Heveningham Hall, Suffolk

This long but extremely easy-going walk should take about 3.5hrs to complete. It consists mostly of verges along small roads but has several long patches of public access footpaths. Use parking at the ‘The Hub’ near the Huntingfield Arms Pub (where the walk will finish) and consider the immediate detour off The Street that’s marked up on the embedded map above. The detour goes left on Bridge Street, then left again, and then right on a public access path for a glimpse of the pub’s namesake; Huntingfield Hall Farm. 

To call Huntingfield Hall a farmhouse is modest in the extreme. While not vast, its bright red bricks, gothic windows and decorative crenellations show real flair. Suffolk Mag summed it up perfectly by describing it as like an “almost cheeky folly”.

From here, u-turn around and back on to Bridge Street, but instead of heading back into the village, go the other way towards Halesworth Rd and the B1117. Despite the ‘B’ designation,  the road is small – with a single-track grassy verge on either side. It’s easy to orientate with sloping meadow to the left, and a vista of Heveningham Park’s long lake to the right. Walk until a gravel path leading to an attractive white bridge appears on the right. Don’t follow it, but look for an iron kissing gate that marks a public footpath into the grand estate’s park.

Follow this, which splits the long lake and north front of Heveningham Hall itself. Walk through and back to Halesworth Road (the B1117), then turn left and follow the B1117’s grassy verges all the way to Heveningham village.

To shorten the walk, pass all the way through Heveningham village until the sign left for Yoxford, Sibton and Peasenhall. Just beyond this sign is a footpath, right. The full walk picks back up here (skip the next paragraph to pick up directions).

When Heveningham church appears right, look for a public access footpath, left, and follow it as it narrows off road and eventually passes through open field. Continue for some time until it emerges onto the almost single-track surfaced road of Dunwick Lane. Here, turn right, and follow to the T-junction with Heveningham Long Lane. This route pivots right and along Heveningham Long Lane (although left and immediately right is a track to Moat Farm – the first of two moats just off this walk). Heveningham Long Lane is an ancient roman road. Follow it straight to a T-junction, and straight over where it exists still as a footpath through some field.

Follow this until the single-track paved road of Barell’s Hill. Here, the route of the roman road is blocked – stopped dead by the 19th Century Ubbeston Hall, which is a small, exact, orderly Georgian farmhouse. It was built on the site of at least one older property by the Vannecks (Lords Huntingfield) of Heveningham Hall – the old house’s materials were recycled for it. To bypass Ubbeston and return to the route of the roman road, turn left on Barell’s Hill and take the second right down Heveningham Road. This curves right before straightening out to its traditional course.

Take the first clear right down a gravel path and keep an eye out for another moated property: Huntingfield High House. Follow the footpath until it meets Barell’s Hill. Before turning left along Barell’s Hill, stop, and look behind left to see the third and final moated site which is simply a little-known ruin.

Follow Barell’s Hill over the immediate junction and on further, ignoring the junction right to The Street and into Huntingfield. Instead, continue and look for a bridge’s white-painted railings crossing the small river. Immediately over the bridge to the right is a footpath. Follow this back into Huntingfield village.