This easy circuit, starting in the quiet village of Cratfield, is well-known to local people and in the autumn provides lots of blackberries! It is a quiet and peaceful circuit through farms cultivating grains, oil seed, and sugar beet, in an area which used to be Linstead Magna, the village on the hills above Linstead Parva which lies in the valley below.
c.4.5 miles; 2 hours
The walk starts at the fingerpost, in Bell Green, 50 yards away from The Poacher.
The hedgerows everywhere were filled with berries, nuts, fruit, and rosehips
Linstead Hall, hidden in the trees, is moated and immediately opposite the Hall is another moated square, also surrounded by trees.
The Church of St Peter, Linstead Magna, was in disrepair by 1924, the date of the photograph below, and in 1960 the remains of the tower and part of the north aisle were bulldozed down.
The waymarks around Magna Farm have been removed, and the fields were ploughed, so I followed a broad grassy track along field boundaries (shown on the map above in purple), and struck off towards the raised pond where I rejoined the public footpath. (NB: finding the line of the path may be tricky here when the crops have grown, as the pond will not be visible, so either use common sense, or a compass!)
From Church Farm the path crosses Linstead Farm, dropping down to the ‘Cratfield Stream’ again
Cross over this stile and turn left for the centre of Cratfield.
And an enjoyable stopping point at the end of the walk!
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Linstead Magna
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