21st August 2025, with the forecast hot but with a cooling wind we took a chance. This is a walk I’ve been wanting to do all summer but the heat has kept me away. Please, walk along with us; here’s where I spent my school holidays as a young teen
21st August 2025
As soon as off the bus the nostalgia begins 🔼 such an iconic sight. This road led to my grandma’s cottage. The number of times travelled, yet I’d never noticed this outhouse perched high on the bank 🔽
21st August 2025
21st August 2025
You’d be forgiven if you thought I’ve an obsession with wending-windy lanes 🔼🔽 yet in this age of ergonomically designed straight lines they add enchantment
21st August 2025
Wide grassy verges these days tend to be trimmed down to oblivion. But not here. Though most of this vegetation looks like it’s grown from a spillage of someone’s bird seed 🔽 (Apples of Peru, not native!)
21st August 2025
Sheep pastured in a meadow sown with Fat Hen 🔽 I grinned fit to catch robins, delighted to see the old ways returning
21st August 2025
21st August 2025
🔼 A footpath (almost certainly a road back in the day) runs parallel though at a distance to the official metalled traffic-bearing road and joins Hempnall (maternal family) with Saxlingham Thorpe (paternal family) 🔽 midway is this – ‘Mud Hole’ marked on old maps as Mud Hall
21st August 2025
I don’t know the history of Mud Hall other than it once stood here 🔽 Masonry still exists, and rampant remains of a fruit garden
21st August 2025
21st August 2025
🔼🔽 Saxlingham Thorpe’s church of St Mary’s was declared ruined in 1687. A long story short: The vicar of adjacent Saxlingham Nethergate was given care of both churches but cared not for Thorpe. Thorpe’s parishioners were baptised, married, buried at Nethergate church, all recorded in a separate (Thorpe) register. These included some of the Kemps’ forebears, although our name-bearing Kemps didn’t arrive in Saxlingham until circa 1800
21st August 2025
21st August 2025
Over the centuries the village of Saxlingham Thorpe migrated westward, towards River Tas, knocking on Newton Flotman’s door. 🔼Footpaths remain were once were roads. Remaining roads are little used this one delivers us to our bus stop for our return to the coast.
21st August 2025
Hope you enjoyed this walk and my potted history. More photos on Tuesday
crispina kemp 
What a great exploration you took us on this morning. I love those wending-windy roads- and the tidbits of personal history were delectable too!
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Thank you, Violet. I’d waited all summer to do that walk. Glad you enjoyed
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The sheep look like they’re smiling!! I too, like winding roads/paths (during daylight hours), and I LOVE pictures of “ruins”…they’re so evocative. Thanks for letting me go with you, from afar!
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You’re always welcome. I love this land of my birth where my roots dig deep and I love to share that love with others
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The other thing I noticed, but forgot to mention–it’s So GREEN there, wow!
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We are lucky in that respect, despite a mostly dry summer
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That IS a blessing.
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Low land, high water table, probably explains it
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Ahaaaa!
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I loved the history , the walk and the views of Saxlingham Thorpe. Wonderful Crispina 💜💜💜
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Thank you, Willow. I could have said so much more, but I was sensibly restrained (don’t laugh, I know those words aren’t often applied to me!)
❤️💛🧡💛❤️
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😃😃😃😃 I live it 💜💜💜
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💜💜💜
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Love it even 💜💜💜
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😉
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I very much enjoyed your nostalgic walk. Wonderful to see where you spent some of your childhood!
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I always enjoy the return visits
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Lovely photos
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Thank you. Sadje
❣️
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You’re welcome
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🙏💖
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Wonderful walk today! Love those affable sheep!
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Weren’t they lovely. I have photos of calves, too, but they’re not so cuddly
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great place to walk
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There are so many public footpaths in this area, plus usually the road are quiet…but not that day, the tractors were out in numbers
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🍃🙂🍃
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🥰🥰🥰
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🙂🙂
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