Icknield Way: Some Comments

The Icknield Way captures Middle England, the sights and sounds people find on a walk with their dog, the villages and towns they might visit or live in. There is plenty of farmland on the Way, often muddy especially when I walked the trail in January. Yet there are also gorgeous views from the top of chalk escarpments on the western half of the trail. These steep slopes are quite different to the gentle, green, grass covered swellings to the east and an even greater contrast to the flat area of Breckland with its forests and heathland.

English villages are visited with the archetypal church, pub and duck pond (although often with no shop or tea room). Churches typically have walls made of flint and a tower. Old, Norman to 15th century with Victorian additions, they are worth visiting for historical, artistic and architectural reasons, as well as for religious contemplation. Public houses (Pubs) are also usually old, with blackened timber beams. Sometimes towns and their lines of houses are carefully avoided, other times the Way goes straight through. This reveals old and new, timber framed and thatched buildings centuries old, a Garden city only a hundred years in age, or more recently densely packed, red brick housing complete with solar panels. The trail itself is historic, claiming to be "the oldest road in Britain", following prehistoric pathways along the chalk outcrop.

Waymarking is generally good. Be aware that there are separate walker's and horse rider's trails (Icknield Way and Icknield Trail respectively) which follow the same route at times but not others which could cause confusion. Whether on horse or foot you cannot rely just on waymarks, a GPS track, map or smart phone App is needed for navigation. Ideally you should purchase the guidebook from the Icknield Way Association which has developed and promotes the path. Not that you are ever far from some village, the route is not remote. Accommodation can be found throughout the Icknield Way if you book and plan in advance, although costs can add up. It is not ideal for wild camping until the final day in the Thetford forest.

Overall a pleasant walk, but maybe not in the running for the World's 10 greatest hikes.

Icknield Way is marked by waymarks with the image of a stone axe, alluding to the age of the trail.

Chalk Escarpment near Chilterns Visitor Centre

Typical farmland that forms much of the paths scenery.

Gentle hills are typical of the central part of the path.

Many traditional English villages are visited complete with village pond, this one at Tuddenham.