About the Trail
The National Trail combines two long distance walking trails; Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path.
Peddars Way starts in Suffolk at Knettishall Heath Country Park (or Thetford Station for cyclists) and follows the route of a Roman road for 49 miles (79 Km) to Holme-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast meeting the Norfolk Coast Path at Holme-next-the-Sea.
The Norfolk Coast Path provides 84 miles (135 km)) of walking from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea through fantastic scenery and landscape. The majority of the Trail runs through the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Experience seaside towns and villages, tidal marshes teeming with wildlife, wide sandy beaches, pine woodlands and huge skies.
A walk along Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path National Trail is the perfect way to lose yourself in this magical land of sand dunes and salt marsh, sea air and warm welcomes.
Exploring the Trail
The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path is one of England’s most gentle National Trails. The terrain is varied but it is generally flat or with only gentle gradients.
You can walk the trail at any time of year, but during the summer the weather is usually better and the hedgerows are in full blossom. Spring and autumn are the main bird migration periods – so you’ll spot stunning wildlife – and walking along the coast in winter can be a wonderful experience.
Highlights along the route include beautiful medieval ports, quaint fishing villages, medieval churches and gastro pubs serving fresh seafood.
What is special about the Trail?
The coastline of Norfolk is enormously varied, with long stretches of golden beach interspersed with mud flats and salt marsh, shingle and pebbles.
There are wonderful dunes and marram grass to traverse, cliffs to marvel at, and between King’s Lynn and Hunstanton, treacle-like mud where The Wash empties into the North Sea – a favourite of birds and birdwatchers alike.
The Norfolk Coast Path is a fairly modern walking route, created from a network of existing footpaths and newly-created ones to link the coastal end of the Peddars Way (which starts at Knettishall Heath Country Park in Suffolk) to Hopton-on-Sea. The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path became joined as a Long Distance National Trail in 1986.
