We started off 2020 with a fantastic walk through Falkenham and round the River Deben. A chilly but wonderful 8.7km cross-country ramble.
This was our first venture into a walk from the AA book ’50 Walks in Suffolk’*, which has been collecting dust on our shelf for far too long! This walk is number 20 in the book is rated as an easy walk, with very little ascent.
We would definitely agree that this walk wasn’t too hard, as we were able to walk round it quite quickly in our predicted minimum time. The whole route 8.7km and took us just over 2 hours to complete. The weather was cold but dry, perfect for a New Year’s Day walk.
Finding the start of the walk was relatively easy and we were able to park on the road outside Falkenham’s St Eltherbert’s church. The church itself is quaint and pretty; a lovely place to start a walk. From there, it was just over a kilometre of farm tracks and small roads, before the route took us through a field and round the surrounding marshlands.
The highlight of this walk for us was definitely the range of scenery. From wide open fields and reed-fringed brooks, we were astounded by the view after we climbed a small embankment to start our walk around the Falkenham Marshes. The marshland stretched on for a few kilometres before we began to walk alongside the River Deben. The path was easy to follow and it was almost silent the whole way round. We finished off the route by walking through more fields and on farm tracks. Even though it had been raining, the route wasn’t too muddy or slippery.
The changes in scenery kept us interested and it was a really pleasant two hours. This walk is definitely on our list to repeat. It’d be interesting to see what this area looks like in the sunny weather.
Mrs W’s highlight: Climbing an embankment and then suddenly looking over the marshes!
Mr W’s highlight: Spotting a National Speed Limit sign stuck in the middle of the marsh!
If you live around Suffolk, we would definitely recommend this route. Grab the AA book and follow the easy directions like we did. This is certainly suitable for a beginner, just make sure you have some sturdy footwear that can withstand grassy and possibly muddy routes.
Walking With The Watkinses 