Stage 26 - Peddars Way - Watton to Castle Acre - September 5th 2025
- John Tippetts
- Apr 27, 2025
- 6 min read
Official Stage Statistics
Route distance – 14.76 miles
Total ascent – 577 feet
Total descent – 601 feet
Highest point – 268 feet
Logistics
Drive to Watton IP25 6XT - free car parking
Walk to Castle Acre
Get taxi to Swaffham - 07528 535044 £15
Catch 11 bus to Watton
Drive to Premier Inn King's Lynn PE34 3LW & stay night
My Walk
Today’s penultimate stage of the Great Chalk Way would begin from where I left off a couple of days earlier in the centre of Watton. After a mile or so of walking along the main road to the west of the town, I’d reach the point where the Peddars Way joined this road from the left hand side. After another mile alongside this busy road, the trail would leave it at Little Cressingham.
The next 4 miles would be along a very quiet single track road which unfortunately had tall hedges either side of it for much of the time. A very short respite from the road would take me across fields into the village of North Pickenham. The trail would then join another road past a go karting circuit, where it would continue along a dead straight bridleway for 1½ miles to reach the A47 at the Swaffham Services, the halfway point of the Peddars Way.
After crossing the A47, the trail would continue along a single track road for another 3 miles before reaching the junction with the A1065 Swaffham to Fakenham road. Having crossed the main road, the trail would continue into South Acre, where for the first time today there would be a little bit of excitement – in fact a lot! The path would cross the River Nar and pass by the remains of Castle Acre Priory. Continuing into Castle Acre the road would pass through a fabulous Norman Bailey Gate into the centre of the village. This is where my walk would finish today.
My day began with an early morning 80 mile drive from home to Watton. For me, this is an easy drive as I live just off junction 13 of the A14 in Northamptonshire. The A14 has been improved out of all recognition since 2020, making the drive to Cambridge and beyond a dream these days. By 8:30, I’d parked my car in the Goddard Court car park which was free. The car park also had toilets that were spotless – well done Breckland Council! It was a fabulous morning and my spirits were high.
Walking along the pavement out of town and then briefly on a grass verge I soon reached the point where the Peddars Way joined from the left hand side. For the next mile the path followed the busy road but on the field side of the verge to protect walkers from the traffic. Thankfully, the road into Little Cresshingham soon branched off to the right and everything quietened down. Four miles of walking along a single track road followed, much of which had tall hedges on both sides. Whilst not very inspiring, it was a lovely day and mostly flat. At least there were places where the path encouraged me to walk on the field side of the hedges. I’d have been more upset if it had been four miles of walking through a forest on a day like this.
About a mile away from North Pickenham, the path left the road and continued cross country into the pretty village. There is a well signposted café at the Community Hub in the village. I resisted any temptation to stop here for a coffee, since such stops invariably lead to the purchase of cake!
The path continued out of the village on Procession Lane, climbing up towards the Anglia Karting Centre, built on part of the former RAF North Pickenham airfield.
The airfield was controversially once used by the USAF during the Cold War to store Thor ballistic missiles. The Thor site at the airfield was the focus of CND’s early antinuclear protest. In November 1958 small numbers of demonstrators started to picket the base, protesting about the UK’s imminent deployment of nuclear missiles and seeking to block access to the site by the contractors pouring concrete for the missile launch complex. The airfield was closed in 1965 and these days the 3 runways are home to huge poultry sheds belonging to Bernard Mathews. A wind farm has been operating on the site since 2006.
The trail crossed the road at the top of the hill by the karting centre and continued dead straight as a pleasant bridleway before reaching the A47. Shortly before reaching the A47, I passed the third Songline statue (I’d missed the second towards the end of the previous stage!).
The text on this statue was –
“The piety of every man and every woman's whispered prayer
Clasped in the grain of wood and stone
& in the grace of ancient air.”
On the other side of the A47, the trail continued mainly as a quiet, gently falling single track road for 3 more miles, finally emerging onto the A1065 Swaffham to Fakenham road.
After crossing the road, the trail continued towards Castle Acre and very soon, the tower of St James the Great Church could be seen in the distance. This church has the honour of being the only one along the Peddars Way.
The path descended and crossed a wooden bridge over the River Nar. On the other side, the remains of Castle Acre Priory came clearly into view. My first ‘Wow!’ moment since leaving Knettishall Heath. The priory is East Anglia’s biggest and best-preserved monastic ruin.
Continuing past the priory, the trail continued along the narrow road through the village, emerging onto the village green through an amazing Bailey Gate in fantastic condition. This was the end of today’s stage.
Castle Acre is a rare and complete survival of a Norman planned settlement, including a castle, village, parish church and one of the best-preserved monastic sites in England. All this was the work of a great Norman baronial family, the Warennes, mainly during the 11th and 12th centuries.
The village demanded further exploration, so after sitting on a bench eating my sandwich in the sunshine along with a few more walkers, I decided to take a wander around the village.
The castle was another ‘Wow!’ moment. It’s an example of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. The ‘motte’ is a tall artificial mound, on top of which a wooden or stone fortified tower – called a keep – would be built. This is where the Lord of the Castle would live. The motte served 2 main functions; it was a look-out spot given its height and its keep would serve as the last stronghold in the event of the castle being attacked. At the base of the motte, the bailey was a courtyard which surrounded the it and had a defensive wall to keep out unwanted visitors. The bailey would have been where most of the day-to-day activities of a castle would take place – the stables, kitchens, storerooms, living quarters of the people associated with the castle such as soldiers and servants for example. A chapel may even have been located there. A ditch would usually have been dug out around the bailey to create a dry moat, with the soil from the ditch being used to help construct the motte.
Knowing all the above, I was able to appreciate the remains of the castle before me. I didn’t have my drone with me on this walk which would have been really handy to fully appreciate the castle; unfortunately, I’d left it in my car at Watton. However, I’d be returning here tomorrow morning as I began the final stage to Holme and Hunstanton, so I’d aim to get an aerial photo then.
For its size, Castle Acre certainly packs in a lot of history – I absolutely loved it.
I now had to get back to Watton where my car was. I phoned Swaffham Taxis for a taxi back to Swaffham. Liam, the owner, picked me up within 15 minutes and dropped me off by the bus stop in the market place. The fare was a reasonable £15. I booked Liam to pick me up from the same place tomorrow morning at 9:15 to take me back to Castle Acre.
In Swaffham, I didn’t have to wait long at all for the number 11 bus back to Watton. Back in Watton I drove to the Kings Lynn Premier Inn as this is where I’d be staying tonight.
Despite the amount of road walking today, I preferred this middle stage of the Peddars Way to the first one; clearly, Castle Acre had a lot to do with it. Tomorrow was going to be a long day that would see me seeing the sea again after first leaving it at the end of April in Lyme Regis, more than 360 miles away.
I was really excited!
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