Bluebells and Bizarre History: A 6.5km Loop Around Coddenham

🚐 There’s nothing quite like the freedom of parking up the campervan, lacing up your shoes, and letting your feet do the steering. Today, we decided to stretch our legs and tackle a beautiful 6.5 km circular walk around the gorgeous Suffolk village of Coddenham. Spoiler alert: We survived, we saw some incredible wildlife, and nobody asked “are we there yet?”… well, maybe only once.

🥾 We left our campervan right in the heart of the village and made our first stop near the local church. Coddenham isn’t just a pretty Suffolk postcard; it’s actually steeped in ancient history. Back in the first century, the Romans knew this place as Combretovium, and it was one of the largest and most important Roman road junctions in the region. You’d think with all those famously straight Roman roads we wouldn’t need a map, but we still managed to double-check our route before heading out towards Sandy Lane.

🌳 Just past Lodge Gate, we ducked off the lane and into the woods, where we were rewarded with one of the greatest natural shows of the season. Nestled between the trees was a brilliant, vibrant carpet of bluebells. It was absolutely magical. You really just have to be there to appreciate it!

🦌 Leaving the woodland floral display behind, we navigated our way towards Brick Kiln Farm, popping out into the wide-open expanse of the fields. It was here that we had our very own David Attenborough moment. As we crossed the farmland, we spotted a beautiful young deer. We froze, it froze, and we shared a peaceful little staring contest until it clearly decided our walking gear wasn’t fashionable enough and bounded off into the distance.

⛪ Eventually, we linked up with Bull’s Road and took a well-earned breather at St Gregory’s Church, which technically belongs to the neighboring parish of Hemingstone. Now, Hemingstone holds what might be my absolute favorite piece of weird British history. In the 12th century, a man named Rowland le Pettour held a manor here under a very specific, and hilarious, royal contract: every Christmas, he had to perform a jump, a whistle, and a fart (unum saltum, unum siffletum, et unum bumbulum) before King Henry II. Suddenly, my party trick of balancing a spoon on my nose seems deeply inadequate!

🌺 Still chuckling about medieval entertainment, we crossed another set of fields toward the Old School House. Long before we saw the house, we smelled it. A massive lilac bush was in full, glorious bloom, and the sweet scent hanging in the air was absolutely stunning. If they could bottle that smell and sell it as an air freshener, I’d buy it by the gallon to keep the campervan smelling fresh.

🏘️ With our senses thoroughly dazzled, we wandered down The Rectory road, enjoying the quiet country peace until it gently merged back with the High Street. From there, it was a short, triumphant march back to the middle of Coddenham. 6.5 kilometers of Roman history, spring flowers, wildlife, and royal flatulence facts—I call that a highly successful walk! Now, if you’ll excuse me, it is absolutely time to put the kettle on.

Here are some photos from todays stroll, click to see them in better format and scroll through.