Walked by Sally and Richard, 7th August 2011
Around 8.5 miles including 3.75 miles progress along the Icknield Way Path (and the Angles Way to Fen Rivers Way link)
Click here for all our photos from this walk.
A new challenge, an opportunity to visit Euston Hall on one of the two Sundays in the year that it is open to the public - and a lovely walk! I was just getting over a flu-type bug so didn't feel up to a long walk and this was ideal. Euston Hall was advertised as opening at 2.30pm, so we had an early lunch at home before driving to the car park right at the end/beginning of the Icknield Way Path on Knettishall Heath. We set off walking at about 1.30pm and it took us around 1 hour 20 minutes to get to Euston Hall. The route was only occasionally signposted 'Icknield Way Path' (the signposts for the link path from the Angles Way to Thetford were more common) but we didn't have any problems finding the route. It had been a sunny morning but there was rain forecast for the afternoon - thankfully it didn't come until we were back home in the evening.
We initially walked through woodland (very similar to that at the end of the Peddars Way, just the other side of the road) but soon emerged onto attractive heathland at the edge of Knettishall Heath. The path followed a narrow corridor through brambles, passing a stone 'Icknield Way' marker, then we went through more woodland (Thirty Acre Covert) to emerge on the minor road that links Rushford and Coney Weston/Barningham.
We crossed the road and skirted a muddy patch, then found ourselves on a track which went through woodland and then across farmland where they had recently been lifting potatoes. After going underneath power lines and passing a triangulation point, the map shows a choice of route, but the only one signposted on the ground was the permissive left-hand route (which was the one we had intended to follow in any case - the other one involves a substantial section of road walking). This took us along a broad tree-lined avenue called Duke's Ride for a mile or so, first crossing and then being joined by a carriage driving route. As we got closer to Euston we could hear the church bells ringing.
Our path turned sharp right, though the track and carriage driving route carried on straight ahead to Euston Hall, through bracken complete with muntjac deer. We passed though an attractive belt of trees then turned left and followed the path down to Euston, a pretty little hamlet (lots of thatch!).
We reached the A1088 but immediately turned left into Euston Hall. We crossed the car park and paid our £7 each. The entrance to the hall itself is via the courtyard and on entering and paying all of £1 for a guidebook we discovered that the 11th Duke of Grafton died in April and the Church bells were being rung in his memory. Euston Hall is a lovely place - there are lots of pictures including a number of Van Dycks, but the house is light and airy and feels like the family home that it is. The 1st Duke of Grafton was Henry FitzRoy, the illegimate son of Charles II and Barbara Villiers, and the family are clearly very close to the present royal family. It turns out that the Dowager Duchess (the widow of the 11th Duke) is the Queen's Mistress of Robes. The 11th Duke's son died a couple of years ago, so his grandson has inherited both house and title. Wow!
We looked round the house and garden, then followed the sound of the bells to the Church of St Genevieve. We also visited the recently restored water mill and had tea and delicious cake. Then we retraced our steps to the car, walking quite fast so it only took us 1 hour 10 minutes in this direction.