Wymnor two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 57.14% of reviewers

The town of Wymdomham itself is filled with lots of very old and listed buildings, good if you like architecture. The road turning off from the train station is slightly different to the map, you're unable to cross the river on the Lizard Circular walk so we had to continue on the road for a short while until it turns to the right but the footpath continues onwards until the A11 where it then turns left and crosses the river. We found this section to be very full of 7/8ft stinging nettles which was quite painful but none the less continued. After crossing the roundabouts there was lots of beautiful country roads with lush fields and old buildings, Ketteringham estate looks very interesting but is private. We only noticed once passed through a field that it said no cycling, footpath only.
From Ketteringham the road is nice and relaxed with no cars, leading into a lovely little footpath where we found horse riders and eager children eating blackberries. The route showed no obstacles here and lead into Cringleford.
We took Bluebell road towards Eaton park which we thought to be a much more interesting route, the park itself being home to a cafe and ponds with lovely architecture so well worth a visit if you have time and not too far out of the way either.
You then continue to Norwich castle which if you haven't seen is also worth a visit as Norwich has a lot of history.

I would do this route again and found it very enjoyable other than the large nettles!!!.

The circular route was closed so we couldn’t get over river the way the route suggested. (Lizard circular) We carried along road alongside houses till we got the field pointing to Ketts country path. We carried on along the left hand footpath of the field. It was fine until you get closer to the Main road where the nettles were extremely hard to navigate. This section of the route needs looking at. Then you have to cross the A11 which was not fun - wouldn't recommend especially if you are with kids. the road after the A11, browick road was lovely and quiet and peaceful. High ash road also nice. You get to ketteringham. Turn left into woodland. Nice forest! Cross farmland through path in middle. We did a see a sign saying no cycling. Back onto road for a little bit. Turn off the road onto edge of field track. And then small path. Really nice for walking. Then you’re back on road into cringleford - not nicest for walking.
We then detoured along blue bell road (rather than carrying on down Newmarket gross and right down South Park avenue so we could go to Eaton park! Highly recommend this route. We then re joined the route by going right at Mile End road.

in general some really beautiful parts and some of the route needs improving.

Started with a closed track (lizard circular track) so had to detour around it, down lizard road and then a track. Very neatly at points. Extremely hard to get through. Once the lizard circular track is re opened it would be great. This needs maintenance. We ran parallel to the main road and had to join a main A road for a bit which was not ideal but quiet. The browick road though was gorgeous and peaceful with trees either side of the road. Joining high ash rd was very pretty leading to ketteringham estate. The small managed woodland attached to the estate was pretty. More farmland that said no cycles or horses through here. Nice farmland track but not very exciting tbh. Turned into a very pretty track with overhanging bush and trees which has horses and cows on your adjacent fields. Coming into Norwich was roads all accessible and very urban. We took a detour which was much preferable going down Bluebell road, took a right down south Park avenue for a stop off at a cafe in Eton park. The footpaths leading back to the track were accessible and boring residential. final part leading to the train station is all accessible and urban, nice last bit over the canal in Norwich.

We walked this on a sunny day in May 2024, from Norwich to Wymondham. The route is primarily on roads, but outside of Wymondham and Norwich, most are quiet country roads. There are some off-road paths which get narrow and overgrown, and a section through a field which is not clearly marked and in different weather/seasons might be muddy or difficult. We were able to follow most of the route.

The route was accurate, apart from when we reached the section which uses the Lizard Circular walk in Wymondham - the bridge over the river has been removed by the landowner and we were unable to cross. We'd not read the signs at the start of the Lizard walk properly, because we didn't realise we were following that. An alternative would be to continue along Browick road after the Wymondham bypass section, although this is a 60 mph road with no pavements, then onto Ayton road which does have a pavement. Other routes might be possible.

Without the Lizard walk section, there are no flights of stairs, but the terrain does vary and is unlikely to be suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs, or other mobility issues. The narrowest measurable section of path is 30cm. As we went through a field of sheep & lambs, and past some fields of cows, it is unlikely to be suitable for dog walkers.

There are no facilities in the middle of the route, but plenty in Wymondham and Norwich. It seems a reasonably safe route, as long as you keep an eye out for cars and nettles and bring plenty of food/drink. With regular public transport between Wymondham and Norwich for the return journey, and facilities at either end, I'd recommend the route in good weather and would consider doing it again.

I walked this route in June 2023, starting in Wymondham.
Starting in the town centre, there are footpaths out of the town, with traffic lights to enable easy crossing of the main road on the edge of Wymondham.
You go under a railway bridge and then turn into a marshy area with a footpath to follow. There were steps here to go down and up, and at points the path felt quite overgrown. Once nearly alongside the A11, you turned left, and here (as of June 2023) there were actually some red barriers up and before reaching the end of the path there was a very boggy/muddy section which would be difficult to navigate. This part of the path was also very overgrown with nettles.
Once past this, you then had to take the bridge over the A11 (with 2 roundabouts), which currently was fairly easy however most of the sliproads were closed due to the resurfacing work going on on the A11 itself.
Soon after this, the walk then spent a long period of time on country roads, there was generally space if cars were coming, and the road was fairly quiet, so fairly easy to walk along.
Once you reached Ketteringham Hall, there was an obvious sign to turn left which briefly went through woods and then a field. The path through the middle of the field didn't seem that clear initially but there was one which went round the side of the field anyway.
After reaching the road near Ketteringham Village Hall, this then travelled straight until a crossroads with a traffic island featuring a monument linked to Queen Victoria.
After going straight across this, you are then back on a footpath, which again at points seemed fairly overgrown.
After this, you arrived at Intwood Road, and a bit of extra care needs to be taken here as the road is a bit narrower and there is no footpath.
This eventually leads over the A47 bypass and into Cringleford, including going over a level crossing.
Cringleford is also the first location on the route where there was a convenience store, at least 8 miles into the journey.
Shortly after that you come to a Waitrose supermarket and a pub, before following Newmarket Road into Norwich - where it meets the ring road there is a pedestrian crossing a short distance away to enable easy crossing of this busy road.
Once at this point, it's an easy paved route all the way to St Stephen's street and down Rouen Road and over a footbridge to the railway station.

I've given this review 3* for the following reasons:
- although a generally easy route to follow, there were overgrown footpaths at a number of points which wouldn't be easily accessible, and currently actual barriers across part of the footpath just outside Wymondham, suggesting that the path itself maybe shouldn't be used, and this was a slight challenge to navigate (and definitely not accessible for wheelchairs or pushchairs)
- After leaving Wymondham, there were no facilities to speak of until Cringleford, which was a good 8 mile walk so would take a few hours without access to shops/food & drink.

Aside from that, the route is generally fine to walk, although when the A11 fully reopens, caution would be needed at the roundabouts where crossing slip roads.

I walked this route from Wymondham back to Norwich on a hot, sunny afternoon 23-07-2022.

The route is straightforward to follow. The only obstacles are sets of steps at the Wymondham end. These head from The Lizard down into the marshy nature reserve, then up onto a path along an old railway embankment, then down again into an overgrown field. The path through the Lizard nature reserve is a boardwalk across marshy ground. There were signs requesting walkers not to use the path as the boardwalk is in poor condition in places and needs to be repaired. It looks like it may be some time before this work gets done.

Large sections of the walk are along country roads. These are mainly long and straight with wide enough verges for pedestrians to avoid passing cars, and providing plenty of notice to see them coming. However, I'm not keen on Slow Ways which walk along roads, for me it doesn't make great walking. The cars were not particularly frequent on Saturday afternoon, but there were enough to make the walk less enjoyable than it otherwise could be, hence a 3* review from me. Saying that, the route is not unsafe. I also acknowledge that there are not many footpaths in this part of Norfolk so the route options are limited.

The best section of the walk is the bridle path between the five-ways monument and Intwood Lane.

Newmarket Road into Norwich is a wide, shady path and cycle path beside the A11 past the biggest houses in Norwich.

There are no facilities en-route until you reach Cringleford and Eaton, the outer suburbs of Norwich. The route passes a couple of nice churches; St. Peter's Ketteringham and All Saints Intwood, but neither of them were open.

Would be more direct to leave Wymondham via Browick Road. Mainly country lanes until Ketteringham, then some footpaths before outskirts of Norwich. A pleasant walk.

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