Castle Hedingham Village and Countryside Walk

From the timber-framed buildings and graceful Georgian facades of St James Street, the walk leaves Castle Hedingham, passing the painted village sign, which was erected to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977. Just behind the sign is the pottery, which continues the tradition of pottery in the village that dates back to the 19th century.

The walk then continues through woodland beside the lake, which is in the grounds of Hedingham Castle and on past some charming houses; Keeper's Cottages, a thatched cottage and Yeomans, a cream coloured house with pargetting. Further along, a green lane between willows and hedgerows leads out into open farmland.

At Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan farmhouse, there is an interesting collection of railway carriages, presumably taken from the nearby Colne Valley Railway, and a wind pump.

From Kirby Hall, the walk returns to the heart of the village and the church of St Nicholas. Although renovated in Tudor times, the main fabric of the church is Norman. The south door retains its original Norman ironwork. The door is known as the 'skin door', since fragments of human skin, thought to be that of a church robber, perhaps a Danish Viking, were found under the ironwork. The church also boasts a rare spoke window.

Hedingham Castle was built around 1140 by Aubrey de Vere, and is one of the best preserved Norman keeps in Europe. It stands on a large mound that was originally kept clear of trees to prevent attack in is surrounded by a ditch, now crossed by a Tudor bridge that replaced the original drawbridge.

The castle is built of Barnack stone from Northamptonshire and has immensely strong walls, 12 feet (3.65 metres) thick at the base and 10 feet (3 metres) thick at the top. Four floors are connected by a beautiful spiral staircase, built in a clockwise direction. The reason behind this was to allow the defending soldiers to have their right hand free (for their swords) as they descended the stairs.