Location: On the A1075 Thetford to Watton Road – approx 1 mile south of Watton. Located in the 50mph speed limit – with a brown tourist sign on the bend for the car park.
Parking: Free but limited to approx 20 cars
Difficulty: Amber – well trodden paths in the woods, may be muddy and slippery if wet.
We visited on a Saturday morning in early January. As you can see from the photos it made for a very attractive walk with a light dusting of snow on the ground.
Wayland Wood is run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) and is alleged to be the site which gave rise to the “Babes in the Wood” legend.
There are a variety of walking routes around the site which are well sign posted in the traditional format. The longest walk will likely only take you half an hour so.
Wayland Wood is not a huge site by any means. It is however a very nice walk with lots of wildlife to be seen while we were there. Neither of us would class ourselves as wildlife experts (apart from maybe Horses). But in the time we were there we saw multiple hares, one of which was quite close up. There were also Muntjac deer, rabbits, and a woodpecker flying overhead to name but a few.
Given the time of year and the coating of snow we didn’t see too much of the plant life. However according to information provided by the NWT there is plenty of interest to see in Spring & Summer.
“Bluebells, yellow archangel, water avens, wood anemones, early purple orchids, common twayblade and the rare yellow star-of-Bethlehem all grow here”
Facilities
None on site, this is a small site with no toilets or catering present. However, the town of Watton is only a couple of minutes away in the car where catering and facilities are widely available.
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