near Mendlesham Green, Suffolk [Map] from where it flows through Stowmarket, Suffolk [Map], past Needham Market, Suffolk [Map], Great Blakenham, Suffolk [Map], Bramford, Suffolk [Map] to Ipswich, Suffolk [Map] where its name changes to become the River Orwell. At Ipswich it widens significantly before it is joined by the Suffolk River Stour at Harwich [Map] before joining the North Sea.