This easy circuit, starting in the quiet village of Cratfield, is well-known to local people and in the autumn provides lots of blackberries! It is a quiet and peaceful circuit through farms cultivating grains, oil seed, and sugar beet, in an area which used to be Linstead Magna, the village on the hills above Linstead Parva which lies in the valley below.
c.4.5 miles; 2 hours
The Poacher, Cratfield
OS Explorer Map 231, 1:25,000
The walk starts at the fingerpost, in Bell Green, 50 yards away from The Poacher.
Looking back across the field at the start of the walk
A bridge over the ‘Cratfield Stream’ which joins the Blyth River at Huntingfield
Quiet fields between Cratfield & Linstead Magna, with good waymarks
The hedgerows everywhere were filled with berries, nuts, fruit, and rosehips
Bullaces
Horse chestnuts
Hawthorn berries
Apples
Rosehips
Linstead Hall, hidden in the trees, is moated and immediately opposite the Hall is another moated square, also surrounded by trees.
Linstead Hall
A corner of the dry moat around Linstead Hall
A very old oak tree on the corner of the moat opposite Linstead Hall
Church Farm, Linstead Magna
The Church of St Peter, Linstead Magna, was in disrepair by 1924, the date of the photograph below, and in 1960 the remains of the tower and part of the north aisle were bulldozed down.
The Church of St Peter, Linstead Magna, 1924
A slight bump in the field, marking the site of St Peter, Linstead Magna
A cross to remember the Church of St Peter, placed on the nearby field boundary
The waymarks around Magna Farm have been removed, and the fields were ploughed, so I followed a broad grassy track along field boundaries (shown on the map above in purple), and struck off towards the raised pond where I rejoined the public footpath. (NB: finding the line of the path may be tricky here when the crops have grown, as the pond will not be visible, so either use common sense, or a compass!)
The fields around Magna Farm
The broad, grassy track between Magna Farm and Church Farm
The raised pond at Church Farm
Crossing the ditch between Church Farm and Linstead Farm
Looking back at the raised pond, with Magna Farm in the distance
From Church Farm the path crosses Linstead Farm, dropping down to the ‘Cratfield Stream’ again
A ride on Linstead Farm
Well-marked path
At the ‘Cratfield Stream’ again, looking back up the hill
Cross over this stile and turn left for the centre of Cratfield.
Alongside the road to Cratfield
The site of the Methodist Church in the centre of Cratfield
The Old Post Office
The former Village Pump
And an enjoyable stopping point at the end of the walk!
The Poacher, Cratfield
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