St Benet's Abbey
Ludham
Just past the junction of the rivers Bure and its tributary, the Ant, the abbey of St Benet’s was the largest landowner in the Horning area in the Middle Ages. These days it’s a pretty desolate spot, but that’s part of the appeal, and apart from a few heaps of stones marking the marshy skyline its most significant ruin is the remains of a windmill added a hundred or so years ago, currently held up by scaffolding. For all that it’s still a sacred site, and the bishop of Norwich has celebrated Mass every year here since the 1930s. The best way to reach it is by boat – there are lots of free moorings on the river nearby – though you can also reach it on foot from Hall Common near Ludham Bridge, where it lies at the end of a mile-long rough farm track.
