Stage 27 - Peddars Way - Castle Acre to Holme-next-the-Sea - September 6th 2025
- John Tippetts
- Apr 26, 2025
- 7 min read
Official Stage Statistics
Route distance – 22.66 miles
Total ascent – 970 feet
Total descent – 1092 feet
Highest point – 305 feet
Logistics
Drive to King's Lynn Railway Station PE30 1NX and park car – £3.70 (Saturday)
Catch bus A or B to Swafham
Get taxi to Castle Acre - 07528 535044 £15
Walk to centre of Hunstanton
Catch bus to King's Lynn Railway Station - numerous services
Drive home
Relax!
My Walk
My final day walking the Great Chalk Way would start back at Castle Acre. The trail would plough through the countryside in a straight line, crossing countless minor roads and tracks, before the tiniest kink upon reaching Littleport near Sedgeford. This after all is a proper Roman road! Beyond Littleport it would be more of the same before reaching Ringstead, just 3 miles from the sea. Beyond Ringstead, after walking along a number of paved roads, the trail would leave the road and follow a path right down to the sea at Holme. From Holme I’d walk along the coast for the final few miles to Hunstanton and the end of the Great Chalk Way!
After yesterday’s road walking, much of today’s would be along paths, tracks and the edges of fields. Interestingly, today’s stage would be noticeably hillier than either of the 2 previous stages. I use the word ‘hillier’ loosely; maybe I should say ‘less flat’. Pig farms would be very much the order of the day along today’s stage.
My day began with a final Premier Inn cooked breakfast. For old times’ sake I helped myself to a couple of pain au chocolat and a banana to keep me going for the day. I drove to King’s Lynn Railway Station and parked my car in their car park. As it was Saturday it was only £3.70 for the day. The station was restored in 2013/4 to a 1949 British Railways state with plenty of small details. Very pleasing to the eye!
My bus to Swaffham turned up on time and by just after 9:00 I arrived back in the market place. Liam from Swaffham Taxis picked me up at 9:15 and by 9:30 I was in Castle Acre. Needless to say it was yet another sunny day but a little bit hazy. Before setting off towards the sea, I walked to the castle and got my drone photographs.
For the first hour I was walking along the arrow-straight Roman road for almost 3½ miles, although there were opportunities now and again to walk on the other side of the hedges lining the road. Eventually, the road veered to the right but the path naturally continued straight on. A trig point at a somewhat jaunty angle marked this spot.
From here, the next 11½ miles would be very much a case of walking along a dead straight path of various surfaces – most of them pleasant. Every so often the path would cross a road or track but without fail, it kept straight! Whilst the route was generally flat, there were gentle climbs and descents every now and again to keep you interested and these had some lovely views across the surrounding farmland. Pig farms along the way were very much the order of the day. It was very easy walking and I made good progress.
All of a sudden, I got a shock – the path actually deviated briefly from its arrow-like course for about 400 yards! I was in the hamlet of Littleport, a short distance from Sedgeford. There was a large Grade II listed house and garden in the way causing the path to have to divert down the side.
The path crossed the Sedgeford main road in order for it to resume its relentless progress to the sea. Right by the roadside I passed a striking property (pun intended) that looked like a former chapel; looks can be deceiving however! This building, called Magazine Cottage, was built by the Royalist Sir Hamon Le Strange of Hunstanton Hall, Lord of the Manor of Sedgeford in 1643 as a disguised munitions store during the English Civil War. Needless to say, it has been Grade II listed since 1980. Today, it is a gorgeous looking 3 bedroom holiday cottage.
Back to normal for another couple of miles, I next reached Ringstead, a very small village BUT with a pub – 'The Gin Trap'! It was 3 o’clock and I was just 3 miles from Holme now. I was very warm, thirsty and a little peckish, having only had my banana and my 2 pain au chocolat to eat since breakfast 8 hours ago. I stopped for a pint and some crisps and enjoyed them sitting outside the front of the pub in the sunshine. Today the pub was holding one of its summer ‘Gintastic Extravaganzas’ in the beer garden with plenty of gins to sample, live music and a BBQ. Hope nobody was driving!
From the pub, the path did a gentle climb up Ringstead High Street and then along another street to exit Ringstead. I then got my first glimpse of the sea in the distance and knew I’d just about finished my long walk from the South Coast.
The path left the road, continuing left along the side of a field.
The path then turned 90° right down the field and I passed the fifth Songtail statue which had this text -
And I being here have been part of all this
Caught & thrown like sun on water
Have entered into all around me
I hadn’t done too well in spotting these statues, finding only 3 of the 5!
The path crossed the A149, which is the main coastal road. I’d now officially reached Holme-next-the-Sea. The path continued down a single track road for ½ mile until I reached a car park and public toilets. Ahead of me there were a couple of fairways for me to cross belonging to Hunstanton Golf Course. Thankfully, with no golfers I didn’t have to worry about low flying golf balls today.
Finally, I saw the fingerpost I’d walked 360+ miles to reach. The fingerpost had 1 fingerboard for the Peddars Way and 2 for the Norfolk Coast Path. I knew what to expect before I arrived here but I still felt a little deflated and cheated. Is this all that greets someone who has just walked coast to coast along such an iconic and ancient trail? I’m only joking of course. Again, I did know before reaching Holme that Norfolk County Council wouldn’t give permission for one of the Great Chalk Way information boards to be erected here.
Of course, as well as completing the Great Chalk Way, I’d also just completed the Peddars Way. I knew before setting off from Knettishall Heath that I wasn’t going to get blown away by magnificent landscapes etc, so I wasn’t disappointed. Castle Acre really made this trail for me. As I said back at the start, the Peddars Way is very much the starter and the Norfolk Coast Path is the main course of this National Trail. I’m now going to have to wait until I’ve completed the Norfolk Coast Path section before I can buy a new badge to add to my collection of National Trails badges!
Unlike the rest of my walk today, there were plenty of people milling around and I got someone to take some photos of me standing triumphantly by the fingerpost. I hadn’t yet reached the sea however. I had to walk across the sand dunes and then down the beach. The tide was quite a long way out but finally I found the sea. For the sake of completeness, I had to have a little paddle in it, just as I’d done at Lyme Regis. I was lucky that a couple were walking past me, so I asked if one of them could take a few pictures of my paddle. Quickly whipping off my shoes and socks and getting in the water, the lady duly obliged. Job done!
There is a pub in Holme – The White Horse - but that was more than ½ mile from where I was and in the opposite direction to Hunstanton which I needed to get to for a bus back to King’s Lynn. To be honest, having stopped for a pint 3 miles from the finish, I wasn’t that bothered about having another one to celebrate my achievement. So, initially I walked along the top of the sand dunes but that was really slow going. I then dropped down to the beach but that too wasn’t great either, trying to find firmer sand. Finally, I moved further inland to the residential streets of Hunstanton; not as scenic of course but it had been a very long day and I was getting a bit tired now.
I reached the Old Lighthouse in the town. It’s one of Hunstanton’s iconic landmarks. Whenever I think of Hunstanton, the lighthouse is the first thing that always comes to mind. These days it’s a holiday cottage – in August this year it’ll set you back £4000 a week.
An interesting fact about Hunstanton is that it’s on the east coast but yet it faces west and gets some spectacular sunsets. I wouldn't be staying tonight to witness today's as I had a long journey home.
I reached the fingerpost I was looking for; the one I think and hope marks the start of the Norfolk Coast Path - NCP. The NCP is now itself officially part of the England Coast Path, or as it’s now called The King Charles III England Coast Path. It’s no wonder that the fingerboards on this post are getting wider!
It was now 6 o’clock and I had an hour-long bus ride back to King’s Lynn to contend with followed by a 90 minute drive home. My FitBit told me I’d walked 53000 steps today. When you’re tired and all you want to do is get home, an hour-long bus journey is the last thing you really need but I wasn’t prepared to fork out £40+ on a taxi. I had a nice rest on the bus at least and eventually got back to King’s Lynn Station and picked up my car. I stopped at the nearest McDonalds for something to eat & drink before driving home. I got home around 9:30. Now that was a really long day but I’d completed the Peddars Way in 3 stages and the Great Chalk Way in 27 stages!
I’ll celebrate tomorrow!
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