Saturday Walk - Sutton Hoo, the UK's best gastropub, the Deben Valley, its estuary and river marshes, lowland heathlands: Melton to Woodbridge [New Walk]

Length: 20.1 km (12.5 mi) 

Ascent/Descent: 130m

Net Walking Time: 4 ½ hours 

Rating: 2 out of 10 

 

Take the 09.00 Norwich train from Liverpool Street (fast to Chelmsford, Boundary Zone 6 tickets are not valid on this service!), and change at Ipswich (10.05/10.16) onto the Lowestoft train, arrives Melton at 10.35. 

Return trains from Woodbridge are on xx.17 (90 minutes journey time). 

Buy a Melton Return. Advance singles are available.

 

This walk criss-crosses the heart of the Deben Valley, where it cuts through the Suffolk Sandlings, an area of lowland heathland, and widens into a scenic estuary. Several charming churches are passed and quiet villages and a fine heathland golf course walked through while the busy roads in the area are all avoided. Reedbeds and rows of poplar feature prominently early on and again midway through the route when it leads along the Deben or through the river marshes. The UK’s Best Gastropub (according to some) awaits at the halfway point. The final stretch follows the wide muddy estuary, a haven for birds and saltmarsh plants, with views across the Deben to the wooded valley edge, to end in the compact town of Woodbridge with its many tea options.

Mid-morning the route leads – along rights-of-way – through the world-famous Sutton Hoo Great Ship Burial site on the eastern edge of the Deben Valley, where two 6^th and 7^th century Anglo-Saxon burial grounds with dozens of mounds for East Anglian royalty overlook the river (a wood now blocks most views though). You walk right past the surviving burial mounds (which are in the ticketed area) and along the sunken path up from the river that the 27 metres long King’s Boat had been hauled up along for Rædwald, King of the East Angles’s burial in about AD 625. A little later you pass the café, shop and exhibition hall (all in the ticketed area).

Shortcuts are shown to enable an extended visit to the site while still completing a meaningful walk.

Ground conditions are favourable all-year round, with the route leading mainly through heathland, atop river walls or along designated Quiet Lanes.

Walk Options:

Short Loop through Bromeswell Green Nature Reserve (Suffolk Wildlife Trust, nightingales, butterflies etc.). Adds just a few hundred metres to the walk (with a map of it on display roadside).  

Out-and-back to the River Deben estuary opposite Woodbridge, from Sutton Hoo Farm; adds 1.0 km.  

Sutton Hoo Visit (National Trust, ticketed); there are lots of exhibits to study in the High Hall and in Tranmer House as well as the burial mounds site and three marked walk routes to explore.  

Shortcut from Sutton Hoo back to Melton along the England Coast Path (map-led but easy, cuts 10.5 km). 

Shortcut from Bromeswell to Ufford Bridge (map-led, cuts 2.4 km).  

Finish at Melton Station (17.0 km/10.6 mi).  

Bus Line 70 (Ipswich – Orford) links the Sutton Hoo Approach Road (where it meets the B1083) to Melton, Woodbridge and Ipswich. Hourly Mon-Sat, but last bus in either direction early afternoon!

Bus Line 800 (Ipswich - Rendlesham) links Bromeswell and Eyke to Melton, Woodbridge and Ipswich. It travels along the A1152 though, a little off route. (Near) hourly service Mon-Sat.  

Bus Line 64 (Ipswich - Aldeburgh) links Ufford to Melton, Woodbridge and Ipswich. It travels through Ufford along the B1438 though, almost a kilometre west of the walk route. (Near) hourly service Mon-Sat.  

A Loop through Woodbridge, away from the river, leads past interesting buildings, shops and tea options.

 

Lunch:  

King’s River Café in Sutton Hoo. Located after 7.4 km/4.6 mi of walking. Although close to the right-of-way, the café is within the ticketed area. Walk-ins without a ticket are not welcome! 

The Unruly Pig Pub & Kitchen in Bromeswell. The Unruly Pig is located 9.0 km/5.6 mi into the walk. The Pig has been repeatedly ranked Best Gastropub in the UK. A table has been booked for 12.30, pls contact me if you want a seat at it (£25 per person deposit).  

Two more pubs en route. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.

Tea: Several options en route and in Woodbridge. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.

For detailed route maps, gpx/kml files, photos and walk directions click here. T=swc.449

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