It’s no surprise that May is National Walking Month – it’s a great month for a weekend wander and sunny strolls are a brilliant way to explore parts of Norfolk you’re unfamiliar with.
That’s exactly what we did last weekend, heading to the far west of the county to Downham Market to experience the ‘Gingerbread Trail’.
Sitting on the bank of the River Great Ouse, Downham Market is a traditional Norfolk market town – one of Norfolk’s oldest in fact – so it’s steeped in history.
King John stayed in the town in 1216 on what turned out to be a disastrous journey to King’s Lynn where he contracted dysentery, then lost his treasure crossing The Wash as he continued his trek to Newark, where he died.
On May Day in 1646, King Charles I came to Downham Market to hide after the Battle of Naseby.
As well as Royal escapades, in the 19th century, there are connections to Food Riots and Flat Earth Debates.
The area is full of historic buildings and interesting architecture. Which leads to our walk…
Downham Market has a nickname, which it earned from some of its unique buildings. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘gingerbread town’ because of the local carrstone which has been used for buildings since medieval times. When first built, these buildings have the red-orange colour of gingerbread.
The ‘Gingerbread Town Trail’ is a nice, easy walk around the town, and enables you to take in some of the buildings connected to the local history. With a variety of places to eat including cafés, restaurants and pubs, you can stop mid-way, or after the walk and grab a coffee or a bite to eat.
We parked for free in the car park on Paradise Road (don’t be fooled by the nice name – it apparently has dark origins, that we’ll leave for you to discover). The whole trail took us just over an hour, covering about 2km. It’s a fairly easy urban walk that’s mostly accessible. We stopped in The Whalebone afterwards – of medieval construction and now a Wetherspoons – and enjoyed some brunch.
It was a really interesting deep dive into the history of an area that, despite being Andrew’s actual birthplace, neither of us knew much about. We found Downham to be a lovely, friendly place. it’s well maintained with a really vibrant, up-and-coming feel about it and simply loads of interesting history.
Disclaimer: You will see no houses made of actual Gingerbread. This irked our son immensely who felt he’d been duped into a family walk.
Fortunately, I think he had a lovely time.
Download the Trail here and enjoy it yourself!
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