The walk starts at the parish church of St Mary, which stands above the village on the hill settled by Pacca in the 7th century. This church was built around 1100, with later additions. From the church, the route passes Newe House, a handsome red brick Jacobean mansion built in 1622, and enters Pakenham Wood, a mix of coniferous and deciduous trees and considerably smaller than it once was. Beyond the wood, the path descends gently to the Black Bourn, which flows northwards into the Little Ouse.
At Baileypool Bridge, the route leaves the banks of the Black Bourn and follows a quiet road through Grimstone End. Here excavations revealed a Bronze Age barrow which was reused by the Romans then, several centuries later, built over by the Anglo-Saxons. The wasteland just before the mill was part of the site, but all evidence has been destroyed by gravel extraction and ploughing (the artifacts are now in Ipswich Museum).
The Grimstone End area also boasts Pakenham Watermill, which straddles Pakenham Fen Stream, a tributary of Black Bourn. The present building, dating from the late 18th century, replaced a Tudor mill which, in turn, succeeded an earlier mill mentioned in the Domesday Book. Owned today by the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust, a team of dedicated volunteers continues to keep the mill in working order.
Continuing beyond the mill to a meeting of roads we reach the site of a Roman fort, erected around AD 61 for defence against the rebellious Iceni tribe, who, under their warrior Queen Boudicca, had just sacked Colchester, London, and St Albans. From here the walk heads south along a Roman road to reach Pakenham Windmill. It is a grand structure, one of England's finest windmills. Dating back to 1831, it remains a working windmill to this day and can be visited by appointment.
From the windmill, along Thieves Lane, the route crosses Fulmer Bridge to arrive at Pakenham Fen. The fen remains largely unspoilt and is attractive to wildlife, with many water-loving plants predominant. From the fen the walk returns to Pakenham by the site of an old chalk pit, now a housing development. The finale follows The Street back to the start at the church of St Mary.
