Official Guide to North Walsham 2023-2024

The Local Environment 51
Weavers’ Way
At a total of 61 miles, this footpath runs
between Great Yarmouth and Cromer and
is named after the local weaving industry
which shaped the local landscape of the
Medieval Period.
The route passes many areas of natural
beauty; marshlands, rivers and lakes
which form the unique landscape of
the Broads, gentle valleys surrounding
the rivers of Thurne, Ant and Bure, rich
woodland and the mixed farmland of
North Norfolk, and the estates of Felbrigg
and Blickling. The route also takes in the
route of old railway lines allowing for
panoramic views of the countryside from its embankments.
There are car parks dotted along the length of the walk, each with maps and information boards.
Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path
Rich in history and steeped in ancient
legend the Peddars Way traverses the
very best landscapes Norfolk has to offer.
Fantastic scenery and landscape cover
the 49 miles (79 Km) of the Peddars Way
and the 84 miles (135 km) of the Norfolk
Coast Path. The majority of the trail
running through Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty (AONB).
Peddars Way follows a Roman road built
along the line of an even older trackway.
The name is said to be derived from the
Latin “pedester”, which means “on foot”
and the route was built shortly after AD61
to enable troops to move through East Anglia for policing purposes. Although the name ‘Peddars’
was not initiated by the Romans, it is likely that it was coined during the 15th or 16th centuries.
The trail starts in the Brecks, a unique area of forest, heath and low river valleys, running north from
Knettishall Heath in Suffolk, for 46 miles through changing countryside to the North Norfolk coast
near Hunstanton.
Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path became joined as a Long Distance Path in 1986 in a
ceremony performed by the Prince of Wales at Holme-next-the-Sea. In 1991 the name Long
Distance Path changed to National Trail, and became the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path
National Trail, one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales.
Much of the Peddars Way can be used by cyclists and there is a special route available to horseriders.
web: www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/peddars-way-and-norfolk-coast-path