the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth. It has been said that on a clear day, a message could reach Great Yarmouth from The Admiralty in London, and receive a reply, in little more than 17 minutes. The horse-borne messenger would take three days at best. Natural environment Icklingham is within the area known as Breckland, an area of sandy heaths and forests. This area has a number of important natural habitats, including for the protected stone curlew. The village is surrounded by the Breckland Farmland Site of Special Scientific Interest and close to the Breckland Forest SSSI, both of which cover large area of Breckland and are two of the largest SSSI areas in England. The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The Icknield Way Trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also passes through the village. In the first half of the 19th century, great bustards were occasionally seen around Icklingham before they became extinct in the British Isles. A number of smaller SSSI areas are found in the Icklingham area. These include Berner's Heath, the largest area of heather heathland in Breckland at , and Deadman's Grave, a grassland heath area of , both of which are north of the village. Cavenham-Icklingham Heaths, to the south-east of the village, is in area and includes a number of woodland habitats. All contain rare species such as Rosser's sac spider (Clubiona rosserae) and the soldier-fly (Odontomyia angulata) as well as stone curlew and plant species such as Breckland wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and spring speedwell (Veronica verna). See also List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk References External links Villages in Suffolk Forest Heath Civil parishes in Suffolk