by There is a huge memorial on the side of the A11, standing amongst the twisted pines. It was erected to commemorate the local dead in the First World War. For my family, however, it is “Grandma’s Monument”. Years ago while caught up on a road trip out of our native Norfolk, my grandmother got up on her own and gazed at the pillar – while overtaking a nettle.
I only mention this because most people’s experience of this Norfolk/Suffolk hinterland is equally short. Not lingering to look around, but flying on the way that used to be the old Roman road between London and Norwich. I’ve done it myself many times: I’ve clocked the monument, noticed how its surroundings look strangely like the African Savannah, then continued endlessly to find out why.
Well, not this time. I would come to visit the Brecks, this “broken land” of sandy soil, dry heathland, acid grasslands, glacial ponds, floating boats, abundant archeology and Britain’s largest lowland pine forest. It is not a designated National Landscape. But Nick Dickson, manager of the National Lottery-funded Brecks’ Fen Edge & Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme, explained that it was “top of the list that didn’t make it”. 40 per cent of the Brecks are covered by conservation designations and harbor 28 per cent of all rare species in the UK. “It was recognized as something very special,” Nick said.
So, rather than drive through the Brecks, I walked in. The Lark Valley Path runs from Bury St Edmunds, on the southern edge of the Brecks, to Mildenhall. The Lark, a rare river of chalk, was once a major trade route for goods to the North Sea; parts of it were canceled by the Romans, and pleasure boats ran to Bury until about 1910. It is now only navigable by canoe, its waters empty only for water dogs and kingfishers.
I walked past its old locks, village churches, cast iron bridge and snowy woods and, after eight peaceful miles, I reached the Anglo-Saxon Village of West Stow Park. West Stow was first excavated by Basil ‘Sutton Hoo’ Brown; although evidence shows that the site was used from the Mesolithic to the late Middle Ages, its main interest is Anglo-Saxon. Remains of 69 submerged feature buildings (SFBs) were found.
“We think it was settled in AD 420-ish,” heritage officer Stephanie Paull said, showing me around. “When the excavation was finished [the archaeologists] that he had new ideas about how these buildings could be built. They wanted to know if their theories would work so they built one. Then the rest was done using different techniques. The whole point is that we are a big archaeological experiment.”
Stephanie took me into the reconstructed SMBs, some wood-smoked, some without fireplaces, some without windows, some with floors and sleeping platforms, some bare. The houses here are the best estimates, and all the more interesting for it. “The questions keep you up at night,” Stephanie said. “But I love the idea that you could go back in a time machine and find out it’s wrong. This site is so important, so fluid.”
You can’t stay in the Village, but you can sleep down the road. Set in a patch of woodland, on the edge of the King’s Forest, West Stow Pods give a hint of wild Brecks living, albeit with proper kitchens and beds. Owner Jan Lengyel showed me to “Wulfrun”, my Anglo-Saxon cabin for the night, and told me exactly how much other old stuff there is around here. “Within a mile is Beeches Pit, where they found evidence of the oldest use of fire in Britain, dating back 450,000 years,” Jan told me. “The whole area is amazing.” I was starting to agree.
The next morning I met Nick Dickson, who drove me down the back of the Brecks, through endless forest and important heather, to learn more about the restoration of the region’s waters, including its pingos. A distinctive feature of the Brecks, commonly found in the Arctic, the pingos (Inuit for “little hill”) are shallow ponds formed by glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age, fed by underground aquifers. “There’s a ton of independent hydrology going on,” explained John Preston of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. “Two heads could be next to each other, one full, one empty. It hinders you.”
We met John at Thompson Common, at the beginning of the Pingo Trail, a seven-mile walk through Louisiana bayou-like landscapes. There are 400 pingos here, “some beautiful”, John said, “others dark, inky and hideous – but there are rare species that like them that way.”
He told me about reviving plough-damaged “ghost phingos” to create more habitat for species such as pond frogs – England’s rarest amphibians – who like to hang out here on summer evenings. As he spoke, eight red deer shot out of the trees, and the hedgerows were strewn with yellow-jays and finches.
A major part of the Brecks Fen & Rivers scheme is promoting health and well-being, and connecting locals and visitors alike to the landscape. One strand of this is the Healing Waters outdoor swimming project, which has provided opportunities for people to try wild swimming in a safe environment. This explains how I ended up diving into the full and frigid River Ouse on a February afternoon, with some strange swans and a handful of swimmers.
Ellen Kirkby was one of them; she attended an initial session 18 months ago, found it very beneficial and now runs her own swimming group. “I’ve lived on the edge of the Brecks all my life,” she told me, “but I didn’t explore it until I started swimming.”
Although the water was diverting, the most iconic features of the Brecks are their pine lines: rows of bent Scots and Corsican firs, striking silhouettes against the great East Anglian skies. Why are they here? No one knows. The best theory is that in the 19th century, an enterprising nurseryman had a lot of tree work to sell and managed to convince landowners to make good hedges. These pine trees were heavily pruned, causing them to grow twisted and twisted. “When new pine lines are planted now,” Nick told me, “the same haircut is done to encourage the complex shape.”
They are odd. But there is a lot about the Brecks. Here, the sounds of star species such as the warbler and nightingale mingle with gunfire from the Stanford military range, a vast field that is strangely useful for conservation. Barren banks appear to be rarely full such as Spanish fly and speed wells. And the archeology goes from archaic to contemporary – tanks and trench warfare were tested here, and their roses can still be found among the trees.
Yes, the Brecks are weird. But it’s definitely worth a stop.
Fundamentals
Sarah Baxter was a guest at West Stow Pods (01284 728136; weststowpods.co.uk), which has Mega Pods from £84pn for two adults; Its Pod Hollow, a faithful recreation of a Hobbit hole, costs £210pn for two adults (separate rooms available).
Entry to West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village costs £7/£4 adult/child (01284 728718; weststow.org).
For more information, see brecks.org/bfer, discoversuffolk.org.uk and imogensriverswims.co.uk.
Great Anglia serves stations including Bury St Edmunds, Thetford and Brandon (greateranglia.co.uk).
