Suffolk Steps is a collection of local historic walks and trails developed by museums and partners throughout Suffolk. The free walks are designed to help all ages stay active and uncover hidden history in the towns and Suffolk countryside.
Keeping active is a key theme for Suffolk Steps partner, Keep Moving Suffolk, a local campaign aimed at helping people stay active during the Covid-19 pandemic. Keep Moving Suffolk aims to inspire and encourage people to stay active, move or move more, by sharing ideas, tips, useful links and positive stories during these unprecedented times, using the hashtag #KeepMovingSuffolk.
Walking is a simple, free way of exercising and is one of the easiest ways to stay active and become healthier. A brisk 10-minute walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise. Whatever your age, increased physical activity is linked to helping people lead a healthier and happier life with lower incidences of chronic illness.
You can explore Suffolk Steps by downloading the trails to your phone, or printing the guides if you have access to a printer. There is so much to see, from the 125 acres of serene countryside at West Stow County Park, to the ruins at medieval Dunwich, a once great medieval port that disappeared beneath the waves to become the scenic coastal village it is today.
Follow the trail around Thomas Gainsborough’s Sudbury and walk in the footsteps of the 18th century master of portrait and landscape painting. Travel back in time to height of the silk and weaving industry as you pass the historic houses and production centres of wealthy merchants and clothiers.
You can also take in the largest Millennium Green in England in Halesworth along the historic Malt trail or go off the beaten track with Orford Museum’s Elizabethan map of the village.
Readers of Families Suffolk Magazine can pull out and keep a free map of some of the walks in the latest issue, which is out soon.
As with any form of outdoor exercise, please follow the current Government guidelines on staying safe outside your home.
When enjoying the outdoors, follow the Countryside Code : Respect other people and protect the natural environment by leaving no trace of your visit.
Share your walk pictures and stories using the hashtag #SuffolkSteps
