The Norfolk Broads Guide to Rambling, Hiking and Walking in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge and East Anglia UK. The Norfolk Broads web site is the Rambling, Walking and Hiking guide for the Broads National Park, East Anglia and the East of England.

Content ranges from Rambling, Walking and Hiking with reference to Wildlife and Nature reserves. Content also covers to broads boating and sailing attractions, leisure centres, hotels and accommodation.

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Angles Way
The Broads to Brecks path a 77 mile route passing along the Waveney & Little Ouse Valleys. The path stretches from Great Yarmouth on the coast to Knettisham Heath Country Park near Thetford.

Bacton Wood Forest Trail
1.5 mile trail through gentle hilly woodland east of North Walsham. Some 30 species of tree grow here.

Broadland Walks
8 walks in varied terrain through villages, by rivers and the Broads. A booklet with maps is available from Norfolk County Council.

Paston Way
A linear walk which starts at Paston Street on the Norfolk coast just north of Bacton and turns inland to pass through North Walsham, Stalham, Potter Heigham and Acle before finishing at Great Yarmouth. It is continuous with another such path, the Angles Way, which runs through the Waveney Valley.

Peddars Way National Trail
The Peddars Way is an ancient Roman road which was built shortly after the tribal revolt of AD61 led by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni. The route begins in Suffolk, runs northwards through Breckland and then joins with the Norfolk Coast Path. All in all, the route covers 93 miles and most of it is also suitable for horse riders and cyclists. This area offers many different types of landscape and enjoys a wonderful quality of light with spectacular sunrises and sunsets.
For more information call the National Trail Office on 01328 711533 or e-mail:

Weavers Way
This path runs southwards from the north Norfolk coast at Cromer. It follows a circuitous route through the countryside and finally ends at North Walsham.

Audley House: Essex
Length: About 45 miles.
The spectacular Jacobean house at Audley End was described by James 1 as being "Too Much for a King, but it might do very well for a Lord Treasurer". The house itself can be visited, with its fine collections. For this trail though, it is the unusual garden buildings that ate of special interest. At the top end of the park, above the parterre, stands The Temple of Concord. Designed by Robert William Brettingham in 1790, it serves as a premature celebration of George II's recovery from madness. Robert Adam was employed to build a bridge over the River Cam, and later designed the Ionic Temple of Ring Hill to celebrate victory in the Seven Years War. The Tea House Bridge was also constructed by Adam. From Audley End follow the signs to Saffron Walden and the mazes.

There are two mazes of particular interest - a hedge maze in Bridge End Gardens, constructed in 1838/39 and a turf maze - reputedly over 500 years old, and the largest example of its kind in Europe. To find the turf maze set out from the car park off Common Hill.

From Saffron Walden, head north along the B1052 turning left on the A1307, then left onto the A505. After a short distance on the right there is a signpost to Duxford Chapel, all that remains from the St. John's Hospital founded around 1200. Continue along the A505 through Royston - you may wish to track down Royston Cave, a most unusual survival. At Baldock turn north along the A507, continuing until the junction with the A6. Follow the signs to Wrest Park Gardens. The gardens display over four centuries of gardening styles, laid out before a French-inspired Chateau.

The main axis down the garden front centres on a canal terminating in the Archer Pavilion of 1711/12 with a fabulous painted interior. On either side of this formality visitors will be surprised and charmed by garden buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The early 18th century Bowling Green House with its stucco decoration, the rustic Bath House with pebble pavement and knucklebone floor, representing the late 18th century taste for picturesque landscape - a Chines Bridge and a Pagan Altar. The altar was devised by Jemima, Marchioness de Grey, and her husband Philip Yorke in 1748 as a form of intellectual joke. It appears as a three dimensional fiction with a mixture of Greek and Persian inscriptions, and continues to mystify visitors to Wrest Park today.

The nearby Capability Brown Column, recognising his work at Wrest Park, looks to all intent and purposes as if it has been installed upside down - perhaps another of Philip and Jemima's jokes. Head west from Wrest along an unmarked road to Flitton, where signs will point out the De Grey Mausoleum. A splendid key gives visitors access to a remarkable treasure house of funeral sculpture. Possible the finest tomb is that of Henry de Grey, created Duke of Kent (died 1740), for whom Leoni re-modelled Wrest Park and Archer created his pavilion.

Eastern Seaboard
Length: About 75 miles
Starting at: Great Yarmouth
This trail links the two famous Hanseatic Ports of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn. During the Hanse period Yarmouth flourished on the strength of the local wool trade and a burgeoning herring industry. For the purpose of the trail, a useful starting point is Row 111 House/Old Merchant's House in Great Yarmouth on the South Quay. Here visitors can experience the contrasting lifestyles of one of Great Yarmouth's wealthy 17th century merchants, and the poorer classes who occupied Yarmouth's unique & "Rows" Much of this area was destroyed by bomb damage, and the collection of original fixtures and fittings grouped at the properties provides a fascinating insight into the history of the area. Both sites are visited on guided tours. While in Great Yarmouth look out for the ancient wall of the town, St Nicholas' Church built in 1109 by Bishop Losinga, (reputed to be the largest parish church in the country) and the Fisherman's Hospital. Great Yarmouth is famous for Lord Nelsen, who has a commemorative 144ft Norfolk Pillar erected in the town, Interestingly the figure at the top is that of Britannia, not Nelson and looks inland rather than out to sea. From Yarmouth head along the A47. The trail passes close to Norwich, where Worstead cloth was once exported into Europe by the boats known as wherries and keels. Continue along the A47 through Dereham, until you reach the A1065 junction near Swaffham. At this junction turn right and then left after a couple of miles, following the signs to Castle Acre.

Both the castle and priory were founded soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066 by William de Warenne, first Earl of Surrey. The Priory is the best-preserved Cluniac monastery in the country. Belonging to the centralised order of Cluny, however, did cause problems for the Priory when war broke out between England and France in 1295. Edward 1 took action against the 'alien priories' by confiscating land and thereafter levying heavy taxes. Head back along the A1065 linking up with the A47 to Kings Lynn.

The town was chosen by the Hanseatic merchants as a warehouse base, and was one of England's major ports from the 12th to the 18th centuries. Indeed, the town displays the only remnant of the Hanseatic League in Britain, the Hanseatic warehouse and also boasts two superb Guildhalls, the medieval St. George's and the chequered-fronted Trinity. Both Guildhalls can be found at the heart of the old town where Henry Bell's glorious 17th century Custom House is located along with the Saturday and Tuesday market places.

Flint Walk
Length: Approximately 82 miles
Starting at: Grimes Graves, nr Brandon, Suffolk
A "Flint Trail" could commence nowhere else but at Grimes Graves where flint was extracted some 4000 years ago. Recognised as the earliest major industrial site in Europe, there are about 400 shafts in a forty-acre site, most of which are shallow hollows, giving the impression of a lunar landscape. Visitors can descend 30 feet into one of the excavated pit shafts and peer down the radiating galleries. From Grimes Graves head south along the A1065 and follow the signs to Weeting Castle.

The ruins stand in a field beside the church (itself with a lovely flint circular tower) enclosed by a shallow moat. The use of flint in the construction of the castle is clearly visible. A feature of many of the early forts and castles built using flint is the absence of square corners, as unknapped flint is difficult to fashion. Also in Weeting see how flint has been used in the construction of modern bus shelters. Continue along the A1605 to Brandon. A visit to the Brandon Heritage Centre in George Street will teach you about the gun flint industry. In 1686 a government factory was established at Brandon to produce gun flints for the army, the contract continuing until the army stopped using flint locks in the 19th Century.

An unusual looking vicarage can be found at Barton Mills, further south along the A11, where the flint facade blends with yellow brick battlements. The vicarage can be reached on the far side of the village, past the Post Office and next to the church. Continue south and head for the village of Moulton, where a flint constructed Packhorse Bridge spans the River Kennett. Head east along the A14 to Bury St. Edmunds Abbey where the great west front of the ruins of the church stand in public gardens - early examples of flint masonry. The trail continues along the A134 to Thetford, here The Ancient House Museum (White Hart Street) houses a fine display on glint and its many uses, including display of a flint alphabet. Two English Heritage properties displaying fine examples of flint as a building material can be seen at Thetford Holy Sepulchre (follow the signs). You can also see how some pre-cast flint panels have been used in the construction of the main shopping centre.

From Thetford take the A11 and then the A134 towards Dereham. It is worth remembering that men, woman and children were employed in the fields round and about to fill buckets with flint stones, which would otherwise cause excessive wear and tear on ploughs and farm machinery. Continue west until the road leads up to the A1065 and follow the signs to Castle Acre Priory and Castle.

At the priory, visitors are greeted by the remains of a handsome early 16th century gatehouse of brick and flint. Flint was used as the base for the strong walls of the castle, and can also be viewed on the Bailey Gate between the castle and the priory. In the village of South Acre is a fine example of a flint church. The A1065 leads back to Grimes Graves.

Pillars and Pill Boxes
Length: 53 miles
Starting at: Audley End House, Essex
Audley End is one of the great prodigy houses of the Jacobean period, built in 1605-14 to attract visits from the reigning monarch. At the centre of its fine main frontage lie not one but two entrance porches, creating a carefully balanced symmetry around the original great hall in the middles. The dual porches provide the key to the original layout of the house, with separate suites of rooms to the right and left for use by the King and his Queen, in truly palatial splendour.

Porches often provided a focus for lavish detail, and Audley End is no exception. The framework of the design is classical, with superimposed orders, Ionic with heavy spiral scrolled capitals below and Corinthian above. The columns, standing on their pedestal bases and supporting full moulded entablatures are set forward from the structure and detached from it, giving depth and interest to the facades. In typical Jacobean style, the classical form is draped with intricate fretted ornament of Flemish origin, covering almost every available surface (the plainer parapet is a later addition).

This delight in ornamentation even extends to the use of special coloured stones - the columns are variegated, in white marble, black and red, with contrasting elements also picked out in the friezes. This is rich and costly work indeed. During the Second World War, Audley End House served as a secret training station for Polish soldiers of the Special Operations Executive. Further war-time connections can be seen in the grounds. Pill-boxes are a reminder of the GHQ line which extended from Canvey Island to Newcastle, introduced when the threat of invasion was at its peak. Head onto the M11 south and M25, coming off at Junction 30.

Follow the signs for Tilbury and later Tilbury Fort.

The Water Gate at Tilbury presents an impressive show front to the River Thames, a sophisticated piece of architecture quite unlike the more utilitarian character of the rest of the fort. The restored plaque over the entrance gives the date of its completion: the 34th year of Charles II reign, or 1683(measured from Charles I's execution in 1649, and not Charles II's Restoration in 1660). The design of the main fort is by Sir Bernard de Gomme, Chief Engineer and Surveyor General of the Ordnance, but it seems likely that he received some architectural assistance on the Water Gate. The design, with its central archway and narrower flanks, framed by columns, has echoes of the Roman triumphal arch - an appropriately military theme. Above the Ionic order is superimposed the Corinthian order, with its ornate acanthus leaf carving. To either side are marvellously carved trophies of cannon, armaments and armour, mixing the contemporary with the antique and serving also to hide the shape of the plain gatehouse behind. The central niche, now empty, probably once contained a statue of Charles II. Crowning all is an elegantly curved segmental pediment, framing the Stuart Royal Arms. The whole frontage is built of England's finest limestone, brought by sea from Portland on the south coast. In the 18th century, bloodshed took place at Tilbury Fort after a dispute during a county game between Essex and Kent. Feelings evidently ran high, as an Essex man was killed, and the fort commander shot dead. Tilbury Fort had been a prison for Scottish soldiers following the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Many prisoners died within the fort or on prison ships bound for the West Indies. The Culloden Memorial Stone stands outside the Water Gate in remembrance of this episode, and the names of the Scottish prisoners who dies are held within the fort.

Saxtead Green
Length: About 37 miles
Start the trail at Saxtead Green Post Mill, look up at the four sails of the mill - the principle of a post mill is that the 'buck' or body of the mill revolves on a post, so as to take advantage of the change in the wind's direction. The interior of the mill displays milling machinery and a fascinating audio tour takes visitors up into the body of the mill and explains the complete milling process. Follow the B1119 a short distance to Framlingham Castle.

From the exterior it looks almost as it did when it was built in 1190. It is a magnificent example of a curtain wall castle with 13 square towers and no keep, showing the influences of the Crusader castles of the Holy Land. If you look up above the walls you will see numerous decorative brick chimneys, elaborately made of specially moulded bricks in various patterns, Most of them are dummies, put up to give passers-by the impression that this was a great tudor mansion. If you look above the poor house there are five alternate male and female stone heads wearing coronets over the door and windows. If you tour the castle ditches and look up just beyond the bridge columns, and to the left of the window openings, a fierce moustached face has been built into the wall. Before leaving Framlingham be sure to visit the church of St. Michael (visible from the Castle). Look up at its superb roof, one of the most beautiful in Suffolk, the hammer beams well concealed by ribbed coving.

Orford Castle is reached via the B1116, B1078 and B1084. From the outside, look up to see the impressive near perfect 30m keep - it has 18 sides and three square turrets, and contains a labyrinth of rooms and passages. Inside the castle, look up in the main chamber and you will see a model of the Merman, a legendary 'Man of the Sea' covered with hair and with a long shaggy beard, who was held captive at Orford. The Merman was allowed to return to the sea, guarded by three lines of nets, but he dived under them to regain his freedom. You'll find another Merman in St. Bartholomew's Church in Orford village - if you look carefully.

From Orford head back along the B1084 to Woodbridge.. The impressive tower of St. Mary stands 108ft tall with admirably shaped buttresses, crenellations and pinnacles. A short drive along the A12 and the A1214 leads into the centre of Ipswich where the rest of the trail can be followed on foot. The Tudor Christchurch Mansion has collections including Constable and Gainsborough. The Ancient House on St. Stephen's Lane is a superb example of a historic building adapted for various uses over the centuries, with wonderful decorative plasterwork or pargeting. Look up to see four decorative panels representing the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe and America.

Cross into Dial Lane and right into Tavern Street. At the junction with St. Lawrence Street look up to see the Ipswich coat of arms marking the site of Conduit House, where the town's earliest public water supply was piped in. Trace back along Tavern Street to the junction with Cornhill, and look up at the splendid facade of Ipswich Town Hall. Figures on the Town Hall represent Commerce, Justice Law & Learning and Agriculture (all female), whilst the three portraits are of Richard 1 who promised Ipswich a charter, King John 1 who granted it and Cardinal Wolsey, one of Ipswich's most famous sons. The female link is restored with figures on the Post Office representing the Victorian achievements of Industry, Electricity, Steam and Commerce. The Royal Arms can also be seen at Cornhill, flanked either side by Genius and Science. Head south down Princes Street towards the brooding black glass of the Willis Corroon building. Now Grade 1 listed, the building appears to have a bronze interior at night. The roof actually has a lawn, and if you look up as well as seeing the sky reflected in the glass, you should be able to make out the hedge running around the roof.

The National Trust
Blickling, Norfolk, Norfolk
Tel: 01263 733471

Nature Conservancy Council
60 Bracondale, Norwich
Tel: 01603 620558

Norfolk Ornithologists Association
Aslack Way, Holme-next-the-Sea, near Hunstanton
Tel: 01485 525406

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
97 Yarmouth Road, Norwich
Tel: 01603 700880

Suffolk Wildfowl Trust
Park Cottage, 32 South Entrance, Saxmundham
Tel: 01728 603765

The Norfolk Naturalist Trust
72 Cathedral Close, Norwich
Tel: 01603 625540

The Wildfowl Trust
Slimbridge, Gloucester
Tel: 01453 891900