Getting to the start
Our line starts at Knettishall Heath on the Norfolk and Suffolk border, which is the end the National Trail and the one baggage carrier both work from, and the end almost everyone begins at. Thetford (TTF) is the station, about 10 km away, on the Breckland line worked by Greater Anglia between Norwich and Cambridge, with London reached by changing. There is no scheduled bus between the trailhead and Thetford. Two independent write-ups put it at a six mile taxi ride and that is what almost everyone does, so have a number saved before you set off rather than after: A2B Taxis in Thetford take card, run from 07:30 and close at 23:00 Monday to Thursday. Harling Road (HRD) looks closer on a map and is not the answer: National Rail's own page for it warns that it receives a very limited train service, and it has six parking spaces and no ticket office. If the trains do not suit, Coach Services run the Breckland Beeline 90 from Thetford to Attleborough and Norwich seven days a week, about 55 minutes to Norwich city centre.
Leaving the finish
Our line finishes on the dunes at Holme next the Sea, at the point where the Peddars Way meets the Norfolk Coast Path. Note before anything else that this is the harder end to reach, and you reach it tired at the end of day three or four, so settle the journey home before you set off rather than on the beach. There is no railway anywhere on the north Norfolk coast west of Sheringham. The route in is rail to King's Lynn (KLN), which the National Trail names alongside Norwich as the regional gateway and which takes Great Northern and Greater Anglia services from Cambridge, London King's Cross and London Liverpool Street, then Lynx Coastliner 36 north through Dersingham, Snettisham and Heacham to Hunstanton and on to Holme next the Sea, which the operator's own timetable lists as a stop. Hunstanton is the nearest thing to a town at this end and sits about 4 km along the coast from Holme, so it is where most people sleep, eat and pick up a taxi. Flying in, the National Trail names Norwich International and London Stansted as the nearest airports. Both are a long way from this end of the walk and neither has a link we could confirm on an operator page, so treat the airport leg as a journey-planner problem rather than a fixed route.
The one-way journey
Two things decide this walk's logistics, and both are about direction. First, the trail is short enough that a great many people do it in three or four days, which makes leaving a car for the duration a realistic idea rather than the multi-week problem most National Trails pose. Second, the baggage carrier runs the Peddars Way in one direction only, south to north from Knettishall Heath to Holme next the Sea, so anyone walking north to south is on their own for bags. The best car answer is at the southern end and it is unusually good. Thetford Town Council took over eight town car parks from Breckland District Council in June 2026 and they are free, with no charge, no time limit and no overnight restriction stated on the council's own page. Thetford is also the railhead, which means one town covers parking, trains and taxis. Do not leave the car at the trailhead itself: the Suffolk Wildlife Trust car park at Knettishall Heath is locked between 21:00 and 05:00, so a vehicle cannot sit there overnight at all. At the northern end the mechanism is the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk ROVER ticket, seven days across all their Hunstanton and Heacham car parks and all long-term King's Lynn car parks, which is a neat fit for a four-day walk, though the council states it is issued only to holidaymakers visiting the borough. Getting back to whichever end the car is at is a bus problem rather than a rail one: the two ends sit on different lines, and the direct link is Coach Services 88 between King's Lynn and Thetford.
If you need to leave the trail early
Short trail, thin exits. The northern quarter is the easy part: Lynx 33 runs King's Lynn to Docking to Hunstanton and calls at Sedgeford, and Coastliner 36 covers Holme, Hunstanton and the whole coast road. From Castle Acre at roughly the halfway point, Go To Town 32 runs to Swaffham and King's Lynn, a few journeys a day with some stops served on request and no service on bank holidays. The genuinely useful discovery for the middle is Swaffham Flexibus+, run by Central Connect with Norfolk County Council: a bookable minibus covering twenty villages including Great Cressingham, Mundford and Swaffham, 07:00 to 19:00 Monday to Saturday, bookable on the Vectare app or 01760 305022 from two weeks ahead down to five minutes before pickup, and open to anyone rather than to registered residents. It does not cover Castle Acre or Watton. The southern third is where an exit needs thinking about, because the Stanford Training Area sits on the west side of the trail for several miles and the MoD's own guidance states there is generally no access to it, with access prohibited when red flags or red lights are showing and Range Control on 01842 855367 the number to check. A walker's account of this stretch describes the western side fenced and signed out of bounds from Stonebridge onwards. So an exit from that section goes east or south, not west: Konectbus 61 links Watton to Thetford through Great Hockham, East Wretham and Croxton, and Watton has Konectbus links on to Norwich. Konectbus's own site could not be fetched on 30 July 2026, so the 61 details here come from an aggregator timetable and the days it runs are not confirmed.
Useful access hubs
TrailheadKnettishall Heath trailhead
The southern trailhead itself, at the Suffolk Wildlife Trust car park, IP22 2TQ, about 1.2 km east of where our stored line begins. It has no bus. What it does have, and what no timetable can cancel, is a second long distance path arriving at it on foot. The Icknield Way Path ends here, and its own association describes it as running 'from the end of the Ridgeway National Trail at Ivinghoe Beacon, near Tring, to the start of the Peddar's Way National Trail at Knettishall Heath, near Thetford, for 110 miles (177 km)'. That is worth knowing for two reasons. If you are already walking the Icknield Way, the Peddars Way is the next link and no transfer is needed at all. And if you cannot solve the Thetford to Knettishall problem on the day you arrive, walking the last stretch of the Icknield Way in from the Suffolk side is a real option rather than a curiosity, because it is a waymarked path rather than a road walk. Thetford station is still about 10 km away by road and the practical link from it remains a taxi.
Year-round. The car park is open dawn to dusk and closed 9pm to 5am.RailThetford railway station
The station for the southern trailhead at Knettishall Heath, about 10 km away, and the hub the whole southern end hangs off. Greater Anglia on the Breckland line between Norwich and Cambridge, with London reached by changing. There is no scheduled bus to the trailhead, so this is a taxi ride, about six miles by two independent accounts. Ticket office 07:00 to 13:30 Monday to Saturday and closed Sunday, taxi rank at the station, 34 parking spaces and no accessible bays, no left luggage listed. Step-free category B1. The town's eight council car parks are free and a short walk away, which makes Thetford rather than the trailhead the place to leave a car. Coordinates are approximate and were not confirmed against a mapping source.
Year-round.RailHarling Road railway station
Included as a correction rather than an option. It is the nearest station to Knettishall Heath as the crow flies, and National Rail's own page warns that it receives a very limited train service and advises checking a journey planner before travelling to or from it. Six parking spaces, none accessible, no ticket office hours listed, step-free category B1. National Rail names Thetford and Attleborough as the nearby stations with more frequent service. Coordinates are approximate and were not confirmed against a mapping source.
Year-round in principle, but the service is sparse enough that it should be checked for the specific day.RailKing's Lynn railway station
The gateway to the northern end and the only mainline station within reach of it, since there is no railway on the west Norfolk coast. Managed by Great Northern, with services south to Cambridge and London King's Cross and Greater Anglia connections; the National Trail names King's Lynn and Norwich as the two stations trains from London reach in about two hours. From the bus interchange, Lynx Coastliner 36 runs north through Dersingham, Snettisham and Heacham to Hunstanton and Holme next the Sea, and Lynx 33 runs the inland road through Great Bircham, Docking and Sedgeford. Step-free to all platforms though with no lifts, staffed every day, accessible and Changing Places toilets, ticket office seven days a week, 134 parking spaces with 9 accessible, taxi rank. No left luggage listed.
Year-round.CoachHunstanton bus interchange
The practical town at the northern end, about 4 km along the coast from Holme next the Sea, with no railway of its own. Lynx routes 33, 34, 35 and Coastliner 36 all terminate here, which makes it the interchange for the whole north end of the walk, and it is the base for the coast taxi firms and for the borough's ROVER parking ticket. Coordinates are approximate and were not confirmed against a mapping source.
Year-round. The days of the week each Lynx route runs are not stated on the operator's own service pages, so an evening or Sunday connection should be checked before it is relied on.RailNorwich railway station
The regional gateway named by the National Trail, and a direct one for the southern end: Greater Anglia run the Breckland line from here through Thetford towards Cambridge. If the trains do not fit, Coach Services run the Breckland Beeline 90 between Norwich city centre and Thetford along the A11 seven days a week, about 55 minutes. Step-free to all platforms, staff every day, accessible and Changing Places toilets, ticket office from early morning to late evening, 70 parking spaces with 5 accessible, taxi drop-off and pick-up.
Year-round, including the Breckland Beeline seven days a week.AirportNorwich Airport
Named by the National Trail as one of the two nearest airports. It sits on the far side of Norwich from the trail, so the onward leg is into Norwich and then rail or the Breckland Beeline 90 to Thetford. We did not confirm the airport to city link on an operator page for this trail, so check it rather than assuming. Coordinates are approximate and were not confirmed against a mapping source.
Bus and rail links year-round. The flight schedule itself is seasonal.AirportLondon Stansted Airport
The other airport named by the National Trail, and the one with the route choice for anyone flying in. We did not confirm a rail or coach route from the airport to Thetford or King's Lynn on an operator page, so the code is recorded for a fare search rather than as a route we have checked. Coordinates are approximate and were not confirmed against a mapping source.
Year-round. Sources and research notes · 36 sources
- nationaltrail.co.ukrail and air gateways (Norwich, King's Lynn, Norwich International, London Stansted), Thetford named as the station for the Peddars Way, journey plannersChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationaltrail.co.uktrail endpoints, Knettishall Heath and Holme-next-the-Sea, Thetford station as an access pointChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationaltrail.co.ukPeddars Way Travel: phone 01485 572234, Heacham base, walker transfers, mid-route pickups, baggage transfer, and the website address that no longer resolvesChecked 30 Jul 2026
- hikehelp.co.ukHikeHelp cover the Peddars Way; price from GBP 16 per bag per day for walkers, cyclists quoted separatelyChecked 30 Jul 2026
- hikehelp.co.uk18 kg bag limit, minimum charge of two bags a day, GBP 250 in-transit insurance, prohibited items, 09:00 collection and 17:00 delivery, cancellation terms, contact 07879 495734Checked 30 Jul 2026
- hikehelp.co.ukthe Peddars Way baggage service runs south to north onlyChecked 30 Jul 2026
- hikehelp.co.ukroute coverage Knettishall Heath to Holme-next-the-Sea and the link to the Norfolk Coast PathChecked 30 Jul 2026
- hikehelp.co.ukaccommodation must be on or near the trail and follow the direction specified for that trailChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationaltrail.co.ukHikeHelp coverage of the Peddars Way, Norfolk Coast Path and Angles Way; email and phoneChecked 30 Jul 2026
- suffolkwildlifetrust.orgKnettishall Heath car park: GBP 2.50 a day, free 05:00 to 10:00, GBP 45 season ticket, closed 21:00 to 05:00, RingGo code 4868, operator and reserve phone numbers, coordinates and postcodeChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationalrail.co.ukThetford station code TTF, step-free category B1, ticket office hours, 34 spaces and no accessible bays, taxi rank, no left luggage, Greater AngliaChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationalrail.co.ukHarling Road code HRD, step-free category B1, six spaces, very limited train service warning, Thetford and Attleborough named as better-served alternativesChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationalrail.co.ukKing's Lynn code KLN, Great Northern, step-free to all platforms with no lifts, accessible and Changing Places toilets, ticket office seven days, 134 spaces with 9 accessible, no left luggage listedChecked 30 Jul 2026
- nationalrail.co.ukNorwich code NRW, Greater Anglia, step-free to all platforms, 70 spaces with 5 accessible, ticket office hours, no left luggage listedChecked 30 Jul 2026
- thetfordtowncouncil.gov.ukthe eight free Thetford car parks with postcodes and space counts, free of charge, no stated time limit, council contact 01842 754 247Checked 30 Jul 2026
- parkingoperations.co.ukROVER ticket GBP 39.30 March to October and GBP 35.00 November to February, seven days, coverage, holidaymakers-only condition, King's Lynn long stay season ticket GBP 54.70 monthly and GBP 546.50 annually, MiPermit and 01553 616222Checked 30 Jul 2026
- norfolkwildlifetrust.org.ukHolme Dunes car park booking scheme 11 July to 6 September 2026, entry and parking prices, reserve opening hours, phone 01485 525240Checked 30 Jul 2026
- lynxbus.co.ukCoastliner 36 King's Lynn to Fakenham, stops at Hunstanton and Holme next the Sea, operator identity Coastal Red Ltd trading as Lynx, and the absence of a stated days-of-week or seasonal noteChecked 30 Jul 2026
- lynxbus.co.ukroute 33 King's Lynn to Hunstanton via Great Bircham, Docking and Sedgeford, with the Sedgeford stop at the King William IV Country Inn, and no stated days of weekChecked 30 Jul 2026
- lynxbus.co.ukLynx sell day, weekly and monthly tickets and a fare change applied from 30 March 2026, but no prices are shown on that pageChecked 30 Jul 2026