Nelson Way

Essex, Hampshire, Gtr London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey

This 404 mile long distance walk encompasses a reminder of Britain's naval heritage and England's finest sailor Horatio Nelson. It follows a route from Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk (Nelson's birthplace), linking locations associated with Nelson, along coastlines and rivers, across broads, through villages, towns and cities, over heathland, across fields, through forests and over hills.

Leaving the rectory where Nelson was born the route goes round the Norfolk coast before passing Nelson's former school. It then goes across the Norfolk Broads to Gt Yarmouth, a town Nelson knew well. The route maintains a nautical theme as it goes along the Suffolk coast and into Essex. After crossing Essex it joins the Lea Valley navigation affording an excellent route towards Greenwich. Much Nelson history is to be seen in Greenwich including the Painted Hall, where Nelson lay in state prior to his funeral. Proceeding along the south bank of the River Thames the route crosses over the Millennium Bridge and goes up to St Paul's Cathedral, in the crypt lays Nelson. The route passes through Trafalgar Square and leaves London alongside the River Thames. Passing Richmond the route goes on to Kingston. Using the Thames Downs Link path it crosses Surrey to Box Hill and Burford Bridge Hotel, a place where Nelson stopped for a while on his last night on English soil before the Battle of Trafalgar. The walk finishes at HMS Victory (Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar) in the Historic Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth. It links the walker to the unfolding story of Nelson and highlights the locations that Nelson knew.

---

Details:

Path Type:	Other Paths
Attributes:	Easy Coastal Heath Moorland River Heritage Military
Start:	TF853414 - Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk
Finish:	SU628006 - HMS Victory, Portsmouth, Hampshire

---

Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook

Nelson Way  (Trafford Publishing  - 2002 )

---