Gressenhall and the Museum of Norfolk Life

What should be done about the poor? This was the question that vexed politicians and philanthropists in the 18th century, just as it does today. The answer in those days, however, was to build workhouses, so that people were provided with beds, clothes and food, and their waking hours were taken up with 'honest labour'.

Gressenhall Union Workhouse

One such institution was built at Gressenhall between 1776 and 1777, at the cost of £15,000. It was called the Union Workhouse, and was home to married couples, children and single people alike. The building is impressive – a surprising sight to appear suddenly among the trees in this pleasant countryside. It was H-plan in design, with two L-shaped extensions in the east. More buildings were added in the mid-1830s, when the Poor Law Amendment Act required workhouses to change.

Visitors today will be astonished at the size of this fascinating museum. Not only are there exhibitions about living in the workhouse, but Union Farm still works the land in the traditional way using heavy horses. There is a 1930s-style village high street with a post office, blacksmith's forge and grocer, and well-maintained gardens, including 50 acres (20ha) of unspoiled countryside with marked woodland walks and nature trails. There is also a cemetery for those who died here and yards where men and women were separated by high walls. The museum is open daily from early March to early November, and also during February half-term week.

Begin your day here, learning about what life was like in Norfolk in bygone days, and then move on to a country walk where little has changed since Union Workhouse rang with the voices of its pauper inmates.

Bittering and Little Bittering

West of Gressenhall village along the Nar Valley Way stands the tiny hamlet of Bittering. Bittering was once a much larger village gathered around a moated manor house, the remains of which are still just visible today. The hall (demolished in the 1980s) that was built to replace the manor house was once the residence of the famous anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.

Nearby Little Bittering, sometimes referred to as Bittering Parva, is the site of a former medieval village that was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but which had disappeared completely by 1500. This is one of around 200 deserted villages in Norfolk that were abandoned for a variety of reasons, usually because of plague, population decrease or changes in farming practices.

Leave the car park and turn right onto the B1146. Take the next right, where a sign marks the Nar Valley Way, one of Norfolk's prettiest long distance footpaths. This takes you past a copse and then through Gressenhall itself. When you reach The Swan Inn turn right along Bittering Street, past more houses, until you reach a crossroads. Turn left, following signs for the Nar Valley Way. After about 100yds (91m), take the bridleway to your right, still the Nar Valley Way. This narrow path lies between tall hedges and is like a green tunnel in summer and spring, although it can be muddy in winter It widens eventually and, after about 0.75 miles (1.2km), emerges onto a track called Stoney Lane.

Turn left, still following signs for the Nar Valley Way, and walk for another 0.75 miles (1.2km) to reach Old Hall Cottage at a junction and a plantation of tall trees. Turn left, leaving the Nar Valley Way. The foundations of the deserted village of Bittering Parva are to the right.

When you reach a crossroads and Ostrich House, follow the lane towards Longham. Stay on this lane, passing Ostrich Lane to your right, then turn right when you see a sign to the Village Hall. Pass the Village Hall and continue along this street. When you see The White Horse at Longham ahead, take a sharp left along Dereham Low Road, signposted 'Scarning'. Walk down a hill, then up the other side, with views across working land to your right.

Once you have passed the Sparrow Green barn conversions and a pair of silos, turn left at Park Farm Cottages, and walk for 0.75 miles (1.2km), ignoring the first lane to your right, and bearing right at the next junction. At the junction after that bear right again, following signs for Dereham, past the old cottages on your left. The road winds along a shallow valley to go over a brick bridge and pass Norfolk Herbs at Blackberry Farm.

Turn left along the gravel track signposted to Drift Farm (public footpath) and follow the signs uphill along a track to the right before you reach the farm itself.

At a crossing of paths, take the one to your left. The path runs alongside an orchard before becoming a paved track. Keep straight ahead, following the tall hedge and occasional red arrows. When you reach Mill House, turn left on to the main road. Walk along this road until you arrive at the museum on your left.