Walking the Peddar's Way

The Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path in fact starts in Suffolk at Knettishall Heath Country Park, to then follow the route of the old Roman road to Holme-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast. At Holme the Peddars Way merges into the Norfolk Coast Path, which runs from Hunstanton to Cromer. This is easy walking through fascinating countryside full of contrasts between rolling open farmland, salt marshes, sandy beaches, cliffs, dunes and of course the Brecks (a unique landscape of forest, open heathland and agricultural land, and home to many unique or distinctive birds, plants and animals).

PRICES
PEDDARS WAY: £295 per person based on two people sharing. Single supplement: £85
NORFOLK COAST PATH: £295 per person based on two people sharing. Single supplement: £95
BOTH COMBINED: £525 per person

INCLUDED
B & B accommodation with breakfast and private facilities; luggage transportation between overnight stops; maps and route notes.

PROGRAMME PEDDAR'S WAY:

Day 1: Arrive Thetford, for overnight.

Day 2: Knettishall Heath to Little Cressingham. 14 ½ miles (23km) Transfer from Thetford to trailhead is included in the tour price. Start the Peddars Way here, where the last ice age over 12,000 years ago left pingo ponds and curious patterns in the heath land vegetation.

Day 3: Little Cressingham to Castle Acre. 11.7 miles (18.7km) From the water and windmill of Little Cressingham to the popular village of Castle Acre, the sense of history is ever present. At Houghton-on-the-Hill is the church of St. Mary's and its 11th Century wall paintings.

Day 4: Castle Acre to Sedgeford. 13.9miles (22km) This is old heathland, ploughed to wide cropped farm fields in the early 20th century, beneath the wide canopy of the sky.

Day 5: Sedgeford to Hunstanton. 8.9miles miles (14.2km) Walk along a former railway line, as the local building material of carrstone appears, giving a warm glow to houses. Finally, your first glimpse of the sea.

Day 6: Depart from Hunstanton after breakfast

NORFOLK COAST PATH
This is a route of sea, sand, marsh and sky with small harbours and flint villages. This is the Norfolk coast AONB, internationally renown for its wildlife. See winter flights of pink-footed geese, as you have never seen before, silhouetted against the evening sky. Experience the wild remoteness of a lonely sea bank. Intersperse the natural world with the warmth of village life and you have a wonderful experience.

Day 1: Arrive Hunstanton for over night

Day 2: Walk to Brancaster and overnight, 10 miles On a clear day see the Lincolnshire coast and, beyond, the Wolds area of outstanding natural beauty.

Day 3: Walk to Wells-next-the-Sea and overnight 12 miles The wild coastal route continues, interrupted, perhaps, by a visit to Holkham Hall, home of the 19th Century agriculture improver, Thomas Coke. Wells-next-the-Sea has a fine mix of historic buildings, and the old port.

Day 4: Walk to Cley-next the Sea and overnight 11 miles You might catch a glimpse of bait diggers on the mud flats; or you could take a trip from Morston to see the seals. Walk grassy paths overlooking one of the most important areas of salt marsh in Europe and see a wide variety of birdlife at Cley-next-the-Sea.

Day 5: Walk to Cromer and overnight. 13 miles Norfolk's cliffs are not huge but, deposited by the retreating ice of 12,000 years ago, these cliffs have yielded mammoth bones. Climb the Cromer ridge before descending through woodland to Cromer itself, with its pier, and its ales and seafood.

Day 6: Departure after breakfast.