of the Park, then north through Thetford Forest. Thetford through north then Park, the of • Icknield Way Icknield – a long distance path which passes along the eastern edge edge eastern the along passes which path distance long a – Brandon. • St Edmunds Way Way Edmunds St to Manningtree from runs which route distance long a – Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall. and Edmunds St Bury • Lark Valley Path Valley Lark – a 13mile (20km) walk following the river valley between between valley river the following walk (20km) 13mile a – Park via Thetford Forest. Thetford via Park • Brecks Trail Brecks – a walking/cycling/horse-riding route to Brandon Country Country Brandon to route walking/cycling/horse-riding a – Other trails which pass through and from the Park: the from and through pass which trails Other INTO THE WILD: UNEARTHING THE PAST: the Beowulf and Grendel story. Pop in the Visitor Centre for an activity pack today. pack activity an for Centre Visitor the in Pop story. Grendel and Beowulf the The Country Park lies on the edge of Breckland, a unique This area has been visited by humans since prehistoric times. Homo- “Embark on a journey through Anglo-Saxon folklore”… with this interactive trail of of trail interactive this with folklore”… Anglo-Saxon through journey a on “Embark region characterised by its semi-continental climate and poor heidelbergensis, another species of human, regularly stopped here BEOWULF & GRENDEL TRAIL: GRENDEL & BEOWULF soils. The landscape was once covered in woodland until Neolithic to make flint tools and use fire as hunter-gatherers some 400,000 settlers arrived and cleared the trees using flint axes. They then years ago. Tens of thousands of flint tools dating from the Mesolithic and. on the floodplain, as you wander through 3.5km of heath and wetl and heath of 3.5km through wander you as floodplain, the on attempted to cultivate the cleared areas but quickly discovered the (9,000BC – 4,000BC) and Neolithic (4,000BC – 2,500BC) eras have “Venture around a landscaped lake”… created through sand and gravel extraction extraction gravel and sand through created lake”… landscaped a around “Venture sandy soils were soon exhausted. The term Breckland is derived from been found from the West Stow excavations alone. WALK LAKE : ROUTE PURPLE ) ( the older word ‘breck’ which was used to describe an unenclosed parkland and along the Lark. the along and parkland area of abandoned arable land. Did you know…? “Discover one of West Stow’s former glories”… as you stroll through 2.5km of of 2.5km through stroll you as glories”… former Stow’s West of one “Discover When local flint tools were made from PUMPHOUSE ROUTE ROUTE PUMPHOUSE : YELLOW ROUTE YELLOW Did you know…? ) ( a deep black flint, the flint could have Frosts can occur in any month of the been mined from Grimes Graves. Heath. year in Breckland. “Enter a world of woodland and nature”… with this 1.5km loop around the Breckland Breckland the around loop 1.5km this with nature”… and woodland of world a “Enter During the Neolithic era, farming NATURE TRAIL TRAIL NATURE : ROUTE RED ) ( The sandy, unstable soils not only was introduced to the area and made farming difficult but also someone, probably of status, was Lake Walk Lake Allow 50 - 60mins - 50 Allow 1.86ml / 3.5km 3.5km / 1.86ml resulted in serious erosion and buried in the centre of a ring ditch with Pumphouse Route Pumphouse Allow 40 - 50mins - 40 Allow 2.5km / 1.55ml frequent ‘sandblows’. In the 19th a carved stone bead and surrounded by century, the planting of Scots Pine Nature Trail Nature Allow 30 - 40mins - 30 Allow 1.5km / 0.93ml over forty cremation burials. Iron Age people shelterbelts helped reduce sandblows. continued farming the land and left evidence coloured arrows. arrows. coloured We still have similar shelterbelt planting All the routes start at the front of the Visitor Centre and are waymarked with with waymarked are and Centre Visitor the of front the at start routes the All of round houses, whilst the Romans used the site in the Country Park today. SUMMARY TRAIL for pottery kilns. The practice of sheep grazing also played a key role in shaping the Then, in the early 5th century, a settlement was built on the banks landscape. Grazing controlled invasive scrub and coarse grasses of the River Lark by the people who became known as the Anglo- allowing the distinctive Breckland plants and animals to thrive. Saxons. The people of West Stow and their culture had roots in The short grass and bare soil were ideal for the small, less northern Europe and Scandinavia and possibly in the local Romano competitive plants. British population. Timber, straw and reeds were used to construct By the Middle Ages, Breckland had a thriving wool trade with buildings around a central hall, possibly the focal point for an production peaking in the 13th century. The local wool industry extended family. They were farmers, raising cattle, pigs, sheep and remained profitable until the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. goats. They grew wheat, barley, rye and beans; crops that could be Today, sheep still play an important role in maintaining heathland stored for use during the leaner months. sites, including here at West Stow. Rabbits have also been an important However, life was not just about component in heathland ecology surviving off the land. Their pottery since they became established in the shows trade existed across East wild, superseding sheep as primary Anglia. Some of the Anglo Saxons grazers. They keep grass short and at West Stow wore gilded brooches, their burrows and scrapes create areas marking them out from their fellow of disturbed soil which is vital to the villagers. Three swords associated survival of many Breckland plants and with the settlement were found, with animals. two in the cemetery, where a few of the Did you know…? dead were also buried with shields and spears DISCOVER 125 ACRES OF UNSPOILT COUNTRYSIDE, WITH to declare their warrior status. HEATHLAND AND WOODLAND WALKS, A SCULPTURE Rabbit farming gave a big economic return on land which would TRAIL AND AN ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND . otherwise have yielded very little and in Medieval times, Breckland Did you know…? had the largest number of warrens in the UK. The two swords that were found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery and About 86% of heathland was lost to development between 1934 excavated in 1849, are now lost; only the one buried in the settlement OPENING TIMES PARKING and 1980, so Breckland heaths are now a fragile, threatened habitat. can still be viewed. West Stow Country Park is open every There is ample car parking, and car Many heaths have been designated as nature reserves or Sites of By the early 8th century, the settlement at West Stow was day, including Christmas and Easter, parking charges apply during opening Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to offer them protection against abandoned. We may never know why, but many early Anglo-Saxon with the car park available from: hours. development; West Stow Heath in the western half of the park is one sites suffered the same fate. Perhaps new ways of farming and Nov-Mar: 9am-5pm Car Park charges and 12 month annual such site. As well as legal protection, it is important that heathlands emerging new elites, including the Church, meant they had to settle April: 9am-7pm pass available online at: are appreciated by the public and managed sustainably so they can elsewhere. Evidence of Medieval ploughing survives but in the May-Aug: 9am-8pm westsuffolk.gov.uk/parking survive for future generations. Proper management is also vital for 14th century, the park was completely covered by a sandblow, up Sept: 9am-7pm the survival of the special wildlife which inhabit this unique habitat. to a metre deep in places. The sand acted as a protective blanket, Oct: 9am-6pm CONTACT US Did you know…? covering the evidence of times past for future discovery. Tel: 01284 728718 HOW TO FIND US Email: [email protected] Breckland is home to over 120 nationally Whilst the cemetery was excavated in the mid-19th century, the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village www.whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk/ rare and threatened plant species, many settlement remained hidden until Basil Brown, of Sutton Hoo fame, & Country Park, parks/west-stow of which grow nowhere else in Britain. discovered the Anglo-Saxon site in 1947. Excavations from 1957- Icklingham Road, 1961 and then from 1965-1972 revealed the www.facebook.com/ Characteristic Breckland species that West Stow, occur at West Stow include birds such Anglo-Saxon settlement as well as the Suffolk IP28 6HG WestStowCountryPark as the Woodlark and Nightjar. There human activity that preceded it. The West Stow Country Park is just 6 www.instagram.com/ are many different invertebrates experimental reconstruction of the miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds, weststowcountrypark including sand-burrowing wasps Anglo-Saxon Village followed and 15 minutes from the A11 and A14 and and bees and several nationally scarce continues to this day. approximately an hour from Norwich, Cambridge and Ipswich. plants that prefer sandy, free-draining soils, including the Maiden Pink, Sickle Medick and Mossy Stonecrop. www.whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk/parks/west-stow /parks/west-stow /parks/west-stow k f folk.co.u www.whatsonwestsu including the Maiden Pink, Sickle Medick and Mossy Stonecrop. Mossy and Medick Sickle Pink, Maiden the including Cambridge and Ipswich. and Cambridge plants that prefer sandy, free-draining soils, soils, free-draining sandy, prefer that plants approximately an hour from Norwich, from hour an approximately and bees and several nationally scarce scarce nationally several and bees and continues to this day.