A visit to possibly the village's greatest treasure — a 12th-century priory — is saved for the end of the walk. You begin by exploring the countryside that surrounds it: a rough track to the north of Horsham St Faith leads into a meadow where many wildflowers grow, including creeping thistle, yarrow, and water mint.
Gipsywort, which is also found here, looks like a nettle but is related to the mint family (in the 16th century it was used as a dye to colour silk and wool). Devil's-bit scabious, with its lovely violet flower, grows here in profusion; legend has it that the Devil was so vexed by the plant's healing properties that he bit away a part of its root, leaving the plant with a particularly shallow root system.
Beyond the meadow, the route passes through arable farmland where sugar beet, wheat, barley, and cattle feed are grown, alongside field-edge flowers like fat hen, corncockle/redshank, and corn marigolds.
At the northern extreme of the walk lies the small village of Newton St Faith. Heading south-west, you come to Black Park, a natural woodland mainly of oak, silver birch, holly, and rowan dating from the 15th century or earlier which was originally a deer park (today foxes live in the wood, and their musky smell may fill the air).
Horsford's 14th-century church stands to the south of the village, not far from the Georgian Horsford Hall. The church features a fine and unusual window painted by German artist Zetler depicting three angelic figures journeying in search of a cure for tuberculosis, set against a background of Egyptian and Swiss landscapes.
Heading east along the lane, you ascend a long hill from where you can see Norwich Airport. Originally built in 1939 as an RAF station with a grass runway, it was used successfully by Bomber Command and the US Air Force in World War II (at which time concrete runways were laid). It closed as a base in 1963, but was purchased by Norwich City Council, which altered the city boundary to include it and open a civil airport there in 1970 (adjacent to the City of Norwich Aviation Museum).
Further along the road, the route diverts to Castle Hill, the site of a motte and bailey castle built in the 11th century by Walter de Cadomo (one of about 40 castles erected in East Anglia in the 12th century). Robert Fitzwalter lived there with his wife, Sybil, and it was here that they first began to build St Faith's Priory.
The priory was eventually built much closer to Horsham. Founded in 1105, it has had a chequered history, including use as a retreat and a guesthouse, and is now a private residence.
To the south of the priory lies the parish church, dedicated to St Mary and St Andrew, which boasts fine historic features including a 14th-century painted oak pulpit, a 15th-century octagonal font, and a 16th-century painted screen.
Beyond the church you pass the King's Head pub, built in 1740, which originally catered for drovers bringing cattle (some from as far away as Scotland) to the village fair — one of the largest in England, held annually from the time of Henry I (1100–1135) until 1872 on October 6th (St Faith's Day) in celebration of the saint who inspired the community.
