Welcome Location The parish of Hopton cum lies within B1111 B1113 on the border. The rural village of GARBOLDISHAM A1066 A11 KNETTISHALL A140 Hopton boasts a host of local amenities including DISS B1113 B1111 A143 a pub, a large convenience shop with post HOPTON

A134 office, a fish and chip shop, three churches and B1088 A143 Hopton cum a bowling green. Knettishall, with its beautiful nature reserve and heath is about 2½ miles away.

A140 All walks start at All Saints Parish Church, Hopton A143 Knettishall A14 and follow footpaths, tracks, quiet lanes BURY ST MENDLESHAM and pavements, varying from a gentle 2¾ mile EDMUNDS A14 Three beautiful stroll to 8½ miles for a fuller day out. All the routes circular walks Hopton cum Knettishall lies on the B1111, are signed with coloured waymarker discs. about 8 miles south-east of Thetford, 9 miles There is only one stile, which is along “A Grand south-west of Diss and 15 miles north-east of Day Out”. . These walks also include three sites managed by Public Transport the : Knettishall Heath, Public transport is available to Hopton cum and Fen. The Suffolk Knettishall. Visit www.suffolkonboard.com for Wildlife Trust has three easy to follow waymarked timetables or www.travelineeastanglia.org.uk routes around Knettishall Heath to help you (08712 002 233) to plan your journey. explore and enjoy this wonderful landscape; details can be found on the information boards Use O.S. Explorer Map 230 Diss & Harleston in the main car park or via and the Barningham & Market Weston leaflet to www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves. enjoy these walks and the wider area. Knettishall Heath is at the junction of three long Discover Suffolk distance routes: the 92 mile Discover more great days out across Suffolk at footpath www.discoversuffolk.org.uk from Great Produced by Suffolk County Council and Hopton Yarmouth, the 110 cum Knettishall Parish Council. mile from Bedfordshire (the oldest road in Britain) and the 46 mile to

North Norfolk. Printed by EFMS Design & Print IP2 0UH 01473 260600 Hopton cum Knettishall Three beautiful circular walks

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1 10 5 1 KEY TO MAP 6 2 A Grand Day Out 4 4 The Windmill Walk The Fen Walk Public Footpath 2 Bridleway Restricted Byway Byway 3 Long Distance Route National Cycle Route The Blue Route between No. 9 and No. 10 is Map based on Ordnance Survey Copyright a permissive path that the landowner has kindly mapping. All rights reserved. Unauthorised 3 allowed the public to use with their permission. reproduction infringes Crown Copyright. It is not a legally recorded public right of way Suffolk County Council and there is no intention for it to become so. Licence No. 100023395 2014. To your left, nestled among the trees and looking The village was given a market charter in 1263, The Windmill picturesque, is Market Weston church. which is depicted on the attractive village sign.

Continue along the track until you reach Continue to Pond End Lane and proceed down AR Walk CUL WA IR LK C another footpath junction 4 . Here you can here to cross the B1111. Take care when Distance: 2¾ miles (4½ km) follow the green route to Market Weston or crossing this busy road.

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Waymarkers: Red Circular Walk R Follow the track opposite until your reach Market Weston Fen Nature Reserve to your right 4 , where the route continues through the fen. With the church on your right, head Market Weston Fen is a SSSI site and European The Fen Walk ULAR WA up the High C IR LK C Special Area of Conservation. The numerous Street, past Distance: 4 miles (6 km) ponds, formed during the ice age, support a diverse

The Vine pub Duration: 2 hours

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and the fish & Waymarkers: Green Circular Walk R animals. Snipe can be heard chip shop until in the spring vibrating or you come to With the church on your left, walk along ‘drumming’ their outer a bridleway on Road until you reach Shortgrove tail feathers, apparently your right 1 . Lane on your right 1 . Follow this lane past the sounding like a bleating bowls club and take the footpath on your right goat! During the Following this track you pass a small pond to 4 . Continue along the tree lined footpath, turn summer be amazed at your left and keeping the hedgerow to your left at the next waymarker and follow the field the variety and colours left follow the path until you pass through edge footpath until you reach a gate to exit of dragonflies and a gap in the hedge. Turn right and follow the onto Church Road 2 . Turn left and head damselflies, for this fen is path as it winds its way lazily over the rise towards the church. rich in wildlife. and down to the road 2 . Before you reach the 13th century church of After a gate, a bridge and two further gates Look to the left and enjoy the wonderful view of St Marys, which stands proud and picturesque in you reach Fen Street 5 . Turn right and the Grade II listed tower mill at Thelnetham. the rural landscape, you will pass the Old continue along the road until you reach Built around 1819 to grind wheat into flour, it Chimneys Brewery, a craft brewery since 1995 a footpath on your right. became derelict in the mid 1920s. Restored in the and winner of several awards. Contact the This path takes you along a leafy boardwalk early 80s by volunteers, it is now a working mill brewery on 01359 221411/221013 for shop and over a small bridge into a small meadow. open to the public and one of the oldest surviving opening information. Keeping the hedge line on your left continue tower mills in Suffolk. until you reach the Old Rectory 6 and Walk through the churchyard to the rear a track. Follow this until you reach a footpath Turn left at the road at the bend, take the left hand corner and follow the grass path to skirting the large field on your left. Walk up track on your right. Follow the track until rejoin the road. Turn right and proceed the footpath to Nethergate Street. Turn right you reach the top of the incline and come to through Market Weston, turning right at the and return to the village centre. a crossroad of paths; go right 3 . village hall 3 . AR CUL WA IR LK Hopton Fen is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust C A Grand and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) church 6 , take the footpath signed Angles Way

lying in a valley close to the Little Ouse River. There on the left and follow the waymakers through

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A R is a permissive path which takes you through the woodland and past Riddlesworth Hall School. Day Out fen, where you may hear a nightingale, sedge or Distance: 8½ miles (13½ km) reed warbler, that rejoins the Angles Way. 3 Riddlesworth Hall School is an 18th century Georgian Duration: 4½ - 5 hours style mansion. Originally the seat of Sir Drue Drury, Waymarkers: Blue Circular Keeping the reed bed on your left, follow the Sir Drue served at the coronation of Elizabeth I; he Walk, Angles Way, Yellow Trail fern lined path which then continues along a was also gaoler of Mary, Queen of Scots. His monument can be found in St Peter’s Church. All Saints’ Church has examples of fine church architecture field edge. Princess Diana was a former pupil at the school. such as the early Tudor red brick clerestory windows and the late medieval hammer beam roof. The tower houses On a summer’s day you can eight bells; six recently restored bells, five of which date marvel at the array of Past the school, turn left onto a track which from the early 17th century and were cast at John Draper’s butterflies such as Comma, will lead to a quiet road7 . Turn left to reach Thetford foundry; the sixth was cast in Downham Market in Skipper, Gatekeeper and Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve. 1807. Two new bells were added in 2010. Meadow Brown. Within the nature reserve is Hut Hill, a 4,000 year With the church on your right, head up the Continue along the track old Bronze Age round barrow burial mound and The High Street and take the narrow public following the Angles Way Warren, an area where the old industry of rabbit footpath 1 on your left past The Vine pub. waymarkers until you reach farming took place. a large bridge 4 . Cross the bridge and stile and Follow the Angles Way waymarked path continue up to the silos where you turn left From the car park 8 pick up the yellow woodland between the houses out onto farmland until onto a tree lined track to reach Gasthorpe. trail to cross the road into the wood and follow 2 you reach Hopton Fen Nature Reserve. the trail until you reach the road 9 . Follow the Gasthorpe 5 is a small pretty village with a quaint track opposite along a permissive path. thatched old post office and 16th century cottages. You are now crossing what was a World War II At the crossroads, continue straight ahead airfield for the United States Army Air Force. towards St Peter’s Church. Just before the The 388th Bombardment Group flew Flying Fortresses on 331 raids to European targets. There is a memorial to the 388th in .

Keep following the blue circular walk waymarkers to the road and continue on the other side until you reach a path on your left10 . Take this to the road, turn left until you see the entrance on the right into Weston Fen 5 and follow the Green Route back to the village.