Ruins and site of Walsingham Priory 4 ha
Plan your visit
🦅 Birds✦ Heritage🦉 Wildlife
Free entry Dogs welcome 4 ha
Getting here
52.89316, 0.87517
Open directionsv
About Ruins and site of Walsingham Priory Walsingham Priory, originally established in the 12th century, was a monastery of Augustinian Canons regular in Walsingham, Norfolk, England. Also known as the Augustinian Priory of The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it became a significant pilgrimage site, associated with the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, before being seized by the Crown and largely destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII in the 16th century.
Read more on Wikipedia → Abbey scheduled monument c. 1101
Visiting this summer
Seasonal nature notes and what to look for now
▾ 🐦 83+ species recorded in this area — summer evenings are best for activity; watch for Wigeon and Shoveler ✦ Historic character is a year-round quality here — summer brings its own atmosphere to the setting ☕ Norton's Cafe Bar — a good base for a longer summer day out 🌤️ Visiting this summer
🐦 83+ species recorded in this area — summer evenings are best for activity; watch for Wigeon and Shoveler ✦ Historic character is a year-round quality here — summer brings its own atmosphere to the setting ☕ Norton's Cafe Bar — a good base for a longer summer day out £ Free to visit — no entry charge🐕 Dogs welcome☕ Café🅿️ Parking· Paid 🧺 Picnic spot🚻 Toilets
🦅 Bird watching
Very strong match
Birds — Wigeon, Shoveler, Glossy Ibis +80 more · last seen 2025; Deciduous woodland — woodpeckers, warblers and woodland birds
Free
✦ Heritage
Very strong match
Grade I listed building: THE ABBEY; Historic site
Free
Birds — Wigeon, Shoveler, Glossy Ibis +80 more · last seen 2025; Deciduous woodland priority habitat
Free
🍂 Seasonal nature
Strong match
Plants — Dogwood, Pedunculate Oak, Greater Knapweed +19 more · last seen 2025
Free
Deciduous woodland — fungi, berries and wild garlic
Varies
🦋 Insect spotting
Good match
Insects — 7-spot Ladybird, Long-winged Cone-head, Marmalade Hoverfly +5 more · last seen 2026
Free
Trails nearby Within roughly 5 km 2 signed routes nearby · 2 public paths nearby
Signed route nearby Public paths
London to Walsingham - stage 10 Walking route ▾
Named route Ref LW10 Local walking route
Show on map Walsingham Way Walking route 61 km ▾
Named route Length 61 km Point-to-point Regional walking route
Show on map 30 signed routes nearby
Signed route nearby
EuroVelo 12 - North Sea Cycle Route - part United Kingdom 2 Cycling route ▾
Norwich - Lincoln
Named route Ref EV12 International cycle route
Show on map Two Rivers Cycle Route Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref 30 Regional cycle route
Show on map NCN National Route 1 Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref 1 National Cycle Network
Show on map Rebellion Way Cycling route 373 km ▾
Named route Ref Rebel Length 373 km Round trip Regional cycle route
Show on map Regional Cycle Route 30 Cycling route 373 km ▾
Named route Ref 30 Length 373 km Round trip Regional cycle route
Show on map NCN National Route 1 Cycling route ▾
Named route Ref 1 National Cycle Network
Show on map 4 public paths nearby
Public paths
Sandy Lane bridleway · 29 m ▾
Public path bridleway Length 29 m Path type: track
Show on map Sandy Lane bridleway · 9 m ▾
Public path bridleway Length 9 m Path type: track
Show on map Blind Dick's Lane bridleway · 125 m ▾
Public path bridleway Length 125 m Path type: unclassified
Show on map Sandy Lane bridleway · 397 m ▾
Public path bridleway Length 397 m Path type: track
Show on map Photos Abbey House and Priory ruins
‹ ›
Weather for this location Next 14 days Nearby places Useful places within 5 km
All Historic
UK green spaces mapped from open public data — so anyone can find the woodland, trail, or nature reserve closest to them.
© 2026 Glade · Made with care for UK green spaces
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Wildlife to spot
10,194 records · National Biodiversity Network
▾
Wildlife to spot 10,194 records · National Biodiversity Network Wigeon · Glossy Ibis · Shoveler · Black-tailed Godwit · Ruff +24
Wigeon Mareca penelope Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Shoveler Spatula clypeata Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa Ruff Calidris pugnax Pintail Anas acuta Merlin Falco columbarius Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus Dunnock Prunella modularis Woodpigeon Columba palumbus Carrion Crow Corvus corone Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Jackdaw Coloeus monedula Robin Erithacus rubecula House Sparrow Passer domesticus Herring Gull Larus argentatus Blackbird Turdus merula Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus Common Gull Larus canus Great Tit Parus major Stock Dove Columba oenas Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes Mediterranean Gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus Lapwing Vanellus vanellus Wren Troglodytes troglodytes Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba 7-spot Ladybird · Marmalade Hoverfly
7-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus Pedunculate Oak · Soapwort · Wild Marjoram · Greater Knapweed · Great Mullein +14
Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur Soapwort Saponaria officinalis Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa Great Mullein Verbascum thapsus Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca Agrimony Agrimonia eupatoria Species observations from the last 10 years via NBN Atlas
Wildlife to spot 10,194 records · National Biodiversity Network Wigeon · Glossy Ibis · Shoveler · Black-tailed Godwit · Ruff +24
Wigeon Mareca penelope Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Shoveler Spatula clypeata Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa Ruff Calidris pugnax Pintail Anas acuta Merlin Falco columbarius Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus Dunnock Prunella modularis Woodpigeon Columba palumbus Carrion Crow Corvus corone Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Jackdaw Coloeus monedula Robin Erithacus rubecula House Sparrow Passer domesticus Herring Gull Larus argentatus Blackbird Turdus merula Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus Common Gull Larus canus Great Tit Parus major Stock Dove Columba oenas Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes Mediterranean Gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus Lapwing Vanellus vanellus Wren Troglodytes troglodytes Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba 7-spot Ladybird · Marmalade Hoverfly
7-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus Pedunculate Oak · Soapwort · Wild Marjoram · Greater Knapweed · Great Mullein +14
Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur Soapwort Saponaria officinalis Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa Great Mullein Verbascum thapsus Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca Agrimony Agrimonia eupatoria Species observations from the last 10 years via NBN Atlas
Red Clover Trifolium pratense
Red Clover Trifolium pratense
Black Medick Medicago lupulina
Black Medick Medicago lupulina
Rough Hawkbit Leontodon hispidus
Rough Hawkbit Leontodon hispidus
Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum
Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum
Upright Hedge-parsley Torilis japonica
Upright Hedge-parsley Torilis japonica
Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra
Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra
Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis
Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis
Tansy Tanacetum vulgare
Tansy Tanacetum vulgare
Common Calamint Clinopodium ascendens
Common Calamint Clinopodium ascendens
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis
Wild Carrot Daucus carota
Wild Carrot Daucus carota
Bladder Campion Silene vulgaris
Bladder Campion Silene vulgaris 