Length of walk around 8.5 miles
Park your car at St Benets Abbey car park (St Benets Road, off Hall Common Road, Ludham, NR29 5NU
The car park is free to park and the track is a bit bumpy. The car park facilitates parking for around 10 cars with 3 designated spaces for people with disabilities. If the car park is full, you can also walk to the Abbey from Ludham Bridge. (There is a dog waste bin at the start of the walk too)
From the car park at St Benets Abbey, follow the footpath in front of you, which leads to the ruins
There are three gates that you will walk through to get to the Abbey (do keep dogs on leads here)
Spend a bit of time exploring the ruins and if you head into the field you can walk down to some more ruins and a bench to take in the view whilst your dog sniffs and enjoys the countryside
Take a wander down the side of the river to enjoy the wildlife and the views, and come back to the Abbey to start your walk.
Come through the gate and onto the Broads path which will take you along the River Ant. The route is around 1.5 miles with way-markers to direct you
At the end of the path take a right down a small hill and through the gate onto the narrow path. Follow this until you come out of another gate and onto the road. Do take care (and have dogs on leads) to cross over where you will find a public toilet
Turn left and follow the path along until you reach Ludham Stores (great for a coffee or ice cream), then walk through the car park back to the river and follow the path along all the way to How Hill which is beautiful all year round with bluebells and Rhododendrons in spring and beautiful russet autumns colours later in the year.
There is a tea room here and gardens to enjoy. From How Hill, head back to the same path you were on but as you come to the corner of the Broads take a slight slope onto the grass track to your left and follow the path. As you come to a corner, you will walk through 2 gates which you may be lucky enough to see the beautiful Konik ponies!!
Head through the gates following the track down through the farm and a further gate, then past a beautiful farm house on your left.
Head through a working pig farm until you come to a road. Turn right and follow the road down to the path. You will see The Dog Pub on your left where you can grab a drink or some food (dog friendly of course!)
Carry on until you pass the caravan sight and come back to where you originally walked over the road. (Take care crossing here) Head through the gate and back onto the river path which will take you back to St Benets Abbey car park
If you decide not to do How Hill, the route is 6.5 miles. The walk is stunning at any time of year and particularly in autumn/winter it is extremely quiet so great for reactive dogs,
For off lead, there are only a few areas you must lead your dogs. The opportunity to see the array of wildlife including herons, swans, geese, deer, rabbits, marsh harriers, Konik ponies is fabulous, so if you are a keen photographer, this is definitely a walk for you.
Toilet facilities at Ludham Stores, How Hill and The Dog Pub,.