Boats, Broads and Bulrushes

About trip

Distance: 5.25 miles, Minnimum Time: 2hrs 15mins, Difficulty: Easy, Description: If you are interested in hidden gems of architecture then Loddon is the place for you, with buildings ranging from a medieval church to some of the largest council houses built to house the London overspill after the Second World War. Handsome Holy Trinity Church, on Church Plain, dates from the end of the 15th century - the height of Gothic Perpendicular - and is beautifully light and airy. Its showpiece is the two-storey porch with a spiral staircase and gorgeous carvings. The library, dating from the mid-19th century, was originally a school and was converted to its present use in the 1970s. Attractive 17th- and 18th-century houses line the High Street, including one curiously called The Institute. Loddon House is perhaps the most ambitious building. It dates from 1711 and has five bays and a glorious collection of columns. It is not to be confused with Loddon Hall, which is located a mile (1.6km) south-east of the village. Charming Council Homes. When Loddon became one of the many towns designated for new housing estates to help solve the post-war accommodation crisis, the Lowestoft architects Herbert Taylor and David Green were commissioned to design single-storey retirement homes. Those built in Davy Place are charming and the 78 homes in Hobart Road, Crossway Terrace and Drury Lane are spacious and of interest. The architects of many other council estates have not been so sensitive, and maybe they should visit Loddon to see that council guidelines and limited finances need not always produce dull results. Loddon is famous for its watermill. This glorious building spans the River Chet and comprises a weather-boarded mill - dating mostly from the 18th-century, although parts are older - with an early 19th-century house attached to it. It is not open to the public. This walk takes you through some of Norfolk’s most attractive countryside, giving a taste of the silent and mysterious Broads and peaceful farmland, as well as sampling the delights of watching the boats jostle and jangle on their moorings along the banks of the busy River Chet. If you have time to spare, then you can stop for a while at the picnic site, where you can watch novice boatmen steering their crafts nervously towards the wider waterways of the Broads. Collisions are not unknown, and river watching can be both a relaxing and amusing pastime. While you'ew there: Hales Hall was built by Sir James Hobart (Hobart in Australia was named after his family) in the 1470s. He was Attorney General to Henry VII and wealthy enough to raise himself a substantial mansion. It houses Reads Nursery and the national collection of citrus fruits. Pettitt’s Animal Adventure Park is to the northeast, and nearby Raveningham Gardens are well signposted from the village centre. What to look out for: A corner of the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church is unusual in that it has been set aside as a nature reserve. The church itself dates from the end of the 15th century and is very light and airy inside. Don’t miss the superb painting of Sir James Hobart and his wife. There is only one all-timber mill in England, and that is at Loddon on the River Chet. Where to eat and drink: Both the Angel and the Swan in Loddon serve good food, as does the White Horse over the river in Chedgrave. Loddon’s King’s Head (morning coffee, lunches and evening meals) is near the police station, and Rosy Lee’s Tea Room is near the bridge. Loddon also offers a variety of take-aways, plus several general stores should you fancy making a picnic (there is a picnic site on the Chet in Chedgrave). Directions: Turn right past the library on to Bridge Street and walk down the hill to cross the river into Chedgrave. At the White Horse go right, then start looking for the public footpath on your right immediately after the row of terraced houses. Meet a residential street, cross it to the footpath opposite, that runs between hedges, and continue to Chedgrave church. Follow the footpath until you meet a lane. Turn right passing a meadow on your left before going through a small gate at the public footpath sign. Continue on the path along the north bank of the River Chet. Continue along the river path. Depending on the growth of reeds you may be able to see that you are on a causeway here, with the Chet on your right and the meres that comprise Hardley Flood on your left. It is well worth pausing here if you are interested in birding, since the Norfolk WildlifeTrust has erected nesting areas in the water, and there is a public hide on the footpath from which you can observe abundant birdlife. Continue along this path until broad gives way to farmland and you can see Hardley Hall off to your left. The path then goes through a final gate to meet a wide farm track. Turn left on the farm track. Go up a hill, passing Hill Cottage on your right-hand side, then Hardley Hall on your left. The farm track ends here at a lane. Continue straight on a bridleway towards some woodland. Walk along this lane until you reach Lower Hardley Road and a sign pointing left stating ‘Loddon 1.25’. Don’t be tempted to take the left-hand footpath further down the road, which heads to Chedgrave Common. Ignore the first turning on the left, signed ‘No Through Road’, and continue walking to the second. Take this turning, signposted to the church. When you reach the church, look for the grassy footpath to the right which takes you back to Point 2, passed earlier in the walk. Retrace your steps along the footpath, go left on the main road, across the river and up the hill to the car park.