The inland Peddars Way, from Knettishall Heath in Suffolk to the Norfolk coast at Holme-next-the-Sea, in the National Trail's four sections by Little Cressingham, Castle Acre and Sedgeford. At Holme the Norfolk Coast Path takes over.
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
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Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Four sections, the National Trail's own, of about 9 to 24 km on flat to gently rolling ground; the last is short. The inland villages have few beds: Castle Acre and Sedgeford are the main overnight stops, and there is nowhere to stay at Knettishall Heath. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: From Knettishall Heath in Suffolk to Little Cressingham: 23.3 km published, 23.0 km on our line. There is nowhere to stay at the start. Little Cressingham is a hamlet with few beds: Phoenix House, about 1.8 km south, takes cash or cheque only, and the Olde Windmill Inn at Great Cressingham, about 3 km away, may let Peddars Way walkers camp free if they eat there.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
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.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 2: 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.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A village with its priory, and the best-supplied stop on the way: the trail map lists five places within 3 km.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: To the section end between Sedgeford and Fring: 22.4 km published, 23.7 km on our line, the same as on National Trails' route file to the point nearest Sedgeford. Sedgeford village is about 1.1 km west of the route; Magazine Wood is beside it. Great Massingham, about 1.5 km off the route, is not a section end.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The section end, where the route passes between Sedgeford and Fring. Sedgeford village, with the King William IV, is about 1.1 km west; Magazine Wood is beside the route. The trail map lists nine places within 4 km.
Stage 4: Down to the coast at Holme-next-the-Sea, where the Peddars Way meets the Norfolk Coast Path: 8.8 km on our line, 8.0 km on the route file. The published section, 14.3 km, goes on along the coast to Hunstanton; this page ends at Holme. The campsite at Holme is closed until the 2027 season.
Longest day: day 3, 6 h 05.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are measured on each stage's mapped line by our route analysis (terrain heights and our hiking-time model, moving time only): no time is published for these stages.Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
| Stage | Night at | 2026 | 2027 | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Knettishall Heath to Little Cressingham | Phoenix House B&B | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 2. Little Cressingham to Castle Acre | Baileygate Bed and Breakfast (Marcon House) | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Castle Acre to Sedgeford | Magazine Wood | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 4. Sedgeford to Holme-next-the-Sea | Home Farm Stables | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
Loading the forecast for on the trail (48 m)…
Typical weather on this trail, around 3–93 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 |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/4 | 1/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 0/4 |
| Day / night | 7°/1° | 8°/1° | 10°/3° | 13°/4° | 16°/7° | 19°/10° | 21°/12° | 21°/12° | 18°/10° | 14°/7° | 10°/4° | 7°/2° |
| Rain, mm | 63 | 57 | 44 | 36 | 51 | 64 | 72 | 78 | 68 | 82 | 70 | 60 |
| Snow at high point | Frost | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Frost |
| Daylight | 8 h 06 | 9 h 50 | 11 h 45 | 13 h 53 | 15 h 45 | 16 h 52 | 16 h 27 | 14 h 50 | 12 h 47 | 10 h 43 | 8 h 46 | 7 h 38 |
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.
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.
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: HolmeClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: National Trails: Peddars Way notices (map, part 1) · National Trails: Peddars Way notices (map, part 2). Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
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.
National Trails gives about 4 days for the Peddars Way, in four sections that add up to 78.8 km as published (the last runs on to Hunstanton); on its route file the Peddars Way is 74.8 km from Knettishall Heath to Holme-next-the-Sea, in 4 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers a 4-day plan on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
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.
The nearest station is Thetford (Greater Anglia). The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
Each stay is booked with its owner; there is no booking for the whole trail.
Yes: the whole route and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 2 official notice pages (National Trails: Peddars Way notices (map, part 1); National Trails: Peddars Way notices (map, part 2)); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
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
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