Aldborough

Charles and Joy Boldero enjoy a pleasant six-mile walk from Aldborough to Erpingham and back.

We parked by the village green and sign in Aldborough which is situated on a minor road west off the A140, five miles north of Aylsham. On this six-mile walk the paths are in good order.

Keeping the green and village sign on our left we walked south along the road. We turned left at the footpath sign along a track which is part of the Weavers Way.

We turned left with the mill on our right and garages on our left and went over the bridge and followed the field edge path to the road. We turned right along the country lane, then crossed the road and went up the bank to the footpath sign and across the field on a good path.

Then, going down the bank at some small steps, we crossed the next field to the stile. We climbed the stile and continued along the track, turning right along the country lane.

We turned left along Thwaite Common, another country lane, and followed this right around, keeping the common on our right and then a pond. Further along our road went right at a junction and we passed another pond with ducks and coot on it.

We ignored a footpath left and, at a sharp right-hand bend, we kept straight ahead along the track. The track became a narrow path between hedges.

At the main road we turned right to the Inn, then crossed the road to the concrete path opposite. The landowner has given permission for EDP walkers to use this permissive path.

Just before a right-hand bend in the track at a finger-post sign we went into the field keeping the hedge on right and crop on left.

After a quarter of a mile, coming to a hedge ahead, we turned left with this hedge on our right. Again this route is with the permission of the landowner.

Reaching the country lane, we turned left along it, then left again at the junction. With large barns on our right, we turned right down a country lane with a notice saying 'Unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles'.

We ignored a path right and, reaching the main road, we crossed it and continued along the country lane opposite.

We crossed the road to the church and at a footpath sign we went through the double gates into the cemetery, turning left, then right along the path, then down a bank into the field, turning left with a hedge on the left.

We turned right along the country lane, then left after 50 yards at the sign. Later the path went right, left and then right again. We turned left by a fallen sign along the main track and then left at a T junction of tracks.

At the end we went right along the country lane, ignoring the road turn left. After the school we turned left along Chapel Road back to the start of the walk.

t POINTS OF INTEREST:

1. The village and the mill in Aldborough are listed in the Domesday book. The mill was a working one until, we believe, the 1970s. There are several Saxon stones visible in the church. St Mary's lies some way out of the village. Centuries ago the village was granted a charter for a fair, held in June, which brought traders in from miles around. Originally it was for livestock, as well as being a place where servants and labourers could be hired. The large green is not just for show as football and cricket are played on it.

2. The Alby Horse Shoes Inn, Erpingham, has won awards for its good food three years running, in 2004, 2005 and 2006. There were plenty of appetising items on the menus. They also have a selection of real ales and Charles enjoyed a pint of Woodfordes Wherry. You are assured of a friendly welcome. So, if walking, cycling or driving to enjoy a meal there you will not be disappointed, though not on Wednesday lunch times. It's chef's day off! The Inn is situated on the A140 Cromer Road just by the sign for Alby Crafts

Alby Crafts is a unique centre for contemporary and traditional arts and crafts. It is set in four-and-half acres of gardens and ponds. It is open from January to December. There is an admission charge to the gardens.

3. St Ethelbert church, Alby, has a 15th century tower but the nave is earlier and has clerestory windows. There is a coarse, unadorned piscina in the chancel with two credence shelves that could be original.

Alby and Thwaite were united as parishes in 1884. Thwaite was called Tuit in the Domesday Book. The common is managed as a nature reserve and orchids and many other wild flowers grow there. You may also be lucky enough to see owls flying across the common.

t MAP REFERENCES

OS Landranger 133, Explorer 252:

184342, 184341, 187338, 187336, 190328, 191322, 197325, 205324, 208324, 211325, 218328, 217329, 215333, 211332, 202336, 201337, 194341, 193342, 188346, 184342.