Euston to Barrow's Corner and Thetford
Walked by Sally and Richard, 31st August 2011
About 12 miles; 11 miles progress on Angles Way to Fen Rivers Way link and 6.5 miles progress on Icknield Way
Click here for all our photos from this walk.
This was definitely Euston to Thetford the long way round! You start just 3 miles south-east of Thetford, but loop round further to the south and end up approaching the town from the south-west. Presumably the owners of the studs etc. on the direct route between Knettishall Heath or Euston and Thetford don't want walkers trampling all over their land. We'd been to London to a Prom Concert the previous evening, so made a leisurely start. We parked by the bus station in Thetford (the town has loads of free car parks) and had just enough time to climb Castle Mound before catching the number 332 bus at 11.15am. When we were here with Kate and Rob in 2009 (before walking to Brandon) I'd decided that Castle Mound was too steep for me. I was determined to make it to the top this time - and more significantly back down again - and managed it, just!
The bus fare to Euston was just £1.60 each and, despite roadworks on the way out of Thetford, we were soon there. It's a pretty little place, complete with thatched and flint cottages. We walked past Euston Hall, round the double bend in the A1088, then crossed the road and took a sandy track (Bury Lane).
Bury Lane initially went through woodland, then climbed slightly and emerged onto agricultural land, with pretty wildflowers on the field boundaries. Just before we entered woodland again, we had to wait for an irrigation system to rotate, in order to prevent it from watering us as well as the plants! We passed Ixworth Spinney and 'D Plantation' then reached a pig farm on the right-hand side with the radar tower of Honington Airfield visible to the left. After passing through more woodland we emerged onto the A134.
We turned right, crossed the road, and took a wide stoney track signposted 'New Zealand Cottages'. We stopped for lunch on the grassy verge in the shade of a tree, then continued past New Zealand Cottages themselves (the home of Piers Hart & Co., makers of 'bespoke luxury furniture and accessories'). There were good views and we could see another pig farm in the distance. We reached the pig farm and turned left, then reached the edge of 'The King's Forest' (which we will go through on the next leg of the Icknield Way) and turned right onto 'Elveden Road (Track)'. This veered away from the forest and passed through crops with occasional belts of trees. They were harvesting in a field to our left.
Barrow's Corner itself is a rather unattractive place, but it is here that the Icknield Way Path and the link path to Thetford diverge. We followed the Icknield Way Path down to the B1106 (past a piggery and a couple of cottages) and back, then onto the link path, walking towards Thetford at last. Interestingly, having left the Icknield Way Path behind, we were now walking on a path which appears to follow the route of the ancient Icknield Way to the ancient town of Thetford. We had a belt of trees on our left (initially 'Old Barnham Slip' then 'New Barnham Slip') and crops (initially hemp, which I don't think I've seen before) on our right.
We crossed a minor road and now had Thetford Heath on our right The water tower shown on the map was visible in the distance, but no sign of the Gorse Industrial Estate - the OS mapping here seems a bit out of date. We reached forest, just past a fallen tree whose root ball revealed the chalk just beneath the surface. We turned right and walked along an attractive path of the edge of the forest. A high wire fence appeared on the right-hand side, with MoD land (not shown on the map) beyond. Shortly after the fence veered away to the right, we turned left and up onto Barnham Cross Common, which apparently has chalky soil on one side and acidic soil on the other. The path across the common wasn't clear, especially since there were trees to negotiate. The guidebook has the path keeping to the west of the A134 all the way down to the playing fields, but we did as the OS map indicates and crossed the road sooner and then meandered on the eastern side. We accidentially went a bit too far east, but this meant we had a view over a little lake with lots of geese (I think this is part of the British Trust for Ornithology Nunnery Reserve) so we weren't complaining. We walked around the pumping station then continued across the common and into Thetford.
We turned right into Nuns Bridge Road, crossed the first bridge and then turned left onto a very attractive riverside path, past a family of swans just waiting to be photographed. The path brought us back to the Old Mill and the kiosk where we had bought lunch when out with Kate and Rob. We just had a cup of tea this time, then returned over the three-legged bridge to the car. This bridge is at the confluence of the Rivers Thet and Little Ouse and I guess that its location is one of the reasons why Thetford has such a rich history. It was the home of the Iceni Tribe (the 'Thetford Treasure' was found nearby) and is described as the 'ancient capital of East Anglia'. In addition to the Motte and Bailey Castle (built in the 11th and 12th Centuries) it has the remains of a priory and a nunnery. More recently the town appears to have fallen on hard times - there are tatty bits interspersed with the historic buildings, though they seem to be trying hard to smarten the town up, and we were amazed to see regular coaches leaving for Heathrow and Gatwick. It appears that the A11 has taken the place of the Icknield Way in contributing to Thetford's excellent communication links. It's most recent claim to fame is that Dad's Army was filmed here.
