Norfolk

Blickling, Calthorpe and Great Wood walk

This long circular walk around Blickling takes in the villages of Calthorpe and Erpingham and the estate’s Great Wood. Along the way, look out for striking architecture including Blickling Mill, the Tower, the Mausoleum and the 'Chinese' bridge.

Near to

Blickling Estate

Start point

Blickling main car park, grid ref: TG176285. Estate Barn visitor reception, Blickling Estate, Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6NF

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 7.5 (km: 12)

Duration2 hours 45 mins to 3 hours 15 mins

Dog friendly***

*The route is through woodland, fields and on surfaced tracks. For further details, see Terrain section.
**Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. For further details, see Access section.
***Dogs must be kept under close control.

Address
Blickling, Norwich, Norfolk, NR11 6NF
Directions via Google Maps
By train
Aylsham Bure Valley Railway is 2 miles (3.2km) away. North Walsham station is 8 miles (13km) away.
By bus
Sanders Norfolk 42, 43 and some 44A journeys run between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich, stopping at Aylsham which is is 2 miles (3.2km) away from Blickling Estate.
Sanders Coaches timetable
Cycling
On the B1354 Blickling road. Permitted path alongside Bure Valley Railway.
Cycle route information
By road
The route starts on the B1354, Aylsham to Saxthorpe.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome under close control.
Car park
The route starts at the main Blickling car park. It's free for National Trust members and £5 (coins only) for non-members.
Toilet
There are toilets in the main car park.
Café
The Muddy Boots Café is next to the main car park. The Stables Café is in the East Wing.
Shop
These is a plant centre, a second-hand bookshop and a National Trust gift shop at Blickling.
Pub
The Buckinghamshire Arms pub (not National Trust) is behind the main car park.
Total stages: 14
Total stages: 14
Start point
Blickling main car park, grid ref: TG176285. Estate Barn visitor reception, Blickling Estate, Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6NF
Stage 1
From the main Blickling car park, take the gravelled path past the toilets and visitor centre on your right. Go through the wooden rails and turn left on to the drive marked 'Park and lake'.
Stage 2
Turn right at the tree, following Weavers' Way, and go through the gates to the park. Take the gravelled track straight ahead. As this rises, you'll have views over the lake to your right.
Stage 3
Go through a set of gates and follow Weavers' Way to the right, around the end of the lake. Just before some gates, turn left and take the path through woodland to the fisherman's car park and exit onto a lane.
Stage 4
Turn right, and after 225m go through a kissing gate on the left to follow Weavers' Way over a meadow. Cross a wooden footbridge and then the 'Chinese' bridge and turn right to follow the River Bure to another kissing gate.
Stage 5
From here, the path follows a low causeway, crossing a wooden footbridge and exits the meadow via a kissing gate. Follow the hedged track, passing houses on either side. When you reach the lane, turn left.
Stage 6
After 215m, turn right onto a track, known as Beech Lane, still following Weavers' Way. Soon Weavers' Way leaves the track on the left-hand side via a public footpath that runs beside a fenced field. Follow this path.
Stage 7
At the end of the path, turn right onto a lane then immediately left and follow this lane to Erpingham village.
Stage 8
At the T-junction in the village turn left, leave Weavers' Way and follow The Street to Calthorpe. As the road bears right, continue straight on up the hill, signed to Wolterton. Pass the church – Our Lady and St Margaret – on the left and at the crossroads, turn left.
Our Lady and St Margaret
Our Lady and St Margaret is in a walled churchyard above the narrow lanes of the tiny village of Calthorpe. All but the chancel was refaced in un-knapped flint in the 19th-century, but these have mellowed with age and only the tower still appears rather stark. The east window is very pleasing with its narrow interlocking tracery and clear glass panes. There is also an interesting font, with a towering 20th-century font cover in red and green.
Stage 9
Follow the lane down the hill as it drops well below the level of the surrounding fields, then take the lane on the right. Follow this lane as it zig-zags between arable fields.
Stage 10
Continue following the lane, passing a restricted byway on the right. After a while, the lane ends at a track and a farm drive signed as a public footpath. Take the track straight ahead, crossing the footbridge over the River Bure. When you meet the road, turn right.
Stage 11
Pass Blickling Mill on your right and 100m later turn left into Blickling Great Wood, cross a stile and follow the path through the woods.
Blickling Mill and Great Wood
The original Blickling Mill was burnt down some time before 1559. The National Archives at Kew show that in that summer it was rebuilt, apparently from the ground up, by Sir James Boleyn, then lord of the Blickling manor and resident in the old 'Boleyn' Blickling Hall. The mill sits at the end of a long section of meadows naturally set above even the winter water levels. Downstream the land on either bank is very low and boggy. No better site for a mill could be envisaged along this long stretch of the river. In the early 1900s, the mill had three storeys but in the 1930s, after becoming derelict and dangerous, the top two were removed. The old attached Mill House is now used as a National Trust Holiday Cottage. Great Wood has been a feature of the park at Blickling since its earliest medieval times, and its ancient boundaries survive as low banks in the undergrowth. Look out for masses of bluebells in spring.
Stage 12
After 100m, go straight on over the cross-tracks along a woodland ride. Pass a bench on your left and just ahead the ride forks – take the right-hand fork. Follow the ride, ignoring side paths, until you reach a clearing with the Mausoleum on your left.
The Mausoleum
The pyramid-shaped Mausoleum is Grade II* listed and was designed by architect Joseph Bonomi the Elder, based on the Roman tomb of Cestius Gallus. After the death of the 2nd Earl, John Hobart, in 1793, one of his four daughters had the Mausoleum built to commemorate him. His two wives, Mary Anne (Drury) and Caroline (Conolly), are also buried in the Mausoleum with him. Have a look through the windows and go round the back to read the memorial stone, topped by a magnificent bull – the emblem of the Hobart family.
The striking Mausoleum at Blickling Estate, Norfolk | © National Trust Images/John Millar
Stage 13
Go past the Mausoleum and turn right onto a path. The path will meet a track, at which point you can see The Tower in the distance ahead of you.
Stage 14
Turn left onto the track, follow it through a gate and back through the parkland to the entrance. From here, you can retrace your steps to your starting point at the car park – and possibly some refreshments at the Muddy Boots Café.
End point
Blickling main car park, grid ref: TG176285
Trail map
The Blickling, Calthorpe and Great Wood walk | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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The pyramid shaped Mausoleum at Blickling Estate, Norfolk

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