Lynford's Stag and Arboretum

About trip

By 1916, with the horrors of the First World War in full swing, the British government realised that it could no longer rely on timber imports to supplement Britain’s own wood production and sustain industrial output. The huge demands placed on woodland resources by the onset of trench warfare and the spiralling need for colliery pit props brought the realisation that it would have to establish a group responsible for planting strategic timber reserves, as well as chopping them down again. The solution was the Forestry Commission, established immediately after the war in 1919. It began by buying up large tracts of land that were suitable for growing trees. One of the first areas it obtained was the sandy heathland around the ancient priory town of Thetford, because this was an ideal habitat for many species of fast-growing conifers. By 1935, the new Thetford Forest had reached the boundaries on today’s maps. It covers an area of approximately 50,000 acres (20,250ha), and is the largest lowland pine forest in the country. Originally, it was dominated by Scots pine, but this was changed to Corsican pine, which allows some 220,000 tons (224,000 tonnes) of timber to be cut every year. This is enough to build a 4ft (1.2m) high plank fence around the entire length of Britain’s mainland coast. The amount taken is carefully controlled, so that the timber industry is sustainable - it never takes more than it plants. Wildlife. The forest is more than just a giant timber-producing yard, however. It is home to numerous rare animals, birds and plants, including the native red squirrel, and people travel from miles around to enjoy the peace of the great forest trackways. Lucky visitors who walk quietly may spot one of the park’s four species of resident deer: fallow, roe, red and muntjac. It is also home to a large number of bats, including the pipistrelle and the barbastelle, that feed on the many insects that inhabit the forest. Because the area is so important to bats, a bat hibernaculum has been built, to give them somewhere to spend the daylight hours. Unusual Target. Lynford Stag is named for the life-sized metal deer that stands quietly and unobtrusively among the car parks and picnic benches. This was discovered by Forestry Commission workers when they were clearing the area for planting trees, and must have given them quite a surprise. It was made for Sir Richard Sutton, a keen hunter who owned nearby Lynford Hall. He used it for target practice and, if you approach it, you will see the scars of its previous existence. Lynford Hall. Lynford Hall is a Grade II listed mock-Jacobean mansion standing amid imposing gardens overlooking a series of artificial lakes. The building began in 1857 on the site of an earlier hall dating to the 1720s. The estate was known for the splendid quality of its hunting, and birds and beasts continued to fall until 1924, when the hall was sold to the Forestry Commission. In the late 1940s, trainee foresters began to plant trees in its grounds. These now form the arboretum. While you're there: Visit the High Lodge Forest Centre at Santon Downham, Attractions include cycle hire and the giant Squirrels’ Maze. There are also children’s activity days, a shop and café, an outdoor theatre and concerts. What to look out for: The red squirrel, once a common sight in our woodlands but now sadly depleted, can be found in the forest. Besides deer, you may also see foxes, hares and badgers. Around the Lynford Lakes and its drains keep an eye out for frogs, toads and newts. Where to eat and drink: Lynford Hall Hotel is a perfect place to take a break, since it lies at the half-way point. It offers bar meals and morning and afternoon teas and coffees, and is open from 11am to 11pm. The Lynford Stag picnic site has picnic tables and a huge wooden ‘play’ stag for children. There are ice cream vans here in the summer. Directions: Leave the car park by the metal stag and follow the blue marker posts into the trees. Jig slightly to the right and follow the markers heading north. The path then turns left. Take the next wide track to your right, next to a bench, leaving the blue trail to walk along the edge of the Christmas tree plantation. Eventually, you reach a paved road. Cross the road and continue ahead on what was once part of the driveway leading to Lynford Hall. Pass a car park and a noticeboard with a map of forest trails. Continue ahead along a gravel path, picking up the next set of blue and green trails. The Church of Our Lady of Consolation is behind the trees to your right. It was designed by Pugin in the 1870s for the Catholic owner of the hall, but the next owner, a Protestant, planted trees to shield it from view. Shortly, reach a stone bridge. Turn right and follow the gravel path along the shore of Lynford Lakes with views across the water to Lynford Hall. Turn left across a bridge to enter Lynford Arboretum and follow the path through the arboretum until you reach a road. Turn left along the road, passing Lynford Hall Hotel on your left. After you have walked past the building, turn left through the main entrance gates of the hotel and walk up the drive. When you see a sculpture of two bulls fighting, turn right on to a wide grassy sward called Sequoia Avenue. Walk almost to the end of it, then follow the blue markers to the left into the wood. After a few paces you come to the lake. The blue trail bears to the left at the end of the lake, but our walk continues straight ahead on the bridleway. The path jigs left, then right, but keep to the bridleway. Cross a paved lane and continue straight on, towards the Christmas trees. Turn left at the end of the track, then almost immediately right, where you will pick up the blue trail markers again. Follow these until you reach the car park.