Walk 1 | Walk 2 | Walk 3 | Footpath map |
A circular walk of about 7 miles taking approximately 2 and a quarter hours. To Tostock Arms via Norton woods and back via Elmswell New Hall.
Start where "Penny Lane" (Parnell Lane) leaves School Road clearly marked by a metal by a metal footpath sign. Continue under the railway line and turn immediately left as indicated by the wooden sign. Walk along the edge of the field parallel with the embankment to cross the footpath over the stream. Turn immediately right and follow the stream as it turns sharp right until you reach the marker post at a point some 20 yards before the bridge and farm track. The post directs you diagonally left over the field and up a gentle rise. Look for the footpath finger post on the skyline and aim for that.
When you arrive at the footbridge, cross it and turn left as directed by the sign along the field edge (this is the parish boundry and you are now in Norton). The path turns sharp right and then is dead straight until it meets a farm track where you turn left along the track to the barn. Here our route forks left curving along the hedge past a dried up pond to a large single oak tree. Now turn right into Norton wood. There are deer and lots of game birds in the woods.
Follow the clear track for about 50 yards where it takes a faily obvious 90 degree left turn to continue straight until a junction of four paths where you turn right down the most used route and keep going down the boundry hedge. Just to the left you will find a wire-netting gate tied with baler twine. Go through this and ahead you should see an avenue of Lime trees. Walk along these until the end and turn left down the track into the farmyard. Bear right through the farmyard to join the farm track past Crawley Hall and down to the A1088.
Cross the road with care and see that the path continues down the farm track and past Arch Farm - usually muddy - and turn immediately right. Stay parallel with the railway for some 50 yards to a sharp left turn along a hedge (an old home made footpath sign shows the route). Follow the field edge, sharp left at the top and right around the pond. Keeping the pond on your left, follow the paddock fencing turning right towards the large house. Continue down the drive to the house to the road and straight on to the enormous chestnut tree on the green at Totock where the pub is on our left, bearing the possibly appropriate sign "In the sweat of thy browsshalt thou eat thy bread".
Turn left either at or coming out of the pub and follow the road past Tostock church and back to the A1088. Over the road you will see the entrance to Campbell Stud (Elmswell New Hall) and follow the sign to Fox and Goose Cottages where you see paddock fencing with direction arrows taking you to the right. Follow this fence until the steps on the right hand side, then go down the steps and left, parallel with the road for a few yards before left again to follow more paddock fencing. Follow the fence through a couple of narrow and awkward gates, through a white gate and diagonally across a track to where a yellow marker arrow directs you over a stile and diagonally across the paddock, which probably has horses in it, to where another terrible stile leads you to a grass lane.
This takes you through a couple of perculiar gate affairs into an ancient tree lined track from which you emerge into open farm land. Follow the field edge to the left to the railway line and back to Penny Lane along the railway.