A Country Amble between Leiston and Saxmundham
Thursday, 2 April 2026
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A 5 mile walk across the Coastal Suffolk landscape between Leiston and Saxmundham
This walk searches out footpaths to connect the neighbouring towns of Leiston and Suffolk. Although there is no direct route, the paths chosen are certainly more conducive to the walker than the busy road route. With the churches of Leiston and Knodishall on the route, plus the mysterious Harris's Pit in the parish of Sternfield there is enough to interest the avid rambler. Sternfield also has the notoriety of being the village from which the last woman to be burnt at the stake in England came.
Walk Statistics
- Start location: Leiston
- End location: Saxmundham
- Distance: miles ( km)
- Total Gain: ft ( metre)
- Total Descent: ft ( metre)
- Min Height: ft ( metre)
- Max Height: ft ( metre)
- Est. Walk Time:
- Walk type: Linear
- Walk Grade: Easy
- Terrain: Footpaths and country lanes
- Obstacles: Some of the footpaths are across open fields and can be obstructed by crops or ploughing at certain times of the year
Maps
The following maps and services can assist in navigating this route. There are links to printed maps and links to downloadable GPX route data for importing into navigational software and apps.
- Ordnance Survey Explorer Map
- OS Explorer 212 - Woodbridge & Saxmundham
- GPX Route File
Walk Notes
An intriguing observation of the landscape between the Suffolk towns of Leiston and Saxmundham is the lack of any direct route connecting the two communities. Although only four miles apart, the B1119 provides a road link that is far from direct; it is full of sharp bends and zig-zags across the open countryside. When viewed on a map, the road looks more like several routes cobbled together to form the modern-day connection. Footpaths also fail to provide a direct route, with the most straightforward option arguably being via Knodishall. This involves a combination of footpaths and country lanes, making it slightly longer than the road, but far more conducive to walking.
From Leiston, there are more direct routes to other cardinal points—Theberton to the north, Sizewell to the east, and Knodishall and Aldeburgh to the south—but not westward towards Saxmundham.
John Carey's 1794 map offers some insight into this situation. From this historic document, it can be seen that the westward road out of Leiston led towards East Green and Kelsale, which lie to the north of Saxmundham. Elements of this route still exist, though no longer as a single road, involving a turn-off at Leiston Crossing, followed by a right and then a left onto the Theberton–Kelsale road. This suggests a plausible conjecture that, in earlier times, Kelsale may have been the more prominent village, with Saxmundham of lesser importance. Since then, the modern road network appears to have evolved in favour of Saxmundham, piecing together a route from pre-existing thoroughfares.
The lack of direct footpaths presents a drawback when travelling between the two places, particularly in situations such as a missed bus or a late-night return. The road is certainly not advisable for walking, as I can attest from experience. It is a fairly busy thoroughfare with little protection for pedestrians, and many motorists treat these winding country lanes as if they were racetracks. It would therefore be advantageous to identify a safer route between the two communities, and this walk achieves just that. Although not direct—requiring a detour via Knodishall—it is largely traffic-free and only slightly longer than the road. It also passes several notable features, including the churches of Leiston and Knodishall.
From Leiston, the route heads towards Highbury Cottages, from where a footpath leads across fields to Knodishall. The name of these cottages appears somewhat curious, as there is nothing in the surrounding landscape to explain it. However, a reference in the local history book From Flint Knappers to Atom Splitters (p131, DY&K May) notes that the cottages were built in the late 19th century by Robert Sawer, a Leiston grocer and draper. The name derives from the London area from which his wife originated.
Upon entering the hamlet of Knodishall, one first encounters a large pond on the left-hand side of the road. Little is known about it, although it is clearly marked on 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps. Continuing along the lane brings you to the Church of St Lawrence, notable for its 15th-century square tower and a chancel rebuilt in 1320. It is thought that a church has stood here since Norman times, and it is recorded in the Domesday entry for Saxmundham.. Little is known
Beyond the church, the route crosses fields and follows lanes towards Moor Farm. On this walk, a cereal crop had obscured the path across the final field leading to the renovated farm buildings, which feature a neat lawn and a large pond. The area to the south was once part of Friston Moor, though little evidence of it remains today, as the land was enclosed and converted to agricultural use in the late 19th century.
A hedgerow briefly followed by the path marks the boundary between the parishes of Knodishall and Sternfield. The village of Sternfield lies to the south, though it is not visible due to the contours of the land. It is nevertheless notable for its association with the last recorded burning at the stake in England. Margery Beddingfield was convicted, along with her lover, of murdering her husband, for which she paid the ultimate price. Further details of this episode can be found in the features accompanying this walk.
Also within Sternfield parish is Harris’s Pit and Belt. Little is known about this large wooded pit adjacent to a belt of trees and a pond. It is likely that “Harris” refers to a former landowner, and that the pit originated from marl extraction, although its shape resembles less a pit than a dry moat surrounding a central island. Both the pit and belt are marked on late 19th-century maps, confirming they are not modern features. Despite efforts to uncover more information, little has come to light, and even the name appears to have fallen out of local use. As roads have come to dominate movement through the area, older tracks and landscape features have faded from memory. One might expect such a hidden hollow to have attracted children seeking a secret den, but there is no evidence of this.
Before reaching Saxmundham, the path passes near the site of Great Wood, once an area of ancient woodland located to the right of the track towards Wood Farm. Sadly, this was cleared in the early 1920s (ref:archaeological desk based assessment ), although it still appeared on Ordnance Survey maps as late as the 1950s. Today, its former presence can only be detected from the air, where darker soil hints at its location. The area is now set to become the site of a large wind farm substation, so it is worth appreciating the view while it remains.
Refreshments
There are no opportunities for refreshments along the route. However, Saxmundham offers cafés, supermarkets, and local shops. Unfortunately, its pubs have not survived in recent years, and the town has lost all its hostelries.
Directions
The most direct way to walk between Leiston and Saxmundham avoiding the main road
- Depart Leiston town centre following cross Street.
- At the junction with Haylings Road proceed directly across into Victory Road and continue alongside the park. A footpath continues at the far end of the road ends and leads around to Leiston church.
- Pass by the church on the lane which junctions with Waterloo Avenue, turn left and follow the road out of Leiston.
- Pass over to the right hand side pavement, continuing beyond the cemetery and past the housing estate after which there is a terrace of older cottages, named Highbury Cottages
- Cross over the road and take the footpath across the field - this is usually a track followed by farm vehicles and can be muddy in winter.
- After the track passes through a field boundary turn right and follow the boundary.
- At the far end, the path crosses a ditch with a footbridge, then takes a diagonal across the next field to emerge onto Church Lane.
- Turn left and follow the lane into Knodishall village.
- Continue through the village, down the hill where the road crosses over the River Hundred, little more than a ditch.
- Take the footpath on the right which follows the field boundary around to School Lane. Turn right and follow the lane to the T-junction.
- Turn right and after 150 m turn left onto a concreted track to Little Moor Farm.
- At the end of the track, pass to the right of the buildings and follow the footpath that veers around to the right to emerge on the left hand side of the hedgerow.
- Continue along the hedgerow for 200 m where a footpath leads off on the left to follow the field boundary
- The footpath passes Moor Farm on the left then leads onto a track, turn right and follow the track for 250 m where a footpath on the left leads across a footbridge and across a field.
- At the end of the field is a track, the footpath continues straight ahead through an area of Christmas trees, after which leads up to Harris's Pit.
- Keep straight ahead past the pit on the right, following the hedgerow on the left.
- At the far end the path cuts through the hedgerow to continue in the same direction. Unfortunately the footpath signs are longer there and it is a case of following the path between two crop fields that meet with no boundary.
- At the end of the field, the path meets a track to Wood Farm, a conglomeration of building that can be seen straight ahead. Head towards these buildings.
- After 275 m , before you get to the buildings, there is a footpath on the right that leads diagonally across the field, take this
- The footpath leads out onto a track, bear right and follow the track to the main road into Saxmundham.
- Follow the road, there are pavements all the way through into town.
Features
Leiston churchView in OS Map | View in Google Map
The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded three churches in the parish of Leiston. These were likely the chapel at Aldringham; the former St Nicholas Church at Sizewell, which has long since disappeared, probably due to coastal erosion; and a church on the site of the present St Margaret of Antioch Church, west of the modern town centre. Interestingly, two shields decorate each of the hymn number boards in the church. The common shield, depicting a key and sword, is said to represent St Peter and St Paul. The other two bear the initials SM and SN, thought to refer to St Margaret at Leiston and St Nicholas at Sizewell.
The church, dedicated to St Margaret, was appropriated by Leiston Abbey from its first foundation in 1180, along with the chapel of St Nicholas at Sizewell, supporting the evidence of its existence prior to that date. Alfred Suckling describes the church in his 1844 book The History and Antiquities of Suffolk:
The fabric of this church comprises a nave and chancel of the same width, with a square tower at the west end, containing five bells. It is a very long and rather gloomy edifice, covered with thatch, and displays less of elegance and cost than might have been expected, considering its revenues were so long absorbed by the neighbouring abbey. For the monks, with all their rapacity and faults, were not niggard of their treasures, when required in the erection of places of divine worship. How many of their conventional churches rivalled, if they did not surpass, the glories of our noblest cathedrals ! The presence of a few lancet windows in the church at Leiston seems to show that it was erected about half a century after its appropriation by the abbey, and possibly on the site of one of the three Saxon churches mentioned in Domesday. There is a window in the south wall of the chancel of rather more elegant pattern than the rest, which appears to have been put in at the cost of a private individual and his wife; for in the year 1824, on the writer's first visit to this church, a legend on the wall might be then deciphered, which seemed to commemorate such a benefaction.
This description predates the rebuilding of the church in 1853, when the original structure—apart from the tower—was demolished and replaced with the current cruciform building, comprising north and south transepts, porches, a chancel, and a nave. The work was undertaken by local builders William Kemp and William Hardy.
The dedication to St Margaret of Antioch is noteworthy. Margaret was the daughter of Aedesius, a pagan priest of Antioch, during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian (284–305). She adopted Christianity and consecrated her virginity to God. Her father disowned her, and she was taken in by her nurse, who raised her as a shepherd in the countryside. The Roman governor of the Diocese of the East, Olybrius, asked for her hand in marriage, but she refused due to her faith. She was tortured, including being swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon. According to legend, she escaped when the dragon’s belly burst open, killing it with a cross-tipped spear—a rather dramatic end for the unfortunate dragon.
Folklore and Black Shuck
The legendary ghostly hound of East Anglia is commonly known as Old Shuck or Black Shuck. A lesser-known name is the Galleytrot, now largely forgotten in Leiston. However, a 1961 Country Life article recounts:
The late Lady Walsingham often told me that she and Lady Rendlesham waited up in Leiston churchyard one night to see the 'Galley-trot'. They saw it. A huge black dog with glowing eyes suddenly loped up the road, noiselessly, leapt the churchyard wall and vanished among the gravestones.
James Wentworth's 1954 book Ghosts and Witches adds:
One night at Leiston in Suffolk, on the coast, where the Dog is known as 'The Galleytrot', she and the then Lady Rendlesham sat up in the churchyard to watch. At twelve precisely a slinking, sable shadow slipped among the gravestones like a wraith, leaped the low churchyard wall and slid down the dark lane towards the sand hills like an evil whisper.
The identities of Lady Rendlesham and Lady Walsingham remain uncertain, though given the dates, Lady Rendlesham may have been the wife of John Lord Rendlesham (d. 1856), whose daughter was Lady Walsingham. The tale is no longer widely known locally, and other sightings of Galleytrots or Shucks in Leiston churchyard appear unrecorded.
In 2014, the DigVentures archaeology team unearthed a skeleton of a large dog, which the media sensationalized as Black Shuck. This speculation was unfounded. For those interested in the history and sightings of Black Shuck, the Hidden East Anglia website offers a detailed article analysing reports over the centuries and debunking common myths surrounding the legend.
References
Sternfield MurderView in OS Map | View in Google Map
Sternfield is arguably best known for being the site of the last woman to be burnt at the stake in England. Margery Beddingfield, a farmer’s wife, was accused of conspiring to murder her husband in 1763.
The story begins in 1759 when John Beddingfield, a young Sternfield farmer, married 17-year-old Margery, the daughter of Blaxhall farmer John Rowe. Their marriage initially appeared happy, and the couple soon had two children, growing up in their Sternfield farmhouse. Also living in the household were their servants: Elizabeth Riches, a nursemaid, and two boys, William Masterson and John Nun, aged 14 and 10, who worked as cowhands.
By 1761, John Beddingfield, then 24, had taken on two additional servants: Richard Ringe, to assist on the farm, and Elizabeth Cleobold, as a nursemaid. Within six months, it became clear to the servants that Margery Beddingfield and Richard Ringe were engaged in a clandestine affair. The servants occasionally caught them in intimate moments, such as sneaking a kiss or, on one occasion, Margery lying in Ringe’s lap. The affair was so brazen that Margery would sometimes ask the servants to deliver notes to Ringe, even though he lived under the same roof. Despite their knowledge, the servants remained silent, fearing Margery’s notorious temper.
As the affair progressed, Margery began to suggest schemes to murder her husband so she and Ringe could be together. At first, Ringe dismissed these ideas, but eventually he became complicit in a plot to kill John Beddingfield.
The first plan involved poison. Ringe procured arsenic from the Aldeburgh apothecary and attempted to enlist Elizabeth Riches in administering it. He hoped she would slip the poison into her master’s morning drink of rum and milk. She refused, declaring, …if it was bidden in this world, it would not be bidden in the world to come.
An opportunity eventually arose when Mr Beddingfield was unwell and asked Ringe to fetch water from the farm pond to cool his drink. Ringe added arsenic to the water, but Beddingfield noticed sediment and refused to drink, assuming it came from the pond.
With poisoning failing, the conspirators switched to strangulation. John often slept alone, and Mrs Beddingfield arranged for such an opportunity. On 27 July, after a day of farm work and selling a cow to a local butcher, the couple retired for the night. Mrs Beddingfield chose to sleep in a separate bedroom, the kitchen chamber, while instructing nursemaid Elizabeth Cleobold to accompany her.
Ringe, sharing a room with the two servant boys, waited until the house was silent. He then crept to the parlour chamber, where Mr Beddingfield slept. After observing him for fifteen minutes, Ringe attacked, clutching his master’s throat. The two struggled, and both fell from the bed, tearing down the curtain and bending the rod. Ringe regained his grip and continued choking Mr Beddingfield until he went limp. The deed was done.
Unbeknownst to Ringe, Elizabeth Cleobold had been awakened by the noise. She witnessed enough to identify him by voice. Ringe claimed he had been compelled to act and warned her to stay silent.
The following sequence involved deception. Mrs Beddingfield and Cleobold pretended to be frightened and summoned Elizabeth Riches to fetch Ringe under the pretence that something is the matter with your master.
Ringe complied, and once at the scene, he declared to the household that John Beddingfield had died from a fall from his bed. The maids, skeptical but complicit, remained quiet.
The body was later placed on the bed, and Ringe fetched Mr Beddingfield’s mother and sister. The coroner’s inquest the next day was superficial. Servants testified cautiously, withholding key information for fear of reprisal. A surgeon, Sparham, made only a hasty examination and concluded that the blackened face and throat were caused by the deceased’s own fingers. The verdict was accidental death, and John Beddingfield was buried.
For a brief period, the perpetrators continued their illicit relationship. But within weeks, Mrs Beddingfield grew tired of Ringe, and their affair soured into hatred. Meanwhile, Cleobold, nearing the end of her service and aware of the upcoming Saxmundham Assizes, disclosed the truth to her mother and Elizabeth Riches. Word quickly reached Mrs Beddingfield, who confronted the servants. They vowed to testify, prompting Mrs Beddingfield to warn Ringe, Now, Richard, you are done for; you will certainly be hanged.
Despite attempts to manipulate their testimony, the servants refused. Mrs Beddingfield attempted to abscond but was captured within days. Both she and Ringe were taken into custody.
The trial, held on 21 March 1763, led to capital convictions. Ringe was sentenced to be hanged, then dissected and atomized, while Margery Beddingfield was to be burnt at the stake. Both had initially pleaded innocence, but Ringe later confessed, followed by Mrs Beddingfield.
Richard Ringe was hanged at Ipswich on Friday, 8 April 1763, at the gallows located east of the town at Rushmere. Margery Beddingfield’s execution was mitigated by contemporary practice: the Sheriff allowed her to be strangled before the faggots were set alight.
he full trial transcript and confessions are available in The Genuine Trial of Margery Beddingfield and Richard Ringe along with a written account in The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year, Volume 6.
References
- The new Suffolk garland; a miscellany of anecdotes, romantic ballads, descriptive poems and songs, historical and biographical notices, and statistical returns relating to the county of Suffolk; (1866)
- The Genuine Trial of Margery Beddingfield and Richard Ring (1763)
- The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year, Volume 6
- Blaxhall village website history page
Image Gallery
Route Validation Cards
Validation Date - 2014-03-22
- Time of Walk: 10:30 to 12:30
- Validators: Griffmonster, Kat
- Weather Conditions: Bright sunny day with bubbling clouds and rather cool
- Notes: Initial route undertaken
Validation Date - 2026-04-01
- Time of Walk: 07:30 - 09:00
- Validators: Griff
- Conditions: Warm but overcast
- Notes: The path through the Christmas trees was ploughed up. The end path across to the road had been tilled and was difficult to determine, followed the trackor tracks and came out at the wrong point.
Summary of Document Changes
Last Updated: 2026-04-02
- 2014-03-04 : Initial publication
- 2015-03-26 : Added information about Highbury Cottages
- 2019-01-02 : general website updates
- 2019-12-06 : New responsive format
- 2021-03-17 : Update website improvements and removal of ViewRanger reliance
- 2021-12-01 : Removal of ViewRanger links due to its imminent demise
- 2026-01-12 : Major website update with all walks recast to the new format
- 2026-04-02 : Review and update of text
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