Those of you familiar with the eastern section of the Icknield Way will know that the route ends (or begins, if you prefer) at one of its most attractive sections. Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve | Suffolk Wildlife Trust , offers heathland, grazing ponies, and much more and is managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
In June this year, I had the great pleasure of meeting with Sam, David, and Collin who all work with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and who had agreed to install an Information Board for the Great Chalk Way at the point where the Icknield Way meets the Peddars Way. w3w.co/pins.spellings.contain This is one of three boards sponsored by the Icknield Way Association, and part of a total of five that are now in place along the GCW route.
Sam had selected an excellent location, and David and Collin set about assembling and installing the board like people who had done this many times before. My role, it became clear, was to keep out of the way and watch them do their stuff. Embarrassingly, I proved to be perfectly matched to the task of watching other people work! Less than two hours later, a shiny new Great Chalk Way information board was in place.
As a bonus, David assured me that he would be able to locate the Icknield Way milestone that sits alongside the path about 800 meters short of the end of the route. w3w.co/outraged.position.sharpened He explained that, as the Heath is managed as a nature reserve, the hedgerows, bushes, and ferns are allowed to grow during spring and summer as they provide habitat for birds and insects. This has a tendence to render the milestone invisible from the path. You might remember this previous post from last year, where Laurence (our Secretary) tried to find the milestone.
Well done Laurence for organising this installation and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust for doing the physical work!