Norfolk health, heritage and biodiversity walks - Enjoying the Norfolk ...

Walk
3 Watton/
Merton
Start point War Memorial (Memorial Way, Watton)
Grid reference TF917006 • Postcode IP25 6BS
Parking Free parking on Thetford Road by the War Memorial/
various town centre car parks
Distance 3.7 miles (or shorter walk 2.7 miles)
Details Minor gradients, long walk 25% soft, short walk 30% soft
Walk instructions
1. Starting at the war memorial, bear right along Merton Road. Pass all
the houses and the High School and follow Merton Road out in to the
countryside.
2. For the longer walk stay on Merton Road until reaching Merton
Green. Turn first right before the village shelter on to Tottington
Terrace and then bear right at the T-junction on to The Green leading
to Home Farm Lane.
3. Follow the road past Merton Village Hall to the junction and turn right;
the hard surface gives way to a farm track. Follow the restricted byway
to the end (now follow instruction 5 below).
4. For the short walk (continued from instruction 1): approximately
500 yards after passing the last of the houses on Merton Road, turn
right on to the public footpath opposite the wood (Rabbit Plantation).
Follow the path around the edge of the field, keeping the hedge on
your right. At the end, turn right to cross a footbridge (now follow
instruction 5 below).
5. Cross the footbridge over the stream and bear left along the track
called Long Bridle Road. After approximately a third of a mile, look
out for a row of houses on your right. Turn right on to the hard
surface path leading into the housing estate; then bear left on to Stokes
Avenue. Pass Bridle Road on your right and keep walking to the end of
Stokes Avenue.
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6. Turn right at the T-junction on to Brandon Road. Continue ahead over
the roundabout onto the High Street. Walk all the way along the High
Street and then just before you reach the traffic light junction, turn right
on to Thetford Road and walk back to your start point beside the war
memorial.
Flints
An abundance of flint in
nearby fields indicates
that buildings such as
these cottages will have
been constructed using
local materials.
The Clock Tower
The clock tower is narrow with three
storeys and is thought to have been
erected after the great fire of 1674 which
destroyed many of Watton’s buildings.
The clock itself dates to 1827 and is set
below the lintel of a medieval cross and
above a shield depicting a hare and barrel.
Additionally, wooden spandrels in the
clock tower may have come from another
medieval market cross. The tower is
topped with a cupola in which a bell was
placed, supposedly to warn inhabitants if
fire broke out again. It is thought to have
been re-faced in the 19th century.
The Cupola is mounted by a weathervane
dating to 1820, also in the form of a hare
and a barrel. Virtually all the visible façade
is of latter date.
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