Date: 12th – 14th June 2026
Base Location: Lavenham, Suffolk
Price: £40
Overview: A weekend of walking and community in June, based in the famous Suffolk village of Lavenham, pictured above.
With over 300 listed buildings, Lavenham is the best-preserved Medieval town in England.
Lavenham and the surrounding villages of Long Melford, Clare and Cavendish are picture postcard locations made famous by the 80s TV show, ‘Lovejoy’, aided by the nearby towns of Sudbury and Bury St. Edmunds.
Lavenham itself, with its timber-framed buildings and painted homes was the real life inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s fictional village, Godric’s Hollow, in the Harry Potter book and film series.
Scenes from the Deathly Hallows Part One were filmed in Lavenham.
You’ll need to arrange your own accommodation for the Friday and Saturday nights.
Friday 12th June
It doesn’t really matter what time you arrive in Lavenham on the Friday night, but if you’re arriving early enough you can rendezvous to dine and socialize with those from the group who have already arrived, should you wish to.
I’ll be around from 6:00 pm until at least 9:00 pm. We’ll use the Lobby Lounge of one of the Lavenham hotels and I’ll advise which one nearer the time.
Saturday 13th June – Morning Walk
Start Time: 10:30am
Meet Point: Nowton Park Car Park
Distance: 5 miles
Parking: Nowton Park car park is £3 for over 2 hours, which we’ll need. Address: Nowton Park, IP29 5LU. Here’s the West Suffolk Council web page for the car park.
Our morning walk starts from – and proceeds through and around – Nowton Park; a 200 acre estate and manor house built in 1837 on the outskirts of Bury St. Edmunds, 10 miles North of Lavenham.
It’s a delightful environment in which to reconnect with nature for three miles, before venturing further afield toward Hencote Lane and High Green.
Of course, as we’ll be here in June, sadly the daffodils will be gone.
Afternoon Activities
After the walk, our touristy activities take us into Bury St. Edmunds, where we will meet up for lunch (optionally – of course all elements of the weekend are optional) and then the afternoon is yours to explore the town as you wish.
Bury St Edmunds has a history stretching back over 1,000 years, originating as the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Beodricsworth around the 7th century. The town was one of the royal boroughs of the Saxons.
Sigebert, king of the East Angles, founded Beodricesworth monastery here about 633, which in 924 became the burial place of King Edmund the Martyr, who was slain by the Danes in 869, and ‘Bury’ owed most of its early celebrity to the reputed miracles performed at the shrine of the martyr king. The town grew around Bury St Edmunds Abbey, a site of pilgrimage.
One option is to visit Moyse’s Hall Museum, as shown in the two photos below…
Saturday 13th June – Optional Evening Walk
Start Time: 7:00pm
Meet Point: By the War Memorial, Market Place, on Market Lane; Lavenham, CO10 9QZ. This is in the market ‘square’ area in front of the distinctive National Trust – Lavenham Guildhall building.
Distance: 5.5 miles
Parking: As this walk starts in Lavenham you’ll already be parked! 🙂
In the Summer, evening walks is what we do, so as this weekend is intentionally designed for the height of Summer, we’ll schedule an optional evening walk on the Saturday, too.
As we approach the weekend we’ll modify the itinerary to avoid walking in heat, and evening walks are a perfect way to allow us to do that.
This walk takes us from Lavenham, to the nearby small village of Brent Eleigh, and back round in a circular loop.
The War Memorial, Market Place, on Market Lane; Lavenham, CO10 9QZ.
The National Trust – Lavenham Guildhall building, in the same square as the war memorial.
Brent Eleigh and village sign.
We’ll end the walk going past the famous pub, The Swan at Lavenham.
Sunday 14th June
Start Time: 10:30am
Meet Point: By the War Memorial, Market Place, on Market Lane; Lavenham, CO10 9QZ (pictured below). This is in the market ‘square’ area in front of the distinctive National Trust – Lavenham Guildhall building.
Distance: 6 miles
Parking: As this walk starts in Lavenham you’ll already be parked! 🙂
The Lavenham Walk is an established route, using an old railway line which starts just a couple of hundred yards away at the top of the High Street.
The War Memorial, Market Place, on Market Lane; Lavenham, CO10 9QZ.
The National Trust – Lavenham Guildhall building. The war memorial we’ll meet at is in front of this majestic edifice.
Video
This video shows the colourful beauty of Lavenham, where we’ll be based.
“Base Camp Lavenham”
For snacks, self-catering and packed lunch filling there’s;
- East of England Co-op Village Shop opposite The Swan on the High Street
- A regular Co-op at the other (Northern) end of the High Street
- And an olde worlde style Londis (A.R. Heeks) on Market Place (see below)
Refunds
Refunds cannot be given except on a first come basis if the full capacity of the event is reached AND someone from the Waitlist pays for the event.
Group Ethos
This is an inclusive, boundaries respecting group. Participants must act in accordance with this at all times. Failure to do so will result in instant removal from the event and group without refund.
What to do next?
Don’t book any accommodation before you’ve confirmed your place with me.
- Speak to me or message me to let me know you’d like to go.
- I’ll let you have bank details to make a payment.
- Then you can set about arranging accommodation.
You can call me on 07758 351 527.
I look forward to seeing you there,
James
