Take to the Trail on Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path!
Weekend Walkers and Long-Distance Hikers Will Delight in these excellent long-distance British Trails. The mild countryside makes of excellent excursions on foot. Put another way, it’s a hikers’ dream!!
Peddars Way is the best-preserved Roman Road in Norfolk, which together with the Norfolk Coast Path forms a
National Trail that encompasses a 90-mile stretch of country lanes, grassy tracks, mudflats, cliff-tops, heath and marshland – a paradise for walkers, photographers and ornithologists.
Norfolk is not known for its hilly landscape – making this a moderately easy trek across beautiful open countryside; serious walking enthusiasts who can easily clock up 20 miles a day will complete the whole stretch in well under a week. For those looking for something less arduous, the journey can be broken down into several easily-accomplished sections, as equally suited to the weekend walker as the long-distance hiker.
Coastal Path
Possibly the best starting point to do the entire route is actually across the border in Suffolk, at Knettishall Heath Country Park. From here, what remains of the old Roman road and its subsequent coastal path takes in unique Brecks, rolling farmland, clifftop paths, sand dunes and salt marshes alive with birdlife. Although in truth they are two separate trails, the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path are intrinsically linked, running through a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that takes in a stunning mix of wildly differing scenery.
Said to be derived from the Latin ‘pedester’– which translates as ‘on foot’ – the Peddars Way is first referred to on a 16th century map which links Knettishall near Thetford with the Norfolk Coast Path at Holme-next-the-Sea. Walking enthusiasts with a love of history will be in their element on the first stage of the old Roman highway, a not-too-taxing fourteen-and-a-half miles from Knettishall Heath to Little Cressingham following in the footsteps of legionnaires who first trod the pathway 2,000 years ago.
Great Britain Historical Trail
Little Cressingham to Castle Acre takes in the church of St. Mary at Houghton on the Hill, where renovations in the 1990s revealed priceless 11th century wall paintings nearly lost forever when the building was threatened with demolition. Nearby North Pickenham is associated with the ‘Picnamwade’ of Henry VI’s pilgrimage to Walsingham in 1447, and the ‘Pickenham Wade’ of Henry VIII’s wife Catherine of Aragon’s visit some three-quarters of a century later.
The section from Castle Acre to Sedgeford and Fring is a 13.9 mile stretch through often remote heathland; Sedgeford to Holme Next-the-Sea is a little over six miles, and from there the coast path takes you on a 13-mile journey through part of what is known as ‘Nelson’s Country’ at Burnham Overy Staithe, close to the birthplace of Norfolk’s most famous son. From there to Stiffkey is a little over ten miles, then onto Weybourne (11.75 miles,) before the final leg through Sheringham to Cromer, an eight-mile coastal walk with fabulous views over the north Norfolk coast.
Nicki Williams is a copy writer for Norfolk’s leading on-line, outdoor clothing and footwear company Gear-Zone , specialists in all the leading brands including Rab, Berghaus, The North Face, Scarpa and Brasher
Picture source: Compfight
2 comments
Kevin this is a great post. Please thank Nicki for sharing this with us. One point-of-interest, regarding the “Roman Roads” network. These roads are well maintained and are protected by law. They are an awesome way to see/experience the fantastic English countryside.
Kevin, if you are communicating with Nicki, ask her about the trail that runs the length of the mainland.
I have shared this on my networks.
Cheers,
Barry.
Author
Hey Barry,
Thanks for the comment and for sharing on your networks.
When you say the length of the Mainland, do you mean along the coast or down the middle? I haven’t had a chance to contact Nicki yet, but I was looking at the Sustrans trail map and couldn’t find such a trail. However, I was pleased to see the sheer volume of trails that they have.