Hoppit Wood & Lake and Hoggs Kiss Meadow – Debenham

Hoppit Wood & Lake and Hoggs Kiss Meadow

This is a real hidden gem that I happened to spot when leaving the Angel in the High Street, Debenham (Ok, I was in the pub again!)

Hoppit Wood can be found by heading North out of the village, where there is parking sign directing you to the right and the wood is just a short walk beyond the crematorium.

It’s a community project, acquired in 2004 using grant funding and it has been planted and managed by the community themselves. It’s totally unspoilt and just offers a great walk with fantastic views of Debenham.

Apparently a ‘Hoppit’ is a small meadow by a house. I thought it was a little fella from Lord of the rings but what do I know!?

The lake is very tranquil, dotted with water lilies and is a nice easy stroll round as you can see from my photo.

There’s a small apple orchard that was started in 2008, with some further planting in 2010.

The wood is 11 acres in all with a mix of field maple, hornbeam, oak and ash, as well as other species such as spindleberry, elder, dogwood, goat willow and alder. There’s also a wildflower meadow with an abundance of species such as ladies bedstraw, St John’s wort, cowslip and primrose to name but a few.

The wildflower meadow is to the right as you walk up and then the Hogs Kiss Meadow is to the right of that. This is a further 7.5 acres (Grid ref TM177634) which was also planted by the local community, in November 1998 as part of the Trust’s ‘Woods On Your Doorstep’ project. This is a real hilly woodland of ash and oak with a Hazel coppice in the centre and another wildflower meadow at the bottom on ground that apparently is of some archaeological interest.

Both Hoppit Wood and Hoggs Kiss have their own websites. Check them out with these links – Hoppit and Hoggs.

I couldn’t find a postcode for the woods or lake as they don’t seem to have them but as I said, it’s near the Angel Inn IP14 6QL.

A lot of our guests go there, with or without dogs.