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West Stow Country Park covers 125 acres of varied countryside on the southern edge of The Breckland and is managed by St Edmundsbury Borough Council to provide an area for informal recreation and a haven for wildlife. The park was opened in 1979 and in 1988 a visitor centre was opened to provide an entry point to the Anglo-Saxon village, excavated between 1965 and 1972 and reconstructed using ancient techniques to find out how the Anglo-Saxons lived. You can now explore the park and the houses in the village which has its own pigs and hens and grown crops to show more of the lives of the people who once lived there. This walk is around the outer paths in the park but there are many variations that can be used as alternatives for shorter routes. From the car park walk towards the visitor centre and turn right on the nature trail through the trees at the rear and parallel to the road. There are occasional information boards around the park’s trails which describe the wide range of features to be found along the way. Look out also for the occasional sculpture around the park depicting some aspect of the park and its history. Follow the well defined path through the trees, along the edge of the heath and back into the trees through a woodland glade. Pass through a gate at the edge of the wood to the livestock grazing area and then right through the first gate on the right into the Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Stow Heath SSSI consists of 70 acres of the sandy heathland known as Brecklands. If you have a dog please take note of the bye-laws requiring you to keep your dog on a lead. Follow the path straight through the trees and heathland within the SSSI to reach the gate leading out of this special area. Continue on down towards the lake, a former gravel pit that was used in the construction of Lakenheath airfield in World War II. This is on the Lark Valley Footpath, a waymarked path of about 13 miles between Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds and running beside the river for much of its length. Keep to the right of the lake on the well worn path, passing the Fisherman’s car park and following the path around the back of the lake, now between the lake and the River Lark. The River Lark was once navigable as far as Bury St Edmunds, providing an important trade route for the region and a link through Mildenhall and via the River Ouse to the sea at Kings Lynn. The canalisation was completed by about 1715 and trade was at its highest between 1750 and 1850. However the opening of the railway at Bury St. Edmunds on 2 June 1884 saw a rapid decline in the river traffic and inevitably the river trade started to decline. After the end of the lake continue straight on along the riverside path, there are opportunities to short cut back to the car park here by turning left on one of the adjoining paths if required. At one point there is an information board at the site of the former lock keeper’s cottage next to the tow path, all that remains now are the fruit trees in the garden. This section of river was straightened when the way was made navigable, it is now maintained by the Water Authority for drainage and is clean enough for trout and other fish. At the end of the straight section and close to the site of a former lock, follow the path left to a crossing path on an embankment. Turn right to the next junction and then left to the old pump house. The area of the park was acquired from the Coalford Estate by the Borough Council in 1886 for use as a sewage farm until the works closed in the 1950s. This lovely old red brick pump house was used to move the effluent from Bury St. Edmunds for treatment in the vast sewage lagoons that are now overgrown. Follow the tarmac pump house drive towards the road and, just before the entrance gate, turn left between a fence and the tree belt parallel to the road. Follow this path back to the children’s play area and the start of the walk at the car park. Fact FileLocation: West Stow Country Park is 4 miles north west of Bury St EdmundsStart: West Stow Country Park car park, Ordnance Survey map reference TL 800714 Length: 3 miles (many short cuts in the park) Conditions: Country park paths and tracks, no stiles, 2 gates How to get there: - Public Transport: For details telephone Suffolk County Council’s Public Transport Information TraveLine - 08459 583358 Road Route: From the A14 west of Bury St Edmunds take the B1106 and A1101 north, follow the brown tourist signs for ‘Anglo Saxon Village’. Turn off right just after Lackford to the country park entrance on the right Car Parking: Free in West Stow Country Park Refreshments: Angles Cafeteria and Gift Shop open 11am-4pm daily, otherwise in local villages Public Toilets: In West Stow Country Park Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer sheet 229 Thetford Forest in The Brecks Opening hours: West Stow Country Park - 9am-5pm in winter; 9am-8pm in summer, admission free Anglo-Saxon Village and Park Visitor Centre - daily 10am-5pm, admission - adult £3.50, family £10, concessions and children £2.50, children under 5 free Walking on the web: http://www.anderton.btinternet.co.uk
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