A full-moon meander

Feel the lunar magic on a starlit wander, Suffolk

A full moon, shining in a clear night sky. How often have you craned your neck for a glimpse when this celestial body is at its peak? The moon is undeniably compelling and magical. Since ancient times it’s been the stuff of myth, the setting of tales and the inspiration for worship. Man has even stood upon it.

Yet rarely do even the most ardent of nature lovers among us set out on a walk at nightfall with the light of the moon to guide us. More’s the pity. For nature is different at night. We are different.

In the witching hours our perspective on the world changes. A familiar landscape becomes terra incognita, full of shadows, bumps, textures and unfamiliar sounds and smells. At night, we experience both a velvety tranquillity and an unsettling strangeness than can crystallise into fear at the faintest of noises.

Wildlife behaves differently too. Daytime creatures turn in; mysterious nocturnal ones start their shift. And you get the best beauty spots all to yourself. The night, unquestionably, is a realm ripe for exploration; a journey into the unknown. And there is no surely no better way to experience its poetry than on a full-moon hike.

To do this in style, head to Suffolk. About 16km west of the beaches of Southwold and Walberswick, on the edge of the village of Westhall, you’ll find Ivy Grange Farm. Tranquil, eco-friendly and full of charm, this rural hideaway is the perfect retreat for low-impact glamping. Kim and Nick Hoare, the friendly couple who own and run the farm are refugees from London. And they lead full-moon walks every month of the year.

‘When we moved up from London, we were really struck by the amazing night skies in Suffolk: inky black with great views of the Milky Way and amazing shadows by the light of the full moon,’ says Kim, when I arrive in the county one chilly November afternoon. ‘The idea emerged and, for the first three years, my brother Dixe led the walks for people staying in the yurts.’

She means travel writer Dixe Wills, author of At Night: A Journey Round Britain from Dusk till Dawn and a natural ambassador for nocturnal adventures. The full-moon hikes proved so enjoyable that the couple decided to make them a regular attraction and to widen the net. ‘We invited local people to join us and we started to lead the walks ourselves each month,’ says my hostess, as we drive to the farm, the lift a courtesy extended to all guests.

The route differs from month to month, although all hikes start within a 16km radius of the farm. Gentle meanders rather than puff-inducing route marches, they last anything from two to three hours and are as good an excuse as any for a farm stay. But here’s the thing: in a reflection of their generous spirit, Ivy Grange’s owners offer the hikes free to anyone who wants to join.

Whether you’re a guest, a local or happen to be in that neck of the woods, you’ll be warmly welcomed. The idea has taken off. In season guests are clamouring to come along, as are others who hear about the hikes through word of mouth. Depending on the time of the year – and the mood of your hosts – you could find yourself on a river, coastal, estuary, forest or heath walk. You could find yourself tramping over fields and farmland or walking stretches of a long-distance route, like the Angles Way. Sometimes the walk kicks off with a pub visit. Of course, whatever the route, you hope the moon will brighten the night sky – as I had been hoping all afternoon.

Rain battered the train carriages on my way down here but, miraculously, the skies have cleared by the time I get off at the tiny station at Brampton. (So tiny, indeed, that it’s a request stop and approaching it is a nail-biter: will the conductor remember to alert the train driver or won’t he?) Suffolk is one of the driest parts of the British Isles. Kim says she’s heard that the county receives less rainfall than does Israel. And thanks to the flat landscape, these big, rolling skies – beloved of Constable and generations of other artists – make the county the perfect place for moon-gazing.

The yurts had come down the week before my visit: the glamping season lasts from March to October. I’m staying in a cosy room in the 17th-century farmhouse instead (out of season, guests on full-moon hikes can book a room). I meet Nick and after a warming vegetarian chilli in the airy dining room cum kitchen, we drive to our starting point: a dimly lit car park behind a pub in Halesworth, a market town.

Once upon a time, this was the site of a flourishing commercial waterway and wherries, old sailing boats with dark red sails, would sail from here to the sea at Southwold and on to the capital, laden with cargo. Were this London, it’d feel a little edgy. Here all is calm. But still, the street lights detract from the moon’s lustre. I have an urge to commit an act of vandalism and knock them out. Hm. Maybe it’s the lunar effect. After all, the gravitational pull of the moon is at its strongest when it is full, influencing the tides, plants and, some believe, our moods.

I’m soon distracted by the arrival of our group, however, who appear out of the night in ones and twos. There’s a couple who have recently moved up from London and are eager to explore. With Suffolk’s miles of coastline, cycle tracks, footpaths, bridleways and country lanes, they’ve chosen the right place. A local farm estate worker says he adores these moonlight hikes: ‘It’s a chance to see an area I know very, very well in a completely different light.’ An amateur dowser and a farming couple also join us: we’re nothing if not an eclectic crew of night owls.

The hike is a sociable one. I confess that I’m not mad keen on chatty hikes. Ordinarily I tend to position myself at the front or trail behind so that I can remain in my cocoon of silence. One of the downsides of chit-chat, of course, is that you’re less likely to hear nocturnal rustlings. But these locals are pretty tuned into nature. They take part in owl projects – Suffolk, Kim tells me, is the best county in Britain for barn owl sightings – tend community orchards, go on bird walks and picnic by the coast. They know the pheasants, hares, badgers and muntjac deer that roam their fields. Collectively, their intimate knowledge of the area is a great source of local tips.