Bury St Edmunds Abbey and River Walk
6.8 miles (11 km)This walk visits some of the highlights of this lovely Suffolk town using sections of the St Edmund Way and Bury to Clare Walk. You'll visit the delightful Abbey Gardens, the River Linnet, Hardwick Heath and Nowton Park.
The walk starts off in the centre of town with a stroll around the Abbey Gardens next to the cathedral.... The gardens have a nice circular walk taking you to a rose garden, sensory garden, ancient monument ruins, an aviary, and a section of the River Lark. You can then follow a section of the waymarked St Edmund Way, south through the town to Hardwick Heath, crossing the River Linnet on the way. The 55 acre open space of Hardwick Heath is popular with dog walkers and includes majestic trees such as 200-year-old Cedars of Lebanon.
After leaving the heath you continue south into the countryside before picking up a section of the Bury St Edmunds to Clare Walk and heading east to Nowton Park. Here you will find good paths taking you around 200 acres of Suffolk countryside landscaped in a beautiful Victorian style. After exploring the park the walk follows Hencote Lane back to the St Edmund Way before returning to the town centre.
This route heads south from the town but you could also head north along the Lark Valley Path. This delightful riverside trail takes you along the River Lark to the nearby West Stow Country Park and the Lackford Lakes Nature Reserve. It's a lovely walk with woodland, lakes and lots of wildlife to look out for on the way.
Other good options for walkers include the nearby Clare Castle Country Park and Ickworth Park. The delightful nature reserves at Bradfield Woods and Cavenham Heath are also well worth a visit.
Please scroll down for the full list of walks near and around Bury St Edmunds. The detailed maps below also show a range of footpaths, bridleways and cycle paths in the area.
Pubs and More Info
Back in the town head to The Nutshell for some post walk refreshments. It's a quirky little place confirmed to be Britain's smallest pub, with a bar that measures just 15ft by 7ft. Despite its size there's a number of unusual items inside including a mummified cat, currency notes on the ceiling, historical photos, military items and an aeroplane propeller. As such the Victorian pub is a local tourist attraction and well worthy of some investigation. You can find them at 17 The Traverse, with a postcode of IP33 1BJ for your sat navs.
There's also a nice on site cafe in Nowton Park if you prefer to enjoy a meal in the parkland surroundings.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Suffolk Walks page.
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Nearby Routes
Clare Castle Country Park Bury to Clare Walk Nowton Park West Stow Country Park Ickworth Park Lark Valley Path Bradfield Woods Cavenham Heath King's Forest Lackford Lakes Tuddenham Thurston Ickworth Woods and River Linnet Circular Walk
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