Marriott's Way

The Marriott’s Way is a 26 mile footpath, bridleway and cycle route, which follows the routes of two disused railway lines in a loop which heads south-west from the Norfolk town of Aylsham on the former Great Eastern Line before turning back to the south-east, now on the Midland & Great Northern (or "Muddle and Go Nowhere") line to Norwich. The route was kept open following the demise of passenger services, to serve the concrete factory at Lenwade, with the Themelthorpe Loop between the two lines only being constructed in 1960 to facilitate transport of concrete through Norwich and onto the Midlands. The curve was so tight that a limit of 25mph had to be imposed to avoid danger of derailment. The line finally closed to all rail traffic following the closure of the concrete factory in 1985. The Marriott's Way was named in memory of William Marriott who was Chief Engineer and Manager of the Midland and Great Northern Railway for 41 years.

All very interesting, but walking on railway lines is not normally our favourite pastime; they tend to have hard surfaces and to be somewhat boring, and cyclists and walkers don't mix well. We have walked a small section of the Marriott's Way before, around Aylsham, in April 2010, on a return loop after a walk on the Weavers' Way. However, here I will just describe the 12-mile section from Lenwade to Norwich, as started in late 2020. This formed part of our walk across Norfolk from Kings Lynn to Great Yarmouth on the Cross Norfolk Trail (which, in the order in which we're walking it, comprises the Nar Valley Way, Wensum Way, Marriott's Way, Wensum River Parkway and Wherryman's Way). This section of the Marriott's Way was surprisingly interesting and pleasant; there are regular information boards and metal "milemarkers" and the route passes through peaceful, varied and attractive countryside. We walked it when off work for the Christmas/New Year closure 2020-21, when the Wensum was flooded and there were opportunities to view the flooded river from time to time - mostly without getting wet feet!

First leg (To Lenwade to from Freeland Corner)