West Runton to Sheringham Park

This route offers undulating countryside with superb seascapes as well as glimpses of beautiful natural habitats with their native species of flora and fauna. This landscape was sculpted by an ancient industry which no longer exists in the area but was vital to our ancestors. Sheringham Park itself is landscaped with stunning displays of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, mature woodlands and other exotic trees and shrubs which have been collected over 100 years.

The initial part of the walk takes you over ancient common land, grazed regularly until the end of the 19th Century. After becoming overgrown the land is now grazed again by horses and cattle, alongside the ever-present rabbits. This has allowed more open areas to develop in which wildflowers now flourish along with ground-nesting and feeding birds.

The ridgeline from Beacon Hill to Stone Hill is marked with small circular pits, these are the remains of Saxon iron workings. The ore would have been dug directly from the glacial deposits forming the hill ridge and then mixed with charcoal from nearby trees. If you are lucky it is possible to still find some slag, the remains of smelted iron ore.

Although the route only touches a small corner, it is well worth exploring Sheringham Common. This area is a mix of grassland, heath, marsh, fen and woodland. Due to the variety of habitats, it creates diverse places for flora and fauna. Over 400 different flowering plants have been recorded and 26 species of butterflies. In common with the other commons along this route, there is the possibility of seeing slow-worms, grass snakes, lizards and adders.

The small and quaint village of Upper Sheringham is a pleasure to walk through with its flint walls and red tiled roofs, it really has been missed by all that happened on the coast nearby. A visit to All Saint’s Church is worthwhile to see the 15th Century bench ends, one of which is a mermaid. In the churchyard is a mausoleum of the Upcher family, previous owners of Sheringham Hall and Park. The church, as with many across East Anglia, is far bigger than you would expect in a village of this size. Reflecting the past when the region was rich with the wool industry and political connections to the Crown.