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A riverside walk with views across the marshes to a 15th-century church.
Distance 4 miles (6.4km)
Minimum time 1hr 30min
Ascent/gradient Negligible
Level of difficulty Easy
Paths Riverbank, meadows, farm tracks, 5 stiles
Landscape Views of Holy Trinity Church across marshes
Suggested map aqua3 OS Explorer 231 Southwold & Bungay
Start/finish TM 451752
Dog friendliness On lead across farmland, off lead by river
Parking Holy Trinity Church car park
Public toilets None on route
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1 Turn left by the village sign, in the shape of an angel, and take the shady path that runs beside the churchyard and down to the River Blyth. When you reach the river, turn left to join the riverside path that clings closely to the riverbank and the reed beds for 1½ miles (2.4km). Turn round from time to time for views of the church as it recedes into the distance. At the first footbridge, keep straight ahead over a pair of stiles. Across the river is Bulcamp, scene of a great 7th-century battle between Anna, Christian King of East Anglia, and Penda, the pagan King of Mercia. A former workhouse stands on the hill. Reaching a second footbridge, turn left across the meadow. Now when you look back to Blythburgh, you can see the water tower but not the church.
2 Follow this path across the meadow over two footbridges then swing left and right on to a farm track. Stay on this track as it bends left around farm buildings then right to climb to a cluster of modern red-brick cottages. Turn left here and continue to climb on a wide lane that skirts a summit then drops down between trees and turns sharp right at a field corner towards Laurel Farm, where Holy Trinity Church comes back into view. Keep straight ahead through a farm gate and follow the path round to the left. Cross a stile and stay on this path as it swings right to cross a concrete bridge then turns half-left across a field. Cross a stile and follow the yellow waymarks diagonally across two meadows to reach Wenhaston Lane.
3 Turn left along this lane for 700yds (640m). Just before reaching the A12, turn left past a water pumping station and immediately right along the trackbed of an old railway that runs beside a stream. The first part of this path gives superb views of the south front of Holy Trinity Church. Turn right just beyond a pair of white cottages to reach Church Lane, then turn left to return to the church.
Of all the fine churches of Suffolk, there is none which stands out from its surroundings quite like Holy Trinity Church at Blythburgh. Built in the days when Blythburgh was a prosperous port, it now stands at the edge of a small village which has been split in two by the A12 trunk road. The tower of the church rises above the marshes like the prow of a great ship, marooned among the reedbeds of the estuary of the River Blyth. At night, when it is floodlit, the 'cathedral of the marshes' makes a spectacular sight, silhouetted against a wide East Anglian sky.
This easy-to-navigate walk takes you along the riverbank with magnificent views of the church. Begin by turning left out of the car park and walking past Holy Trinity Church. As you pass, notice the letters on the east wall carved into the flint. They are thought to be the initial letters of a Latin dedication but may have been the names of wealthy patrons of the church.
Inside the church the overall impression is one of light and space, with whitewashed arches and walls. Your eyes are drawn upwards by the magnificent roof with its angels painted in what were once brilliant reds and greens. In 1644, the church was visited by the Puritan William Dowsing, who had been charged by Parliament with removing superstitious images from East Anglian churches. According to some accounts, his soldiers fired bullets into the angels' faces and tethered their horses in the nave.
Look at the carved poppy-heads on the pew ends in the nave, depicting the seasons of the year and the seven deadly sins. Gluttony is portrayed with a huge belly, while Greed is sitting on a money box. Near the altar is a 17th-century Jack-o'-the-Clock which announces the entry of the clergy by ringing his bell and turning his head. Finally, don't miss the Priest's Room, up a small spiral staircase almost hidden near the entrance to the church. This tiny chapel, with its low benches, whitewashed walls and an altar carved with wood from HMS Victory, is where the Eucharist is kept and it is difficult not to be moved by its atmosphere of simplicity and meditation.
The scorch marks on the north door of the church were caused by a lightning storm in 1577 that brought the steeple crashing into the nave, killing two people. More romantically, the marks are said to be the fingerprints of the Devil, who appeared at Blythburgh in the guise of Black Shuck, a legendary hound.
Toby's Walks, just south of Blythburgh, is a pleasant picnic site with a ghost story attached. Tobias Gill was a dragoon drummer who was stationed in Blythburgh to control the smuggling trade. In 1750 he was accused of the murder of a local girl and was hanged on Blythburgh Common. His ghost is said to haunt the heath, but don't let that put you off your picnic!
The White Hart at Blythburgh dates from the 11th century and offers a wide-ranging menu, with real fires in winter and extensive gardens in summer. The village shop is in the pub car park and sells sandwiches, drinks and snacks.
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