Anna's Walk is a well-trodden five-mile circular walk on the

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was ...

coast around the village of Thornham and sands of

Holme Dunes Holme Dunes is a nature reserve near Holme-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and is a National Nature Reserve. Retrieved 28 August 2012. It is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Int ...

. The walk takes in parts of the village, a

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

stretch beside Drove Orchards, salt marshes, Holme Dunes beach, Thornham Harbour and the Village Green. The walk starts on the High street in Thornham at Anna's former home. Heading towards Holme pick up the footpath adjacent to the new village hall and cricket pitch that was built in 2013. The footpath crosses the A149 close to Drove House, the family home of David Jamieson (VC) who at the age of 23 was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the path continues through the gate and along the tree-lined pathway until at the far end where there is a bridge on the left. The trail joins the

Norfolk Coast Path The Norfolk Coast Path is a long-distance footpath in Norfolk, running 83 miles (133.5 km) from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea. It was opened in 1986 and covers the North Norfolk Coast AONB ( Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It links w ...

which leads up to Holme Dunes Reserve. The reserve's sand dunes, salt marsh, pasture and pools are important for breeding birds like pied avocet, and wintering ducks, geese and waders. There are a range of coastal habitats including, freshwater pools, grazing marsh and saltmarsh. Much of the site consists of natural habitats maintained largely by coastal processes. A few steps from the route is the Reserves’ Cafe and bookshop and the

Holme Bird Observatory Holme Bird Observatory is a nature reserve near Holme-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, adjoining the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Holme Dunes reserve. It is 5 ha (13 acres) in extent, with Corsican pines and scrubby sand dunes as its main habitats. I ...

. Straight down is the Holme Dunes beach which was named by the Sunday Times as one of the Top 20 ‘Wild’ Beaches in Britain. This is also the place where

Seahenge Seahenge, also known as Holme I, was a prehistory, prehistoric monument located in the village of Holme-next-the-Sea, near Old Hunstanton in the English county of Norfolk. A timber circle with an upturned tree root in the centre, Seaheng ...

was discovered in the spring of 1998. Seahenge is a prehistoric monument believed to have been constructed during the early Bronze Age. Contemporary theory is that it was used for ritual purposes. The monument was removed in 1999 amid large protests to a local museum. Holme Dunes Beach is a wide unspoilt sandy beach but approximately a 20-minute walk from any public car parks so usually quieter than most on the Norfolk coast. Walk along the beach until you find an information lectern in the sands by the dunes. This path leads back to the

and back towards the village of Thornham. On a clear day visitors can see Scolt Head Island which was purchased by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in 1923 and became a national nature reserve. At the end of the path is Thornham Harbour, once a prosperous harbour and infamous smugglers' haunt. In 1999 it was remodeled as a smugglers' hideout for the BBC production of ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

''. Today it is one of the most photographed places on the Norfolk coast with the Old Coal barn and fishing boats lopsidedly sitting on the flats. The trail continues along the coastal path, from which the Lifeboat Inn is visible. The buildings stood witness to one of the worst skirmishes between the smugglers' local militia and a small force of Dragoon Guards on New Year's Eve of 1782.

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

documents the incident. The footpath leads around the village through to the green and then to the centre past the medieval church where Anna is buried and the Orange Tree pub which was formerly The Kings Head and also has a rich history over the centuries. The walk finishes once again at Anna's House but is circular so can be commenced and completed from anywhere on the route. Anna herself died at

Helmingham Hall Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house in Helmingham, Suffolk, England. It was begun by John Tollemache in 1480 and has been owned by the Tollemache family ever since. The house is built around a courtyard in typical late medieval/Tudor styl ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

which has been home to the

Tollemache family The Tollemache family (also historically spelt Talmach or Tallemache) is an English noble family, originally from Suffolk. The family's surname is pronounced . Members of the family have had a significant impact on the economy and politics of Eas ...

since 1480. Anna's Walk was highlighted in the

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of whi ...

, 'Favourite five hidden walks' regional feature in 2019.

References

Footpaths in Norfolk

See Also

References

Further reading