Green Lanes

  • 1 hour
  • medium
  • 2.5 miles

About

This walk passes Rougham Church and some of the really lovely green lanes that we have on the Rougham Estate. It’s an attractive area to visit at any time of year. The walk goes through woodland and includes a kissing gate.

The walk starts and ends at Blackthorpe Barn, where you can find plenty of free parking as well as Roots Café and the new Garden Room shop. Please remember that the gates to the avenue entrance are locked after the Cafe and Shop close. More details here.

For more general information about this and other walks, see Walks around Rougham Estate. We hope you have a lovely walk.

Use the Google Map below on your phone to follow the path shown or print the route using the pdf button above, if you prefer.

If you can’t access the map through the image above, use this google map link

Go on the Green Lanes Walk with George and Bolly in this video where George, who has lived here all his life, talks about interesting facts along the way:

Weather

Waypoints

01

Step 1

From Blackthorpe Barn turn right and pass through the carparks along the concrete road until you reach a wood on your right.

02

Step 2

A path leads into the wood shortly after you reach its boundary. Follow this path bearing left and then turning left after 50 metres. Follow through the wood to the far end.

03

Step 3

At this point turn right at a T junction. Follow this path out of the wood with a hedge on your left. Follow this path until it meets a path from the right.

04

Step 4

At this point follow round to the left heading for Rougham Church which appears dramatically in front of you. At the far end of this path cross the school and church carpark. Cross the public road with care.

05

Step 5

Enter the churchyard and walk up to the great western tower. Turn right here.

06

Step 6

Follow this path to the west and leave the churchyard by a metal pedestrian gate made to commemorate the Rougham Harvest Fair which was one of the Tree Fairs which were a feature of life in Rougham during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Continue down this path, through the kissing gate, until you reach a hedge in front of you.

07

Step 7

Turn right and follow the path along with the hedgerow on your left. At the end of this path, you reach a small wood ahead of you.

08

Step 8

Turn left here and follow the path through to the public road.

09

Step 9

You turn right onto the public road and will remain on it for approximately two to three minutes (about 200 yards). Take care as traffic can move quite fast. Stay on the right side of the road.

10

Step 10

You will see on your left front a double hedgerow approaching with a footpath sign pointing down the green lane and a 3-way road signpost. This is where you turn left. Cross the road with care and enter the green lane. The hedgerow here was planted in 2000 to commemorate the millennium and follows the route of an old right of way which links up to the ancient green lanes further on. They help to form a wildlife corridor to enable wild animals to move around more easily and safely.

11

Step 11

Follow this lane until it joins the ancient lane at a field edge. Continue straight on, down the ancient lane for several hundred metres before you encounter a right turn into another green lane. This next one is called Mouse Lane.

12

Step 12

Take Mouse Lane and follow it as it narrows to a single track before emerging at the far end by some mid-century houses. These houses are named after the green lane and are also called Mouse Lane.

13

Step 13

When the path meets the metalled public road, turn left onto the pavement and follow down to the junction where it meets a larger and faster road.

14

Step 14

Cross the larger road here with care and enter the footpath on the far side.

15

Step 15

This will take you to meet the Blackthorpe Barn avenue.

16

Step 16

Turn right on the avenue and walk down until you see Blackthorpe Barn on your right.

Important information

Must my dog be kept on a lead?

Here at Rougham we love dogs and really appreciate the importance that they hold for people in their lives and on their walks and outdoor adventures together.
We ask that you keep your canine friends on a lead when you are walking in Rougham. It is safer for the dog and much safer for wildlife.

Ground nesting birds and other wildlife are seriously threatened by dogs running loose. They can also frighten other people who are less comfortable with dogs, but who would also like to walk.

Finally, you will not be able to see where they poop and so will not be able to clear it up and leave a hazard for future walkers.

Some of the walks shown here include sections on public rights of way over land owned by other people. As a courtesy to them too, please always keep your dogs on the lead.
Thank you!

Can I do this walk with a wheelchair?

The Rougham Estate walks, starting from Blackthorpe Barn, are largely based on existing Estate paths and public rights of way. They mostly pass through woodland and along field-side paths.
Each walk is given a difficulty rating ranging from “easy”, which are the most accessible, to “hard”, which are the most challenging and may include stiles, kissing gates, steps, steep slopes and meadows with cattle.

All these walks follow existing paths and are subject to mud and puddles in wet weather, fallen branches and trees during and after storms, ice and snow during frozen weather. Brambles and nettles are common anywhere and will overhang the paths during the summer. Stinging insects including wasps, bees and hornets may be encountered and midges and mosquitos are common on summer evenings. Adders are rare but do exist and should not be approached.
The Blackthorpe Barn has a defibrillator available for emergency use.

Rougham is located in a very flat part of Suffolk and as such is more accessible than most other parts of the country, but concepts of accessibility are all relative and the final judgement must be the responsibility the visitor themselves.

The Rougham Estate does its best to make public areas as available as possible.
The Estate cannot accept responsibility for accidents or injuries incurred during visits or walks on the Estate, though every effort is made to make them as usable as possible.

What about dogs and poop bags?

Please ensure that you carry poop bags with you on your dog walks. If you don’t have any with you, you can buy some in the Garden Room Shop. It is so important that you clear up after your dog and then take the bag away with you.
You will find poop bins located near Blackthorpe Barn and Roots Café.
Finding abandoned poop bags hanging in the branches of trees or just left on the ground is very unattractive for future walkers on the route, and creates a problem for wildlife, so please do take them with you.
Thank you so much.

What are the difficulty levels?

We have given each walk a difficulty level, as a guide to the potential walker as to what to expect, from “easy” to “hard”.

The Rougham Estate walks are largely based on existing Estate paths and public rights of way, at times passing through woodland and along field-side paths.

A difficulty rating of “easy” means the path is most accessible.
A difficulty rating of “hard” means the path is one of the most challenging possibly including stiles, kissing gates, steps, steep slopes and meadows with cattle.
A difficulty rating of “medium” is between the two.

None of the walks are very hard as we live in Suffolk, not the Lake District, however some people are looking for something very gentle and others, something a bit more challenging.

Are all these walks on Rougham Estate land?

We have endeavoured to provide a real variety of walks based on land within the Rougham Estate, however some destinations are a little remote and to achieve circular walks rather than walks which just retrace their steps, where necessary, use has been made of the extensive footpath network and chosen public footpaths on our neighbours’ land, to complete the journeys in more interesting ways.

What should I wear for these walks?

These walks lead through the Suffolk countryside and so expect to find muddy patches, nettles and thistles. It is important to remember that the weather may change during your walk too, especially if the walk is a long one.

Remember to wear sensible boots and take something waterproof along as well.
A sun hat for warmer weather is important too.

See other Walks

Walks
Roots cake landscape

Start your walk with a coffee, end with a cake.

Experience a charming and cosy spot located in the heart of the beautiful countryside. The café boasts a tranquil and serene atmosphere, making it the perfect place to unwind and escape the hustle and bustle of daily life.

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Just 3 weeks to go until our Arts & Crafts Fair returns to Blackthorpe Barn!

This year is extra special as we celebrate the 35th year of the fair, welcoming a wonderful selection of independent designer-makers from across the country for five weekends of beautiful handmade crafts.

Discover ceramics, jewellery, textiles, glassware, woodwork, baskets and so much more. Every maker is carefully selected, and you’ll have the chance to meet them in person and buy directly from the people who create their work.

Planning to visit more than once? Our season ticket offers fantastic value at just £10 online, giving you entry for all 10 days of the fair. Day tickets are £2.50 online, and children aged 15 and under go free.

Join us from Saturday 14 November, open 10am–4pm each day, across five weekends through to 13 December.

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It’s been a week since we welcomed subscribers from our newsletter mailing list and Suffolk Magazine to an exclusive preview of our Christmas Shop, giving them the chance to explore and shop before we officially opened to everyone on Monday.

The shop is now in full festive flow, open daily 9:30am-5pm, and it’s lovely to hear how much customers are enjoying this year’s displays and discovering new favourites.

Our preview event was about more than getting an early look at Christmas. Guests had the opportunity to meet the team and enjoy creative demonstrations and tutorials, picking up inspiration and ideas for making Christmas extra special at home.

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Our new seasonal menu has arrived at Roots Café, bringing a fresh selection of breakfast, brunch and lunch options to enjoy.

The menu includes a fresh corner with granola, overnight oats and fruit bowls, alongside our traditional fry-ups and a wider choice of brunch dishes. 

There are eggs and hollandaise with your choice of topping, avocado on sourdough, pulled chicken croissants and mushrooms on toast.

For lunch, the new menu features a range of ciabattas, from roasted courgette with red pepper hummus to pulled pork with sage and onion stuffing, as well as roasted pumpkin with whipped feta and chicken with brie and cranberry. 

Salad of the week has also been replaced with something warmer-  a soup, perfect for the cooler months.

And for those with a sweet tooth, there are two new seasonal desserts: pumpkin loaf cake with ginger mascarpone and spiced apple swirl with butterscotch sauce. We also have fresh pastries from the Friendly Loaf each day.

Whether you’re stopping by for breakfast, meeting friends for lunch or warming up after a walk around the Estate, there’s plenty to enjoy at Roots Café this autumn and winter.

Open daily until 5pm now (4pm on Sundays), making a perfect pit stop after Christmas shopping at our Rougham Estate Christmas Shop. 

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