The Peddars Way is a

long distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

that passes through

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

and

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, England.

Route

The Peddars Way is 46 miles (74 km) long and follows the route of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was not created by the Romans but was an ancient trackway, a branch or extension of the

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, wi ...

, used and remodelled by the Romans. The name-type, which recurs in medieval records from other parts of East Anglia, derives from Middle English ''pedder'', meaning an itinerant trader. It is first mentioned on a map of 1587 AD. It starts at Knettishall Heath in

(near the Norfolk-Suffolk border, about east of

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

), and it links with the

Norfolk Coast Path The Norfolk Coast Path is a long-distance footpath in Norfolk, running 83 miles (133.5 km) from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea. It was opened in 1986 and covers the North Norfolk Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It links with ...

at Holme-next-the-Sea. Combined with the

, it forms the Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path National Trail, one of 15

National Trails National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wal ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

, and the two paths together run for . It is one of four

s which, when combined, run from

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset– Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the He ...

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunst ...

and are referred to as the Greater Ridgeway. At Knettishall Heath the Peddars Way links with the

Icknield Way Path Icknield is a parliamentary ward, of the Luton district, in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The ward takes its name from the Icknield Way, a pre-Roman road which passes through Luton. Situated towards the northeast of Luton, the ward is ...

for 110 miles south west to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire.

Guide and waymarks

A detailed 144-page guide, including 1:25 000 maps from the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

, and described south to north, is published in the series of National Trail Guides. The trail is very well marked with two general types of waymarker along the length of the route. At junctions there are signs marked ‘Peddars Way’ on plain wood fingerposts. Elsewhere white, yellow and green discs are used bearing the acorn sign used on such long-distance routes.

Public transport

The Peddars Way may be accessed by

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

. There is a path linking the southern end, at Knettishall Heath, to the nearby Harling Road railway station. Holme, at the northern end, has a regular bus service to

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...

and

. Holme also has a regular bus service to Sheringham. Both King's Lynn and Sheringham allow onward connections using their regular rail services.

Folklore

The Peddars Way was traditionally supposed to be a haunt of the ghostly East Anglian hound

Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore across the Br ...

Gallery

Image:Peddars Way Signpost.JPG, Peddars Way signpost Image:Peddars Way - Knettishall Heath.jpg, Knettishall Heath Image:Peddars Way - Little Cressingham.jpg, near Little Cressingham Image:Peddars Way - Massingham Heath.jpg, Massingham Heath Image:Peddars Way - Sedgeford.jpg, near Fring Image:Peddars_Way_at_Magazine_Wood_Sedgeford.jpg, by Magazine Wood, Sedgeford

References

External links

National Trails' Peddars Way/Norfolk Coast Path page
{{UK Trails Footpaths in Norfolk Archaeological sites in Norfolk Roman roads in England Long-distance footpaths in England