Leaving the village hall car park, cross the High Street and take the path that leads through the churchyard around the right of the parish church. Turn left on to Commister Lane and follow this road as it bends round to the right.

Turn left on to a bridle path almost opposite Abbey Close. Looking left from this broad, tree-lined path, there are good views of Ixworth Abbey, a Georgian manor built around the ruins of a 12thcentury Augustinian priory and incorporating the crypt of the original monastery into its design. Stay on this path as it crosses the Black Bourn and makes its way towards a small wood, where it swings right. A footpath on your left after 600yds (549m) gives you the option of a short cut across the fields. For the full walk, keep straight on towards Point 3.

Turn left at the end of a hedgerow and follow this field-edge path until you come to a metal gate ahead. Turn left here on to a farm track that passes around a wood. Soon after the wood, the short cut rejoins the main walk from your left and you get your first glimpse of Pakenham Windmill up ahead. Keep straight ahead on this track to reach the main road, the A143.

Cross the road carefully and go straight ahead to another crossroads, where you keep straight ahead to reach the windmill. Stay on this narrow road, known as Thieves Lane, as it drops down to Fulmer Bridge, a bucolic spot of meadows and streams. Continue towards a T-junction, then turn left along Fen Road, passing a group of council houses and bungalows before reaching a junction at the foot of the hill.

Stay on Fen Road as it bends round to the left into the small hamlet of Grimstone End where you soon reach Pakenham Watermill. Just beyond the watermill, there are views of Mickle Mere, a popular birding spot, to your right. Stay on this road to return to the A143, where you turn left along a pavement path before crossing the main road at a white post to reach a quiet lane on the far side. Turn left here and when you get to the end of the lane, turn right and follow the road into Ixworth to return to the car park.