Peddars Way · Stage 2
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
To Castle Acre, with its priory: 18.8 km published, 19.2 km on our line. Castle Acre is the best-supplied stop on the way.
Best season: All year. There is no obvious best time to walk the trail, National Trails says: summer weather is generally better and the hedgerows are in blossom, spring and autumn bring the bird migrations, and winter can give some fine walking. Some campsites are seasonal: the one at Holme is closed until the 2027 season. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A hamlet with two B&B entries on the trail map, neither with a website. Phoenix House, about 1.8 km south, and the Olde Windmill Inn at Great Cressingham are nearby.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Phoenix House B&B · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
The Olde Windmill Inn · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Stage end · overnight
Town
A village with its priory, and the best-supplied stop on the way: the trail map lists five places within 3 km.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Baileygate Bed and Breakfast (Marcon House) · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
The Ostrich Inn · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 4 h 34 of walking.
Make it your trip
Each stay is booked with its owner; there is no booking for the whole trail. The inland villages have few beds: Little Cressingham has two B&B entries on the trail map, Castle Acre and Sedgeford are the main overnight stops, and there is nowhere to stay at Knettishall Heath, so book early. On the coast, beds fill up in summer, National Trails says, and some places have refused single-night stays. Two listed websites, the Ostrich Inn at Castle Acre and Home Farm Stables at Holme, did not answer on 13 October 2026: check that they still take guests.
The National Trail's four sections, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe southern half in two days, to Castle Acre and its priory.
Plan this journeyThe northern half in two days, to the coast at Holme.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (58 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 28–87 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed |
| Day / night | 7°/1° | 8°/1° | 10°/3° | 13°/4° | 16°/7° | 19°/10° | 22°/12° | 22°/12° | 18°/10° | 14°/7° | 10°/4° | 7°/2° |
| Rain, mm | 62 | 56 | 43 | 37 | 48 | 64 | 72 | 77 | 67 | 81 | 71 | 60 |
| Snow at high point | Frost | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Frost |
| Daylight | 8 h 08 | 9 h 51 | 11 h 45 | 13 h 53 | 15 h 44 | 16 h 50 | 16 h 25 | 14 h 48 | 12 h 46 | 10 h 44 | 8 h 47 | 7 h 40 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
On 13 October 2026 the National Trails map listed four diversions on this National Trail, all on the Norfolk Coast Path (Skelding Hill, Beeston Bump, Morston and Overstrand) and none on the Peddars Way. Check the map before you set off.
National Trails: trail information and mapThe nearest station is Thetford, managed by Greater Anglia. From there walkers need a bus to the start, National Trails says (trail information, read 13 October 2026), but it names no route, and we found no source for one: plan this leg before you go.
National Rail: Thetford stationThe inland villages have few beds. Phoenix House near Little Cressingham takes cash or cheque only, and the Olde Windmill Inn at Great Cressingham may let Peddars Way walkers camp free if they have a meal there (National Trails listings, read 13 October 2026). Castle Acre and Sedgeford have the most choice.
National Trails: trail informationThe Peddars Way meets the coast at Holme-next-the-Sea. National Trails' fourth section runs on along the Norfolk Coast Path to Hunstanton, 14.3 km in all (route description, read 13 October 2026); this page stops at Holme. To go on along the coast, see our Norfolk Coast Path guide.
TrailSplits: Norfolk Coast PathThe Norfolk Coast Path Camping and Glamping site at Holme was open only from 24 July to 1 September 2026; it opens again in the 2027 season, its owner says (read 13 October 2026).
Norfolk Coast Path Camping and Glamping: HolmeGetting there
Travel around Little Cressingham to Castle Acre.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
The nearest station is Thetford (Greater Anglia). National Trails says walkers need a bus from there to the start, but names no route: check before you go.
National Rail: Thetford stationGreater Anglia trains leave London Liverpool Street and King's Cross every hour and reach Norwich or King's Lynn in just under two hours, National Trails says.
National Trails: trail informationBuses serve Hunstanton, west along the coast, National Trails says, and the Coasthopper runs further east, from Wells-next-the-Sea to Mundesley; Travel Norfolk has the routes and times. Or walk on: the Norfolk Coast Path continues from Holme.
Travel Norfolk: buses and trainsTake your trip with you
Prepare each section while you still have a connection: between the villages the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
National Trails publishes the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path as one National Trail, 129.5 miles (208 km). This page covers its inland first part, the Peddars Way, from Knettishall Heath to the coast at Holme-next-the-Sea, about 4 days, National Trails says, in its four sections. It publishes no stage times. The four sections add up to 78.8 km as published, because the fourth, 14.3 km, runs on along the coast to Hunstanton; on National Trails' route file the Peddars Way is 74.8 km, 8.0 km of it from Sedgeford to Holme. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 77958, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 74.8 km, cut at the four section ends, 23.0, 19.2, 23.7 and 8.8 km against the published 23.3, 18.8, 22.4 (to "Sedgeford and Fring") and 14.3 km. From Holme the Norfolk Coast Path continues along the coast: it has its own guide. No closure or diversion was listed on the Peddars Way on 13 October 2026. Our climb is measured on terrain heights; the way is flat to gently rolling.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
National Trails: Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation