2015-12-04 Barsham

Waveney Ramblers led this walk from the car park at Waveney Meadow, Puddingmoor, Beccles.

Walk out of the car park and turn right along narrow Puddingmoor. At the Bungay road, turn right, soon passing the Elizabethan Roos Hall.

After 250 metres, at the houses, follow the farm track that goes off to the right. This is part of the Angles' Way. Follow this down towards the marsh. The track bends right and left but mostly heads west. After 3/4 miles, on reaching a house, turn left into a broad track and walk south, uphill, past a second house. A quarter of a mile later, after the first buildings in Barsham, turn left into the grassy path. This passes Barsham church with its thatched roof and unique east window whose diamond tracery extends across the whole wall. After the church the path is more overgrown.

The footpath continues east for another 250 metres, with the hedge on the right. Proceed east, straight across an arable field to reach a footpath sign at the main road. This path has rarely, if ever been reinstated.

Continue with the easterly line across the road to an, often overgrown (bring secateurs), gap in the hedge and fence of the house opposite. Go through the gap and bear left, then right, across the lawn, round the front of the house to the road. An alternative to walking through the garden is to head down the main road and take the first right back to the house.

From the garden, go right, then immediately left, along the concrete Lodge Farm Lane heading south. On your left is the Barsham Water Treatment Works. Near the farm buildings, after a kissing gate, the track turns left and goes east, down and then uphill between the chain link and barbed wire fences. This half mile track is known as "Cut Throat Lane". Continue uphill with the hedge on your left. The path levels off. It's much more open since the hedge removal on the north side of the footpath. Soon you reach a sharp bend in the tarmac Ringsfield Road.

Turn left, avoiding the tarmac, and head north along another track. This is a leafy, shaded, sunken path, sometimes with a flowing stream. But it has a grim history, being called "Hangmans Lane". It leads back to the Bungay road. Turn right and then left into Puddingmoor and back to the car park or go via the woodland path through the Dell.

An attractive alternative, worth the effort, is to use the secluded path through the Dell and skip Puddingmoor. The Dell path emerges near the town sign which depicts Queen Elizabeth presenting the charter of 1584 to the Portreeve, Sir John Bass. Head towards the town centre along Ballygate. Soon you pass the Beccles Museum. There is a low wall on the left with splendid views of the Waveney and marshes, especially at sunset. Before the town centre, head west down one of several sets of steps, back to Puddingmoor and the car park.

The Waveney Meadow west of the car park leads to a riverside grassy area with seats and a fine river view.