History? Just look over the hedge

A great many visitors to Norfolk will find their way by accident or design to Binham and the ruins of the old priory and the cavernous nave of the church. Many will then leave west along the road to Wells thinking they’ve seen a significant historic site. Of course they have, but most won’t know that as they cycle or drive the road through Warham and onwards, a much more ancient history is just the other side of the hedge.

Midway between Binham and Warham, there’s a crossroads and the observant traveller who pauses will see an opening in the hedge into a small orchard. Further inspection reveals a proud round Bronze age barrow in the corner of the field, named the Fiddler’s Hill Barrow.

Classically sited where when raised it could be seen on the skyline from the low river valley to the north. Possibly for generations after used as a territorial marker and cremation site. And as history stays with us through the years, even now remaining as a sentinel on the boundary between the parishes of Binham and Warham.

And this is just the start. Take the Wighton road south out of Warham. Park on the verge under the shade of an Oak and look for a gateway in the high hedge towards the crest of the hill. If you do, you’ll find the entrance to what is singularly the best preserved hill fort in Norfolk.

Then as you enter the main gate through the banks and ditch into what is known as Warham Camp, you can’t help wondering whether you are treading where Boadicca once walked before you.

Whether she did or didn’t (surely as an Iceni site in active use through the iron age into Roman times, she probably did?) it matters little as you draw breath and survey the view across unspoiled water meadows and take-in a scene that has changed little over the centuries.

The circular ramparts partially cut by the river Stiffkey are some 200m across. Excavations in 1914 and again in 1959 showed that a timber palisade and revetment were once a part of the construction and iron age and Roman pottery sherds have been recovered.

Warham Camp hardly has the imposing drama of a Maiden Castle (this is Norfolk after all) but as a site probably used for meeting or ceremony or just to impress the neighbours, rather than out and out military protection, whilst worn down over time it retains a formidable presence.

And the real beauty of both Fiddler’s Hill barrow and Warham Camp is that having taken the trouble to look over the hedge, you’re very likely to have the historic experience all to yourself.