Mousehold Heath, a great dog walk in Norfolk

This short dog walk in Norfolk offers the best views of Norwich’s skyline. The Mousehold Heath has over 184 acres of woodland and heathland, offering plenty to see. It makes for a great dog hike.

Distance	Total Time	Difficulty
2.13 km	00:32	Easy

Locally, the place is very well known for the history of Kett’s Rebellion which took place in 1549. There was a revolt in Norfolk during the reign of Edward VI in response to the enclosure of land. Robert Kett and his rebels, numbering some 16,000 people, set up camp on the heath on the 12 July, and on the 29 July they stormed Norwich and took the city.

The place is beautiful and although our walk was short, it offered a bit of everything with gorgeous woodland paths and amazing views.

We used the postcode NR1 4HW to get to a car park. It was full when we arrived, so we parked across on the Gurney Road where there are a few more parking spaces.

Don’t forget to check the post notes at the bottom of the page, with maps, a detailed table about the hike and links to everything mentioned in the post.

The Hike

The gang started the hike at the Welcome to the Mousehold Heath sign at Gurney Road. The sign has a map and covers some of the place’s history.

From there we went straight into the woods, the Upper Birch Walk, going down the path until we reached a large grass area by Mons Avenue.

After crossing the area, we got to Britannia Road and followed it until we got to the HM Prison Norwich building.

There is a grass, downslope field opposite the prison where people were having picnics and kids flying kites. We followed the path through St James Hill until we got to the viewpoint with the most amazing view of Norwich’s skyline. 

We then turned back from the viewpoint and followed Britannia Road before getting lost in the woods again making our way back to Gurney Road and to our car after that.

The girls were excited about the walk and met plenty of other doggies around, a lot of them off-lead.

It was a great little walk, and the good weather plus the autumn colours made the walk special. It is definitely a recommended hike in Norfolk.

Cheers,

Ademar