National Trust's best Autumn walks in Norfolk

As the leaves turn and the air grows crisp, the National Trust in Norfolk is inviting everyone to experience the magic of autumn with its handpicked walking trails.

From gentle woodland strolls to invigorating countryside rambles, Norfolk offers a spectacular backdrop for every kind of walker. With nature’s colour palette on full display, this is the perfect time to explore the great outdoors.

The National Trust, renowned for caring for some of the UK’s most treasured landscapes, is encouraging visitors to embrace the season and reconnect with nature. Whether it’s a misty morning walk through ancient woodlands, an afternoon spotting fungi and wildlife, or a golden-hour wander along fruit-laden hedgerows, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

To celebrate the season, the conservation charity has curated a list of the top trails and scenic spots in Norfolk where autumn truly comes alive. These walks are ideal for families, friends, or solo explorers looking to soak up the sights, sounds, and scents of the season.

Blickling Estate

Blickling Estate's magnificent Jacobean mansion, formal gardens and historic parkland provide a spectacular backdrop for an autumn day out. Vibrant seasonal colour sweeps across the estate, with oak, beech, lime and sweet chestnut trees reflected in the tranquil lake along the popular 3km Lake Walk.

Visitors can explore the accessible Multi-Use Trail through parkland and Great Wood, discover fascinating fungi, and take a detour to the striking pyramid-shaped Mausoleum. Open from dawn until dusk, the estate's varied habitats are also home to abundant wildlife, including deer and owls.

Autumn also marks the annual trimming of the Parterre's iconic yew topiary. In the Walled Garden, visitors can enjoy seasonal harvest displays featuring squash, pumpkins, gourds, apples and pears.

As part of a trial running from 14 September to 18 October, dogs will be welcome in the gardens, giving four-legged visitors even more of Blickling to explore. Dogs are also welcome in the parkland and at the Muddy Boots Café, where they can collect a Pooch Passport stamp towards a special treat from National Trust partner Forthglade.

After exploring the estate, visitors can warm up in the Stables Café with homemade soups, hot drinks and freshly baked scones. Wheelchairs, mobility scooters and Mountain Trike all-terrain wheelchairs are available to hire, and bike hire is available at selected times.

Plan your autumn visit here.

Felbrigg Estate

Surround yourself with the colours of autumn on Felbrigg Estate and explore 520-acres via waymarked trails, buggy-friendly paths or lesser trodden routes.

Wander up the Victory V avenues, where the branches of towering beech trees create a tunnel of colour overhead. These majestic and peaceful avenues are a living monument to both the Allied victory and the last squire of Felbrigg Hall’s brother, who died in the Second World War.

Stretch your legs on the 2.6-mile church and ice house circular route, meandering through Felbrigg’s Great Wood and parkland, where you’re likely to find fantastic fungi specimens of all shapes and sizes, as well as a lake. Free to visit from dawn to dusk, the estate’s diverse habitats provide animal spotters the chance to catch a glimpse of owls, stoats, deer and hares.

An all-terrain Tramper and powered mobility vehicles are available to book, for use through the woods and Walled Garden, which still contains swathes of later flowering tender perennials, stunning architectural plants and a pumpkin arbour, arching over a path and dripping with vibrant ‘Turk’s Turban’ squashes.

Dogs are welcome across the parkland and woodland, in the Squire’s Pantry tea-room and shop and can get a stamp in their Pooch Passport towards a special treat from National Trust partners, Forthglade. Dogs must remain on a lead at all times in designated areas, as marked on our maps.

Throughout October and November explore the Felbrigg Estate on a Volunteer led walk, meeting new people and getting closer to nature. Discover your new favourite parts of the Felbrigg Estate as you join others to ramble through the parkland and woods.

Plan your autumn visit here.

Sheringham Park

Embrace the season as you wander freely through Sheringham Park or follow a trail celebrating Humphry Repton’s landscaped parkland, designed in the early 19th-century.

Don’t forget to look up and discover the boughs of ancient and remarkable specimen trees, such as the golden larch and smooth Japanese maple. Climb two viewing towers and be rewarded with stunning views over the canopy.

Closer to the ground, scattered through the leaf litter are weird and wonderful fungi growing in abundance - the unsung heroes of autumn. There are around 100 species of fungi to spot at Sheringham Park, including nationally rare lilac mushrooms and golden bootlegs. Veteran beech and oak trees will often react to drops in temperature to provide a golden display in the Wild Garden.

Families can pick up an autumn spotter sheet from the welcome team and look for signs of the season before warming up with hot drinks from the Courtyard Café. Powered mobility vehicles and an all-terrain Tramper are available to hire. Dogs are welcome in the woodland, parkland, clifftop areas café and can get stamps in their Pooch Passports.

Plan your autumn visit here.

Oxburgh Estate

Autumn at Oxburgh Estate is an abundance of vivid colours and full of opportunities to get up close and personal with the best of the season's nature. Nestled on the edge of the Norfolk Brecks where the land meets the wide-open fenland, wander beyond the garden, and you’ll soon be out into the wider parkland and woods, where you can enjoy stunning views back towards the hall.

There are plenty of spaces to discover, including the Oak Yard near to the chapel with its mighty veteran oak, lime and sweet chestnut trees. The River Gadder, one of England’s rare chalk rivers runs through the parkland. Its crystal-clear water comes from underground chalk springs which make it an ideal habitat for wildlife. The river supports brown trout and bullhead, and there have been sightings of water vole, otter and water shrew along the riverbank.

Find out more and plan your visit here.

Horsey Windpump

Horsey Windpump is an ideal location from which to explore this varied corner of the Broads, bringing together waterways, low-lying grazing marshes, and heritage buildings.

Pick up a map from the visitor centre and follow the tranquil loop that takes in Horsey Village and the Horsey Estate. Enjoy the autumn light bouncing off Horsey Mere and take in sites of historical interest including Brograve Mill and the Saxon All Saints church with its thatched roof and round tower. As you loop around Horsey village, keep an eye out for grazing deer in the fields and cranes overhead.

After your walk, treat yourself to some well-earned refreshments from the café and make your way up to the top of the Windpump for spectacular views of the surrounding area. Windpump balcony open Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, weather-permitting.

Plan your autumn visit here.

Morston Quay

Take in the changing wildlife on the shingle beaches, sand dunes, salt marshes, and in the skies above the Norfolk coast. This is the time of year when grey seals begin to gather on Blakeney Point, in readiness for seal pupping season. At the same time, the wide-open autumn skies are filled with the sights and sounds of flocks of pink footed geese and other migrating birds.

Morston Quay, on the Norfolk Coast Path, is an ideal base for exploring local walking routes. Trail maps are available from the Lookout Building, which is also where you can find the café for your pre- or post-walk refreshments. From Morston you can follow the coastal path or head inland for a circular walk, taking in the salt marshes and picturesque villages of Morston, Stiffkey, and Cley.

From Morston Quay you can take boat trips with Beans and Bishops to see the seal colony at Blakeney Point.