Country:
District:
Start: Bus stop opposite the Wetherspoons Willow Tree pub. (IP14 1BB) Grid ref. TM 050 584
(S) From the bus stop opposite the Wetherspoons Willow Tree pub is through Morrison's supermarket car park which is directly behind the pub, taking the main exit which then leads out onto Milton Road South.
(1) Turn right and then left at the junction with the A1308 Gipping Way. At the crossroads with the B1115 turn right towards the railway station. The Kings Arms pub is on the right as the road bends around to the left. Continue around the bend.
(2) Take Stowupland Street which is on the left. The path starts on the left where the road crosses the river. The Royal William pub is found by carrying on along Stowupland street.
(3) Take the second road on the right, Union Street East. The pub is a hundred yards down this road on the right.
(4) The Gipping Valley River Path follows the riverside and is marked out by the well-trodden path. There are a few obstacles such as a low headroom pipe and broken steps by Muntons but all of these are relatively easy to negotiate. Keep to the same side of the river throughout the walk.
(5) After 3 Km, the path eventually leaves Stowmarket at Muntons Maltings from where it goes under the railway and heads out into the countryside following the river through the meadows.
(6) Then after 1.8 Km, eventually, it meanders through some woodland before emerging on the final section to Hawks Mill. This is easy to notice by the weir and sluice.
(7) When the path crosses the road, after 1.6 Km, turn right and follow the lane past the mill and under the railway. Immediately after the railway bridge there are steps up to an elevated causeway that leads to the High Street of Needham Market.
(8) Turn left and follow the road through the village. The Rampant Horse is on the left at the junction with Coddenham Road. The bus stop is just beyond this junction, with Ipswich-bound buses on the pub side of the road, and Stowmarket bound buses on the opposite side. (E)
Walker
Moderate 
