Walks you can reach from Westerfield by train

Tidal marshes, oak woodland and sandy heaths leading to the National Trust's Sutton Hoo estate above the Deben — the archaeological site of outstanding international importance where the great Anglo-Saxon ship burial was found.

Sutton Hoo

Time: 2h30

Lunch: Pubs on the main road between Melton station and the Bromeswell turning, plus pubs and a shop in Melton village; café and shop at Sutton Hoo.

Warnings: The reed-bed boardwalk is impassable at very high tide (a roadside alternative is provided); cross the road junction with extreme care; beware golf activity crossing Woodbridge Golf Club.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

Lowland heathland, river marshes, estuary walls, reedbeds, poplar rows, quiet lanes, heathland golf course and compact riverside town.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Café in ticketed area.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Reverse direction: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

An all-weather route above the Deben flood plain through the picturesque village of Ufford, whose flint-and-stone flushwork church holds finely carved bench ends and a famous telescopic font cover reaching to the roof.

St Mary's Church, Ufford

Ufford

Lunch: Village shop at Campsea Ashe; Station House café at Wickham Market station (note the town and its station are a long way apart).

1 end-of-walk reward: the Dog and Duck

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

Field paths and riverbank along the bird-rich tidal Orwell, taking in the Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Trimley Marshes reserve of lagoons, reed beds and grazing meadows, with panoramic estuary views from Sleighton Hill.

Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve

Lunch: Pubs, shops and cafés in the Trimley villages near the station.

Warnings: Remote countryside with no facilities en route — carry food and drink, especially water.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

From an isolated rural station, extensive views across quiet, unspoiled working countryside contrast with intimate scenes such as the diminutive parish church at Redisham, evocatively described in Adrian Bell's 'Apple Acre' when decked for the harvest festival.

Redisham Church

Redisham

Time: 3h30

1 lunch spot: the Shadingfield Fox

Warnings: Livestock graze parts of the route — keep dogs under close control; one road section has no footway, so beware traffic.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

A network of field paths, farm tracks and quiet lanes across the isolated northern side of the Felixstowe peninsula, with elevated views out to sea and reedy dykes draining to the tidal Deben; the longest option runs via Falkenham church and creek.

Time: 5h

End-of-walk reward: Café at Felixstowe Ferry; plenty of choice on the Felixstowe seafront and in the town centre.

Warnings: Remote farmland with no facilities for most of the route — carry food and drink, especially water; controlled crossings of the A14.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

A long route on the Stour & Orwell Walk following the north bank of the Orwell estuary through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with vantage points over wide mud flats from low wooded cliffs above Nacton shore, finishing through Ipswich's riverside parks.

Time: 7h

1 lunch spot: the Ship Inn

End-of-walk reward: Café at the Holywells Park stable block and ample choice on the Ipswich Waterfront.

Warnings: A long 14-mile route; beware traffic on the Ipswich Road section near Nacton.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

The longest and most rewarding walk in the series, through isolated, remote countryside, woodland, lush meadows and the light terrain of the Suffolk Sandlings; this option detours to the world-famous Snape Maltings, where the route meets the Sandlings Walk and the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Path.

Snape Maltings

Time: 7h

Lunch: Crown and Golden Key pubs in Snape village.

Warnings: Cross the busy A12 with caution; the valley bottom and one section near the cottage can be waterlogged or flooded in winter.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

Field and park paths to the picturesque village of Yoxford — known as 'The Garden of Suffolk' — approached across the pastures of Rookery Park along a line of ancient oaks; the village was once a staging point on the London-to-Yarmouth turnpike.

Yoxford

Lunch: Village shop and the Griffin and King's Head pubs in Yoxford.

1 end-of-walk reward: Darsham Nurseries Café

Warnings: Cross the main roads with extreme caution.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

Broad valley views above the little River Yox, through the village of Bramfield — whose thatched church has a detached round tower and the best rood screen in Suffolk, with a fine crinkle-crankle wall opposite — then riverside meadows along the Blyth to Halesworth.

St Andrew's Church, Bramfield

Bramfield

Lunch: Darsham Nurseries café near the level crossing at the start.

1 end-of-walk reward: the Cut Arts Centre Café

Warnings: The route crosses a golf course — follow the white marker stakes.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

Through the green parklands surrounding Redisham Hall — country of the East Anglian writer Adrian Bell, who farmed nearby in the 1940s — a delightful interlude in a predominantly arable landscape, with a riverside finish on the Waveney at Beccles.

Redisham

Beccles

Lunch: No pubs or shops directly on the route (the Horseshoes Inn at Ringsfield Corner is about ¼ mile off route) — carry food and drink.

1 end-of-walk reward: Beccles Station Café

Warnings: Cattle often graze the Redisham Hall meadows — keep dogs under close control; cross the busy B1062 with care.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).

A walk of contrasts between ancient and modern Suffolk — a 'Fantastical' modern house topped by a metal dragon set against traditional farmsteads — following part of the former perimeter track of the WW2 airfield that was home to the US fighter group famed as 'Zemke's Wolfpack', whose memorials and museum stand among ancient hedgerows.

Halesworth (Holton) Airfield Memorial Museum

Time: 2h30

End-of-walk reward: No pubs or shops on the route; plenty of choice in Halesworth (seasonal teas at Sunnyside Farm, Westhall, on Thursdays and Fridays in August).

Warnings: Brampton station serves an isolated community with no amenities — the walk is best done north to south, ending at Halesworth.

Walk details: East Suffolk Lines (PDF).