1 With your back to the church, turn left and 8 Cross the stile and go diagonally left across a walk along the road till you reach the field to the far corner, with a stile and gate. For a longer walk at Point A crossroads. Continue with a hedge on your left to another stile, cross and continue straight on with a 2 Turn left here into Rookery Lane and continue ditch on your left till you reach the road on your 9 Turn right into Rookery Lane, and at the along the lane till you reach a house on the left left (Point A) where you cross a wooden bridge. end turn left, signposted and with white railings and a gate. . 3 Turn right with a black barn in front of you, If you want a shorter walk, you can now turn and go into a field, leaving the barn on your left and walk back along Rookery Lane till you 10 Take the first road on your left, Church left. Turn left following the footpath sign. Walk come to the crossroads at No. 2, where you Road, signposted , and continue along the edge of a field, with a hedge on your turn right to reach the church. along this road till you reach the church. left. At the end go straight ahead through a hedge and over a ditch using a plank bridge. Immediately after the bridge, turn left, keeping the hedge on your left.

4 At the corner of the field turn right, and continue with a ditch on your left past livestock in paddocks on your right. At a rough track, turn right to reach the road after a short distance.

5 At the road, turn left and walk along the road to a crossroads, with The Three Horseshoes pub on your right.

6 At the crossroads turn left along Spring Lane.

7 After a white house on your right, turn left at a public footpath sign and walk along a concrete track with a hedge on your right. At the end of the track, continue straight across the field on the same line to the corner, by some glasshouses. Continue along a hedgerow, with the hedge on your right. At the end of hedge go straight across the field to a gap in the opposite hedge, with a bridge and a stile. This is an easy, pleasantly rural walk along General information for walkers quiet roads and footpaths. There may be Amenities A Circular Walk stock in one of the fields and there are a There are two shops in Hempnall: a general store three stiles and some plank bridges. in The Street (open every day), and a butcher/ from the The church itself is full of interest both inside delicatessen (open 7–5 Mon–Fri and 7–3 Sat) and out, e.g., an interesting staged round on the main road (B1527) opposite the end of Parish Church tower, stone carvings and 19th-c. wall The Street. Woodton has a shop (open 7–8 Mon- stencils. The well-maintained churchyard is Wed, 8–6 Sun) and a pub, the King’s Head of delightful. (carvery on Sundays, closed Mondays). The small village of Topcroft is home to a Access by road large and successful cricket club (over to Topcroft is south of , between the B1332 your right as you turn left out of Rookery (to ) and the A140 (to Ipswich). Take the Lane). B1527, signed to Hempnall. The turning to Topcroft is half-way between Hempnall and One of the earliest surviving ‘valentines’ is Woodton. It’s not signposted, is called Oxnead the poem that Margery Brews wrote in 1477 Lane, and leads to the church. to her fiancé, John Paston (part of the famous Paston Letters collection, an early There is ample parking by the church gates. insight into 15th-c. domestic life). It was written under a tree in the grounds of Topcroft Hall, which you pass on your right Walkers are reminded that they should between Rookery Lane and Church Road. observe the Countryside Code:

Guard against all risks of fire St Margaret’s Church is to be found on Fasten all gates Ordnance Survey map Explorer 237. The Keep dogs under close control St Margaret’s Church is postcode at the church is NR35 2BH. Keep to paths across farmland always open and welcomes you Avoid damaging fences, hedges and walls If you have any comments or queries, please contact Leave no litter – take it home Two circular walks from the church The Church Office, The Rectory, The Street, Safeguard water supplies Hempnall, NR15 2AD of approx. 3 or 3½ miles (3 stiles) [email protected] Protect wildlife, wild plants and trees (1¼ or 1½ hours approx.) Go carefully on country roads The Hempnall Group of Churches is very grateful to Mrs Monica Churchill for the lovely artwork on these leaflets. Respect all life of the countryside Printed and published by the Hempnall Group of Churches May 2011