This was my actual route...
...which wasn't quite as planned as I had a little trouble following my route in the woods... as you will see, and which added about a mile to my route.
I parked just outside the Five Bells pub, which is closed for renovation at the moment (more anon), and started at St. Ethelbert's Church. Here are some picture from my walk.
A nice hyacinth in the churchyard.
I liked this path across the field to Drinkstone. It is one of the oldest villages in England, as mentioned in the Domesday Book,1086
And so I entered the village, crossed the green and headed along the road beside the Black Bourn stream which runs beside the road. Over the last 20 years or so the village school, shop, post office and pub have all closed, which I think is sad.
I then took the quiet back road from Drinkstone to Beyton. Here I found some overhead broadband fibre-optic cables had joined the telegraph wires.
I loved this moated house.
I turned off the road and crossed to wards Beyton church, passing a blossom laden hedgerow. I don't really know what is what when it comes to blossom, although this may help.
All Saints, Beyton Church is unusual in having a round tower, as I observed when I visited in 2006, but on bike rather than on foot.
The grounds are a country wildlife site managed for wildflowers... like these..
From Beyton, I headed west and then south along the edge of a wood, with views back to Beyton and across to Hesset where I started.
The path was broad going along the fields and the sky was a lovely blue with fluffy clouds. I was glad I had taken my coat and jumper off and put them in my rucksack as it was pleasantly warm in the sun.
As I neared Rougham, I found an unexpected sight. The Bury St. Edmunds Ramblers have a regular Tuesday walk which today was a circular walk from Rougham Church. I would have gone on it, but I had things to do which meant I would struggle to get to the start on time. And I had walked around the area a lot anyway. And I fancied trying out this walk more. They were on a path I was planning on walking on. What to do? I would surely catch them up and have to answer the question why I wasn't walking with them!
Discretion being the greater part of valour,, I modified my route via this newly constructed stile and bridge.
And then I found a permissive path that wasn't on my OS map.
It looks a bit ugly with having just been cleared, but it has been comprehensively done and makes a great shortcut to the next public footpath. Well done farmer. Lovely job!
Alongside the path is an interesting modern house. Very impressive, but I'm not sure I like flat rooves.
I was now approaching Bradfield St. George.
From here I turned east ti walk through the woods. I rather liked this house.
The route through the woods was a bit hard to follow and after this next house, where I could have taken a track directly back to Hesset...
I carried on through the woods, enjoying these wild primroses..
But the path I was following took me south rather than east. (It was overcast so I couldn't use the sun to orient myself) and I ended up walking along the Black Bourne past Hill Farmhouse to get to the road back to Hesset at the bridge over the Black Bourne.
I loved these primroses and pussy willow alongside the road.
There is a path alongside the road so the last part wasn't susceptible to traffic. And here we come to the climax of teh walk... the houses in Hesset with their moats (as here) and fantastic pargeting.
And so I ended up back where I started at the Five Bells.
... being renovated...
But will it be completed? The website on the sign doesn't seem to exist. I hope it does get restored!
So the verdict on my new walk? Rather good.. apart from getting lost in the woods. But I was a Hansel without a Gretel to keep me right and I did manage to get out of the woods eventually!
Here is a slideshow of my photos (Flash required)
You can find more details of my walk on my MapMyWalk log here, and all my photos here on Flickr.
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