The path uses the trackbeds of two former railway lines, from Norwich to Themelthorpe and from Themelthorpe to Aylsham. The Themelthorpe to Norwich line was built in 1882 by the Lynn and Fakenham Railway Company which was taken over by the M&GNJR in 1893, as part of a line that ran to Melton Constable. This line gave a through route to the Midlands. The Themelthorpe to Aylsham line was completed in 1893 by the Great Eastern Railway to provide a link to its other lines at Wroxham and County School railway station close to North Elmham.