Local Walks — East Carleton Village

Local Walks.

This walk takes you out of the village along the Hethersett Road and into the Ladybelt country park. A lovely circular walk around the country park. A mixture of woodland and open parkland. Good for letting children run wild. Return to the village again along Hethersett Road but turn left onto the footpath round the fenced off paddock. This brings you out into Rectory Road via the loke. Approx distance is 3 miles..

Village to Ladybelt.

Village to Mulbarton.

Village to Hethel

Start at East Carleton Church, NR14 8HT. Leave the Church Loke and turn right onto the main road. Follow the road passing the village sign on your left. Carry on this road round a sharp right hand bend, turn right onto Wymondham Road. Follow this for .85 miles. Turn left onto footpath past the Lotus testing track. There is a gate across the road with a ‘no cars’ sign but you can walk round this. At the end of this rough road is the Lotus Car factory. Opposite the Lotus circular office building turn left onto a woodland footpath. Follow this footpath through the tree to a gate at the end, which again you can walk round. Keeping to the footpath turn right and then left. This takes you to the 389th Memorial exhibition/ museum. If you want to visit, they seem to only be open April to October, the second Sunday of every month. Contact 01953 798774 or hethel389@hotmail.co.uk

Follow the footpath with the front of the museum on your left and off through woodland. When you come out of the woodland you will be on a hard core track. All Saints Church Hethel is straight in front of you to the right. Also nearby is the Hethel Old Thorn. Thought to be one of the most ancient hawthorns in England possibly dating from the 13th century. Managed by Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

With the church on your left follow the road to a four way junction. Take the left turn signposted East Carleton 1 mile. Carry on along the road until you come to Spong Lane, turn right here. Follow this for .28 miles until you see a footpath on your left across the fields. At the gate at the end take a right. This will bring you into East Carleton, turn right, passing the village sign, this time on your right side. Back to St Mary’s church in East Carleton.

Drive to Horning Swan, postcode. NR12 8AA. If you park in the car park to the right as you approach the Swan, and you plan to eat at the Swan, you can park for free by going into the pub and putting your registration number into an iPad just to the right inside the door. Otherwise you have to pay.

Walk with the Swan Inn behind you, back to the four way junction. Take the road opposite signposted Neatishead and Radar Museum. Look out for a public footpath on the right going diagonally across a field, you will see the dome of the radar station ahead of you. The radar station normally opens towards the end of the March, but check the website www.radarmuseum.co.uk for full details. With the radar museum on your left carry on along the road keeping right at a triangular road junction. Just on from here there is a footpath on the right across the fields. This does a dog leg through a gap in the hedge and eventually leads on to Norwich Road, the B1062. Turn left and follow this road for a few hundred metres. Take the right hand lane opposite Grove Farm and continue straight on at the crossroads. This leads you to the 13th Century Parish Church of St Benedict, worth a visit. With the church lychgate behind you follow the lane left past Horning village school on your right. Turn left here and continue back into Horning village and the car park. There are several tea shops in the village.

This walk is just under four miles.

Harling Woods

This is a lovely walk in Harling Woods. Sat Nav IP24 2RX. If you don’t have sat nav. travel on A11 from Norwich southbound. Turn left just after the Angel Inn at Larling onto B1111 Watton Road. Before entering the village of East Harling turn right onto West Harling Road. Follow this road until you get to a T junction, turn right still on the West Harling Road. Look for a sign on the right 76. This leads into the car park, be warned there are potholes!!

There are several footpaths through and round the woods so you can walk as far or as little as you like.

Refreshments can be found at Thetford Garden Centre IP24 2RL. Leaving the car park turn right onto West Harling Road. Then right at the T junction onto the B1066 for a short time before turning right signposted Shadwell. Then into Brettenham turning left at T junction with red post box in wall. This is Kilverstone Road, follow this and you will see Thetford Garden Centre on the left.

Or the English Distillery NR16 2QW. Drive back the same way you came. The distillery is on your right before the A11.

A walk at Attleborough.

Park at Breckland Lodge just off the A11 near Attleborough. NR17 1AY. Perfect place to relax after the walk with snacks and full lunches served.

With the Breckland lodge behind you turn left then right down an unnamed lane. At the bottom of this lane, turn left onto Hargham Road. After about three quarters of a mile turn right onto Fowlers Lane. Carefully cross the railway line then follow the lane left and then a slight right. You are now on Poplar Road, follow this to the farm, turn right at the dog bin and follow through the farm to Leys Lane. Turn right and follow Leys Lane for about a mile. On the right you will see a gravel road. Follow this to a T junction, turn right and follow this road for about half a mile. Just before the main road there is a footpath through the trees. At the end take a short left and then a right. You are now on the lane back to Breckland Lodge.

Leave the village on Rectory Road heading East. At the war memorial turn left onto Intwood Lane. About 1/4 mile on the right there is a wooden stile. Over the stile and walk across the field to a gate on the other side of the field. Sometimes there are sheep in this field, but if you ignore them, they will ignore you. This leads into a woodland walk eventually leading to a bank, at the top of the bank turn right and follow the footpath, over a wooden bridge over a pond and back out onto Catbridge Lane. Cross over the road and continue onto the footpath opposite. Follow this through wooded area and follow around the hedge line. Across a field with a tree in the middle. Sharp left and follow the fence line and you will come out on Mulbarton Common. Walk across the common to Blakey’s Bus which is good for a stop for tea/coffee. Return to East Carleton by walking round the Common back to the main B1113 road and right onto East Carleton Road to Scotts Hill then left back into the village. Approx 4 miles.

Nearby teashops:

The Orangery at Kettingham Hall
Blakey’s Bus in Mulbarton
Chestnuts in Tacolneston