LETJOG PEAK No 7: Great Hill Wood, Suffolk (128 metres)
Walk Date: Wednesday 5 April 2023
Bury in bloom
Of all of the regions of England, East Anglia is the flattest, and of the Ceremonial Counties (the City of London aside), Suffolk and Norfolk have the lowest County Tops of all the shires. The latter I will be visiting very soon, but today’s LETJOG Peaks walk traversed the rolling agricultural land of Suffolk, and at last I enjoyed some spring sunshine! Given the lack of ascent I went for distance on this ramble, just over 18 miles in all, on a day of easy and pleasant walking down country lanes, and along rural tracks and footpaths.
My route today, setting out southwards from Bury St Edmunds in a clockwise direction to the village of Rede and the County Top at Great Wood Hill, before returning via Chedburgh, Ickworth Park and Horringer
Suffolk is a shire of no cities, but with some fine historic market towns, so it seemed fitting to start and finish my walk in Bury St Edmunds, one of the county’s finest. Fortunately enough I chose a Wednesday morning, market day, and I had the time for a coffee and a short exploration of the town centre ahead of my exertions.
Bury MarketA harpist entertaining the early morning shoppers on Abbeygate StreetOne of the two medieval churches that survive, along with two large gatehouses, within the grounds of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, a centre of pilgrimage since the Dark Ages, and the burial place of Saint Edmund, the Anglo-Saxon martyr-king; parts of the original abbey church remain just as ruins within the abbey complexRenowned for sugar beet refining and brewing, Bury is home to the nation’s largest British-owned brewery, Greene King, founded in 1799 by Benjamin Greene whose descendants merged with Frederick King’s brewing business in 1887 – this photo shows the Visitor Centre and their ‘Beer Café’ next to the Westgate Brewery: the metal vessel is an old ‘copper’, used for boiling the liquor with the hops to give the ales their distinctive bitter flavoursThe hospital helipad, on St Edmund Way, as my path led me out of the townA trig point, at 84 metres of elevation, on the footpath towards Nowton There are many pheasants in these Suffolk fields . . .. . . and daffodils aplenty around the field edgesMost of the gently undulating fields in these parts are laid to cereals, the sandier areas to barley and the heavier clay soils to wheatAn interesting fence, no doubt a haven for insect life!The gentle incline approaching the summit of Suffolk on the Newmarket Ridge, Great Wood Hill . . .. . . and at the communications mast that marks the County Top, my seventh peak conquered!A thriving rookery in Great WoodA fine afternoon walk through the parklands of Ickworth House took me past this monument to the 4th Earl of Bristol, the Bishop of Derry, a structure erected in 1817 to acknowledge his work in encouraging a better understanding between warring factions in Ireland And, across the valley, a view of the neo-classical Ickworth House, built in the two decades from 1795 as the seat of the Harvey family, and now owned by the National TrustAn inquisitive ewe, one that just wouldn’t leave me alone as its peers scattered before meSunlight through the trees in Lady Harvey’s Wood . . .. . . and a vibrant stand of poison hemlock
Over six hours, my walk today proved a good work-out, and once again, away from the town I had the countryside largely to myself. Spring has certainly arrived now, and with it many songbirds and emerging greenery around the field edges andhedgerows. All of this is of course good training for the higher summits to come on my LETJOG Peaks challenge later in the spring. Have a good Easter everyone, and I hope to be back with an account of my next walk very soon!
A colourful hedge in Chedburgh
Where else to look for a song title heading than to a composition by Framlingham-raised Ed Sheeran. Since his debut album ‘+’ (‘Plus’) was released in 2011, from which the song title ‘Small Bump’ is taken, Sheeran has sold 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the world’s best-selling music artists of all time.
Tonight, in Frinton-on-Sea, I stayed with my dear Aunt Betty, and I was treated to a banquet of tapas after another wonderful day of walking – it was lovely to see you Betty, and thank you!
One thought on “Small Bump”
Lovely pics once again- poison hemlock looks like fern to me. You’re a font of all natural knowledge! Would have liked to hear the harpist.
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 
Lovely pics once again- poison hemlock looks like fern to me. You’re a font of all natural knowledge! Would have liked to hear the harpist.
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