Adkins Wood Ickworth Park Suffolk

7.5 miles in 1 hr 6 mins 53 seconds

In a break from work at lunch time I ran up to Ickworth Park from Bury St Edmunds. My plan being to seek out the cooler shade of Adkins Wood on a fairly warm day.

Running through Little Horringer Hall Farm up the hill past a large field of barley I was met by a group of cyclists coming at a fair lick down hill. The path being narrow they thankfully saw me and gave way just in time.

At one point I had contemplated jumping into the barley to avoid a collision.

This run is nearly all over fields but emerging from Little Horringer Hall Farm you do arrive on Westley Lane. There is little traffic but cars do tend to hurtle along this stretch and you have to be on guard because of the bends in teh road before you arrive in Horringer Village.

Once in the village you can quickly venture into Ickworth Park and turning immeadiately left you can explore Adkins Wood.







Still muddy in many places it was a case of running from side to side along the track and skipping over puddles but at times with no option just plonking straight into the mud.

This is a run with lakes to visit on route. The first lake is known as the Fairy Lake and is always quiet in fact I don't think I have ever seen anyone there when I have run past.



















Close to the fairly lake is a duckboard footpath. It was really good to see that this has all been replaced. The previous duckboard in this muddy section had disintegrated to the point where the remaining boards were removed last year. The new boards are nice and solid and there is no bounce as there was on the old timbers.

The next lake which is more well known to any visitor to the National Trust site at Ickworth is the Canal Lake.





















In the photo you can see in the foreground a summer house , behind which there is a small vineyard which produces some fine qulaity English wine. St Mary's Church at Ickworth has been derelict for many years but there is a sign there now to indicate that restoration works are now being undertaken by English Heritage. In the background on the right is Ickworth House.

I ran very slowly today not entirely sure why but this run is more about enjoying the sites and there is always something different to see. For instance today a large school party were enjoying a wildlife trip to the park with a packed lunch.




















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