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Hartest is in "High Suffolk", quite different from the flatter heaths, forests and fens to the north and east of the county. The views from the hills around the village can easily remind you of Devon, with All Saints Church and several medieval buildings clustered around The Green at the cross roads. The community has existed as a village for over a thousand years, earlier spellings of the name Hartest suggest that it originates from Harts' (deer) Wood. This is reflected in the village sign that shows a stag and the Hartest Stone. This walk comes from a leaflet produced by the Hartest and District Conservation Group who have published the details of two circuits that provide a 10 mile trail into the adjoining parishes of Somerton and Boxted. However, the walk I have chosen is only 31/2 miles long, has short cuts if required, and starts from The Green at the village centre. From the Village Institute walk down past The Green to the Crown Inn, originally the Moot Hall. Like other nearby buildings bears a private fire insurance company mark on its gable end from the days when villages had their own privately subscribed fire brigades. Turn right on the path between the pub car park and the church, walking through the shade of the trees to reach a footbridge over the stream. Turn right along the edge of the stream to emerge out at a field edge. Turn sharply left on the grassy field edge path up the hill to the top corner of the field. There is a wonderful view of the village nestling in the fold of the valley from here. Pass through a gap in the hedge and continue in the next field, still on a field edge path. At the corner turn left into the adjoining field, following the path out to the road at the top of Hartest Hill. Turn left down the road as far as Hill Farm and then right by a flint and brick wall on a well mown field edge path. Continue on in the next field, heading towards Lord's Farm, and following the field edge path to the left of the buildings. At the other side of the farm complex join a concrete track towards Tower Lodge, but following the hedge lined concrete track left at a junction and down hill. At the bottom where the track becomes tarmac, turn right on a shady track and then bearing left by a house, on the path up the left side of the field. At the top corner of the field bear left to reach a crossing track and turn left. Where the track turns sharply right continue straight on along a wide grassy path between a hedge on the left and a new plantation of young trees on the right. At the next junction continue straight on again through a gap in the hedge, still on the right of the hedge. At the the corner pass through a gap in the hedge, across a field, and out to the Lawshall Road. Turn right along the road for about 300 metres and then turn left at the double bend, along a path marked with a footpath sign. After a few metres from the road turn right on a wide grassy path, walking as far as the end of the hedge and a junction. Turn left across the fields and down hill on a track, zig-zagging right and then left, and out to the road. Turn left along the tarmac road, passing Tan Office Farm, to reach the main road at Cross Green. Turn left on the roadside footway and down as far as the bridge at the bottom. Cross to the footpath on the right and continue on to reach The Green. Many of the buildings around The Green are medieval and were once shops and local business, supplying the needs of what was once a self supporting village. On the left is a huge stone that was discovered in a field at Somerton and dragged to its present resting place by a team of horses. The Hartest Stone is thought to be a boulder left in the Ice Age as the glaciers melted. Continue on along the edge of The Green and past the boulder to reach the cross roads and the start of the walk near the Village Institute. Fact FileLocation: Hartest is 22 miles west of Ipswich and 8 miles south of Bury St. EdmundsStart: Hartest Village Institute, Ordnance Survey map reference TL 833525 Length: 3½ miles (short cuts available via roads) Conditions: Field edge paths, tracks and road, no stiles How to get there: - Public Transport: For details telephone Suffolk County Council's Public Transport Information TraveLine - 08459 583358 By car: From Bury St. Edmunds south on A143 and B1066. From Sudbury north through Long Melford and then on B1066 Car Parking: Free at Hartest Village Institute, please do not park on The Green Refreshments: The Crown Inn Public Toilets: None Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer sheet 211 Bury St. Edmunds & Stowmarket Information: Leaflet - Hartest Countryside Walks, available from Suffolk County Council, TICs and local outlets (20p +s.a.e.) Walking on the web: http://www.anderton.btinternet.co.uk
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