Milbur one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Milbur here.

We started this route from the Bury St Edmunds train station. The first bit of the trail goes through housing and then an industrial area. Once it reaches the River Lark, it gets a bit more interesting, and muddy. It goes through a golf course, which is pretty, but a little unnerving. Past the golf course, though, it's a nice, quiet trail. There's a bit of road walking coming into the Culford wooded area, but it doesn't last too long.

There are two places to eat- the Guinness Arms in Icklingham and the cafe at the West Stow Anglo-Saxon village. Those are also the only places for the toilet until you reach the A11.

I walked the trail at the beginning of April before there was much vegetation. The section between Cavenham Heath and the A11 can get overgrown with nettles in the summer, but it was fine when I walked it.

Coming into Mildenhall, it's necessary to cross the dual carriageway. It's not too terrible. Once across the road, it's an easy walk into town.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the walk. It's relatively safe, minus a few bits of road-walking. The trail is pretty easy to follow and we only took a couple of wrong turns. The scenery is beautiful. I would do the trail again.

I ran the majority of this route in early October 2022. The bit around Culford School I've done in the past. Completely avoid. Overgrown and under-used. Not passable in wheelchair or by bike. If you must make this journey, I would recommend MilBur Three instead, as it cuts out one section of overgrown path.
- Mildenhall to the A11 crossing is fine. Nice clear, well made path.
- A11 crossing is dangerous and hard to do. I had to step over traffic barriers in the middle of a dual carriageway (there's a longer way around, but it's no better as it means walking along the dual carriageway instead).
- A11 to Icklingham is totally overgrown and underused. Roughly 4km of nettles whipping your ankles, and patches with reeds overhanging the path. My legs were still tingling two days later.
- The path at Icklingham through to Lackford Lakes is not clearly marked, so you will need a map or good memory to get through here. The village is all pavements, but next to a busy road. Then you're on fields, which are fine but the Lark Valley Path signs disappear at some point.
- Lackford Lakes to Culford is partly fine, but there are sections where the signage (and path) disappears, a section that's falling into the river and gets very slippery when wet, and sections overgrown with nettles for half the year.
- Culford to Fornham All Saints is acceptable. You start by passing an impressive boarding school building. After leaving the main road in Culford, you use a narrow, often overgrown footpath to get to a short section on a busy road. From there most of the route is clear and well used.
- Fornham All Saints to Bury, you start by running across a gold course - make sure you stick to the well signed, but indistinct footpath. Once you leave the golf course you're on a narrow path between trees and river, which has a tendency to become overgrown with nettles. From Mildenhall Road to the end is all easy enough, just pavements but a couple of tricky road crossings.

We attempted to walk this route on the 23/7/2021.
Starting at Mildenhall.
The foot crossing of the A11 is dangerous with traffic approaching at speed. You need to be fit and confident to cross especially at busy traffic times.
About 0.5 miles along the way towards BSE from the A11 the path became impassable due to dense vegetation and the bank of the river Lark became unclear so there was a risk of falling in. This path needs to be cleared and has been reported.
It is a shame because it is a good route between Mildenhall and Bury St. Edmunds almost completely off road.

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