Two walks around Sweffling & beyond with some impressive local landmarks

Try one of these lovely walks either before or after a visit to the Sweffling White Horse. A Sunday walk could take in a lunchtime drink & snack at the pub, or you could make it an early evening walk before the pub opens at 7. Walk these routes during the daytime any day other than Sunday and you could enjoy a nice cuppa and a bite to eat at the amazing Juniper Barn in Rendham – just a few minutes’s walk from the path (B1119 just over the bridge into Rendham)

Below: Some of the views around Sweffling, Gt Glemham & Benhall

Walk 1 (3 miles)

A walk around Sweffling
The walk starts at the village hall just off the B1119. The hut is preserved from the Great War and is a memorial to the local men killed in the war. The walk goes up and down the gentle wooded slopes that descend to the River Alde, narrow here but capable of substantial flow after heavy rain.

From the little bridge, exit the car park, go left, and left up the narrow stream called The Gull. Continue for about six minutes, then take the path on the left, which crosses the Gull (1). You may find this difficult if the water is deep after rain or you find the slope difficult as the little bridge has been damaged by a recent flood. (To avoid this crossing, turn right from the hut and go up Holdens Lane to a footpath just past the last house.) From the stream crossing, go forward and join a track ahead. In three minutes, turn left down Holdens Lane and take the path (on the right) just before the top house.

Open farmland lies ahead. Pass by a copse and bear diagonally right after a hedge gap. Cross the sleeper bridge going towards two electricity poles and take the tunnel-like path through the wood, which starts at the corner of the wood (2). At the other end of the wood, cross the field straight ahead to the nearest hedge corner, then continue beside the hedge to a crossroads of paths. At a copse, turn left and you have a straight walk down to the Alde Valley below. The views of Sweffling church and the woods in this surprisingly wooded countryside are nice as you descend past some farm buildings to a road.

Turn left for 50 yards, then turn right opposite a stand selling eggs. Cross the Alde by a brick bridge and, 50 yards more, turn left along a track. Soon pass big trees, with the river on the left. Over the river there are mounds with Roman remains said to have been left at the time of the Boudicea uprising.

Actually you are in Benhall parish here and you need to get back to Sweffling. Pass a house and go straight on (gate and stile here) beside a hedge until a cross-path comes in from the left over a footbridge (3). Although the bridge leads to a straightforward return path, I continued straight on, beside a hedge, and passed by Grove Farm with its large pond.

Before you reach a hollow tree, a stile leads across the fence on the left and over a bridge. Cross another stile beside a gate and go straight up (nice retrospective view here). Turn right for 100 yards when a road is reached, then left, and in 100 yards left again, along a field path. Note the two converted windmills here and the nice view over Rendham to its church.

Pass Sweffling cemetery, then go through the Sweffling churchyard. See the 14th Century dragon above the door, go down and turn right past the phone box to the start.

excerpt from EA walks

walk 2 (8 miles)

The walk starts at the village hall just off the B1119. The hut is preserved from the Great War and is a memorial to the local men killed in the war. The walk goes up and down the gentle wooded slopes that descend to the River Alde, narrow here but capable of substantial flow after heavy rain.

Turn right onto the road and continue for around 8 minutes. On a bend in the road, take the footpath which leads off to the left. Follow the yellow arrow footpath signs across fields to the back of White House Farm & through some gated paddocks (here you may meet some friendly sheep – ensure you close the gates after you). When you reach the main farm driveway, turn left & proceed onto the farm’s ‘Meadow Nature Walk’. The path will cross the river and when you reach the road, turn left. Take the footpath on the right (just a few yards up the road) across a field & up a hill with a copse on your right. Go over the stile, across another field towards a house. When you reach the road, take the staggered footpath opposite across into the next field with farm buildings on the right. Follow the path to the right & then left around the edge of the field, and through the break in the hedge following the yellow footpath arrow sign.

100 yards before you reach the farm, turn left on a grassy track which crosses your path. When you meet the road turn left. 200 yards along the road, take the footpath on the right opposite High House Farm. Halfway along the field, cross the brook and continue along the path towards the copse. Continue straight through the copse and out other side towards the wood. Follow the path through to the opposite side of the wood then turn left onto a track alongside the wood. At the end of this track turn right and follow the path through Dodds Wood. You will come out of the wood onto a private road – turn right.

Pass a house and go straight on (gate and stile here) beside a hedge until a cross-path comes in from the left over a footbridge (3). Although the bridge leads to a straightforward return path, continue straight on, beside a hedge, and pass by Grove Farm with its large pond.

Before you reach a hollow tree, a stile leads across the fence on the left and over a bridge. Cross another stile beside a gate and go straight up (nice retrospective view here). When you reach the road, turn right for 100 yards, then left for another 100 yards, then left again, along a field path. Note the two converted windmills here and the nice view over Rendham to its church.