Walsingham & Raynham

Walsingham sits at the heart of a long pilgrimage tradition in North Norfolk. The village grew around a medieval shrine founded in the 11th century and later centred on the Priory; ruins of the monastic buildings still mark the site. Pilgrims approach by a route that historically ended at the Slipper Chapel, where worshippers removed their shoes before proceeding into the village, and both an Anglican and a Catholic shrine remain active today. The village contains small craft shops, tea rooms and a network of lanes used by walkers who follow marked paths through farmland and hedgerows to the shrine precincts.

East and West Raynham lie a few miles inland and are dominated by Raynham Hall and its estate, long associated with the Townshend family. The house dates largely from the early 17th century and stands within managed parkland and farmland; estate buildings and village cottages cluster along the lane network. A photograph taken in 1936 of the Hall’s main stairwell became widely known beyond the area and remains part of the place’s modern story. Farming, estate management and occasional public openings of the house shape local life.