West Raynham Village Sign showing Raynham HallWest Raynham Village centre is always a stunning picture, especially when the blosson fills the cherry trees on the green as in April and May. This quiet village provides an ideal area for walkers and cyclists with several local circular routes of varying distances.
The village itself provides a relaxed stroll in 30 minutes from The Street up to a small hamlet passing the school, on to The Drove and down again past a children's adventure playground to arrive back in the centre. A further 20 minutes ramble down a tree-lined country lane with wide grassy verges and views of meadows and woodlands, brings the visitor to the impressive Raynham Estate St Mary's Chruch which overlooks a calm lake. You will probably want to continue feasting your eyes on this delightful and unspoilt corner of North Norfolk. If so then there are two different paths. One leads up beside the church and out of the village to the South and East Raynhams and the other passes in front of the church, past the private entrance to Raynham Hall , through the farm along signed pathways.
The Hall is not open to the public. It is the ancestoral home of the Townshend family. Sadly the Marquess Townshend of Raynham died this April just before his 94th birthday. His family has owned the land in West Raynham for 600 years since the reign of Edward IV. One of the ancestors, 'Turnip' Townshend, helped launch the agricultural revolution.
The route through the farm is a public path taking you through various livestock gates, along the edges of fields with woodlands, to eventually circle back into the village via the Helhoughton to West Raynham Road.
There are many more walks and cycle routes to explore of course in this rural area, and not least the vast number of coastal North Norfolk paths a few miles away!
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