New Walking Guide
More than one-hundred-sixty miles of way-marked walks linking East Suffolk’s railway stations with the county’s coast, countryside, villages and towns are featured in a new edition of a popular guide.
The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership has published a fifth edition of East Suffolk Line Walks, a booklet containing twenty-two walking routes from fifteen Greater Anglia rail stations, each a useful gateway to the remote and unspoilt countryside of East Suffolk.
The new edition was printed following the addition of two new routes which connect with existing walks to Lowestoft and Felixstowe. The two new routes converge within Holywells Park in Ipswich where park volunteers installed the final signpost, creating a system of station-to-station walks of more than 100 miles. All the walks are posted with East Suffolk Lines waymarkers.
The latest version contains walks from as short as 1.5 miles along the River Deben between Woodbridge and Melton to the 14 mile ‘Orwell Vistas’ walk between Trimley and Ipswich. There are also walking routes through the Broads National Park that connect Beccles and Oulton Broad, ‘The Easterling’ to Lowestoft via part of the old railway line that travelled to Great Yarmouth, and four different routes to Felixstowe. Walks to Framlingham, Aldeburgh, Southwold and Bungay start at the railway station as do several circular routes which add an additional 60 miles to the system.
This year ten thousand copies have been printed with distribution across the county thanks to a grant from the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP).
Aaron Taffera, Chair of the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership said: “We’re delighted to publish this latest edition of our walks book which we hope will inspire people to visit some spectacular scenery across Suffolk by using the rail service. We’re grateful to our partners at Suffolk County Council for their help in its design and production, and to ACoRP for their generous grant support which enabled us to double the print run and distribution.”Volunteers from Holywells Park along with members from Ipswich Borough Council, the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership and the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) at the final post connecting two new station-to-station walking routes
Nick Wilcox, Holywells Park Manager, said: “We’re thrilled that Holywells Park has been included in the two new walking routes as it gives ramblers a chance to explore more than 60 acres of green space in the town. The Holywells Volunteer Group were happy to install the final signpost and be a part of linking all the routes together.”
Anders Hanson, ACoRP Senior Commercial Manager said: “ACoRP is pleased to assist in the funding of East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership’s new walking guide. The promotion of walking from and around stations is a key way in which community rail partnerships encourage sustainable travel and open up healthy choices for leisure and recreation, and bring economic benefits to the area with increased visitor numbers.”
Paul Haynes, Greater Anglia’s Community Rail Partnerships Manager, said: “Coupled with our great value train fares, these walks are a great opportunity for people to leave the car at home, stay healthy and discover the fascinating Suffolk landscapes, towns and villages that are within easy reach of our stations.”
“We are very grateful to the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnerships for organising these events.”
The latest edition of East Suffolk Line Walks runs to 60 pages and is available free of charge from a host of outlets across the east of the county. A downloadable version is available.