Clare Castle and Priory

Joe Jackson

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Clare is a large village with a rich and diverse history spanning many thousands of years and this walk explores as much of it as possible! It starts off in the car park by the old railway station and the park. The railway is one of the more modern places this walk visits, as just to the left of a large hill are the reconstructed ruins of Clare Castle. A path takes you up to the ruins and they are worth a look. The route passes through the village to work its way round to Clare Camp, which consists of substantial earthworks and is believed to date from the late Bronze to early Iron Age and was also inhabited in the Saxon period. The route continues through the countryside and follows a section of the river up to Clare Priory. The ruins of the Augustinian priory are beautiful and date from 1248 and are definitely worth exploring!

England - East England - Suffolk - Countryside

Features

Ancient Monument, Birds, Butterflies, Castle, Flowers, Great Views, Industrial Archaeology, Mostly Flat, River, Wildlife, Woodland
4/7/2023 - Valerie Monaghan

Easy to follow route, apart from the area around the allotments (Points 10 and 11), where we foundered! (Have the allotments got more extensive?) Eventually got back on course at Point 11. The road at Point 15 was quite busy, with fast traffic. Because of the recent heavy rains, the path along the river (Point 18) was, unfortunately, badly flooded, so we re-traced our steps and followed the roads to Point 19 (the large village sign). The castle, station and Clare Camp are the best parts of the walk.

10/10/2017 - doug mitchell

I only completed the first 2 miles of the walk. Note that the parking fees at start of walk have increased. Now 1 hour £1. 2 or more hours are now £2. I only paid for an hour in error, this limited the walk with Molly the Springer. The castle ruins and Clare Camp are well-worth seeing. The walking between them only average. At time of writing Section 1...the path from the wall is closed at top of hill is closed due to some of the steep down-steps are broken and the council has put up a "Road Closed" sign and erected a wire fence (looks like it has been closed quite some time Oct. 2017). You should currently walk along past the old railway station (on your right) and turn left along the track (signposted "Childrens' Play Area). Not a big diversion. I hope to complete the walk next time, but would try to start the walk at the Clare Camp which has a fascinating history (there is very interesting information board on the far side of the Camp area). Try to see the Ancient house facing the Church with its wonderful pargetting and the Augustine Priory near the car park at the start.