Stow Bedon and Lower Stow Bedon 2 July 2026

Stow Bedon and Lower Stow Bedon are two beautiful Breckland villages located about 5 miles from my home in Watton.  The countryside here is dominated by agriculture in a very rolling landscape.  My visit today began at St Botolph's Church in Stow Bedon from where I walked the length of Gravelpit Hill to Lower Stow Bedon, I then turned left and walked Rockland Road to the Mere Road/Stowlay Lane crossroads, I then climbed the short but steep hill on Mere Road to my starting point on Gravelpit Hill. Both Gravelpit Hill and Mere Road are long single track lanes with a couple of decent climbs and the immediate roadside habitats comprise good length of mature hedgerows with Oak and Ash trees dominating.

Gravelpit Hill

I started my visit from St. Botolph's Church on Gravelpit Hill.  The long but gentle ascent to the brow of the hill is sided by tall hedgerows with wide roadside margins and mature Oaks, and at the brow of the hill is a small mature woodland with deep, long disused excavations.

1. Gravelpit Hill, Stow Bedon

The first section of my walk along Gravelpit Hill saw common species with singing Blackcap, Goldfinch, Wren, Chiffchaff, and singing Stock Dove too.  At the brow o0f the hill a few Swallows were sweeping between hedgerows in search for food

The descent along Gravelpit Hill saw evidence of breeding success with Whitethroats, a male was singing and performing display-flight, also alarm calls were heard as well as begging calls from juvenile birds.  The large weedy field adjacent to Gravelpit Hill held a few Goldfinches (including juveniles) hanging on tops of tall weeds in their search for food.

2. Gravelpit Hill (descending towards Lower Stow Bedon) 2 July 2026

The picture above of the descent along Gravelpit Hill saw Whitethroats in the hedge to the right and Goldfinches in the weedy field to the left.
 

3. A very fine old and knarled Ash at Lower Stow Bedon 2 July 2026

Lower Stow Bedon (Rockland Road to Mere Road)

Rockland Road is a wider road with several bends and blind bends, care should be taken here due to faster moving traffic.

The Rockland Road/Gravelpit Hill area of the village held several House Martins over and between houses, and another Whitethroat gave an alarm call in a thick hedge.  Leaving Lower Stow Bedon on the Rockland Road a number of Swallows were seen over fields and nearby farm buildings.  A flock of 10+ House Sparrows were seen.  A pair of Stock Doves were seen together on wires.

4. Rockland Road, Lower Stow Bedon 2 July 2026

  

5. Roadside habitat on the Rockland Road, Lower Stow Bedon

Walking along Rockland Road (shown in picture 5) I checked the habitat on the roadside between the two Oaks where a pair of Linnets were seen, one with grasses for nest-building), also, one Whitethroat in song, and a pair of Stonechats seen initially here before flying onto a large field of mixed weeds and bramble scrub, a likely breeding site.

Stow Bedon (Mere Road to Gravelpit Hill)

The last section of this walk is about a mile long single track road which at the beginning sees a long, sometimes quite steep ascent before levelling out, then later a long descent takes you into Stow Bedon.

Mere Road, Stow Bedon, 2 July 2026

The long ascent along Mere Road from Rockland Road is lined with quality hedgerows and wide grass margins, and once again, Whitethroats featured with birds crossing between the hedgerows ahead of me.

On the north side of the road there is this year numerous pig units in place, close to these was 2 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Stock Dove, one Lapwing, and a singing Yellowhammer alongside the road.

Muck heap at Stow Bedon 2 July 2026

Now that we are in July, I am attracted to beautiful, smelly muck heaps, these man-made habitats are important staging posts for migratory wading birds, the liquid seepage from these heaps provides an irresistable feeding station for passage waders where invertebrate food abounds.  Although no waders were seen today, check these valuable sites for Green Sandpipers and Greenshank, these are the most likely wader species to be seen at such habitats. Wagtails also benefit from these muck heaps with Pied Wagtails, Grey Wagtails, and Yellow Wagtails visiting to feed.

Green Sandpiper at a muck heap near Deopham

The descent along Mere Road and into Stow Bedon once again saw a Whitethroat singing and in display flight, also, Swallows were seen near outbuildings here.

Finally, as I neared the end of my walk, a stunning Holly Blue butterfly was seen in the roadside verge.

Holly Blue at Stow Bedon 2 July 2026