Devil's Punchbowl

If you want a quiet Breckland country walk, somewhere a bit off the beaten track that is worth a visit is the Devil's Punchbowl near Thetford. It is easy enough to get to from Bury St. Edmunds - head up the A134 towards Thetford, turn right to go through Barnham to get to the A1088 at Euston, head into Thetford Town Centre and turn right just after the railway bridge. Follow the road through Croxton and turn right at the crossroads about a mile later. The car park is on the right hand side of the road.(See OS Landranger Sheet 144 - map reference TL878892).

We went there one weekend in May last year and had the place almost to ourselves. The punchbowl is a short walk from the car park.

Although it looks just like an overgrown crater with a puddle at the bottom here, it is actually a lake called a subsidence doline. There is a sign that explains all...

(If you click the picture to expand it, you should be able to read the text). The bowl is about 150m across and the water level in it fluctuates through the year - there is a picture of it when it is full here.

We had a picnic and went for a walk. We think we found the Mickle Hill tumulus, but it was so unimpressive that we weren't sure whether we had found it or not. But we did see lots of wildlife, including this little lizard...

And we learnt some interesting Brecklands geology too!