Another glorious day in the sunshine, although it was even colder today. There was a layer of ice on the puddles when I first set off!
A slightly later start this morning as I popped into Aldi for supplies. The route crossed the railway into Norfolk. The final county on this pilgrimage and an area that I spent 5 years in.
I recognised the villages I passed through, nostalgia of the quiet lanes I once cycled down made me smile.
Following a farm track I came into Weeting, crossing through, past a farm and into Thetford forest. Pig farms were interspersed amongst the trees – they stared at me with ears up inquisitively.
The way delved deeper into the woods, birds sang from the branches and the golden light spilled between the trunks. Squirrels darted about through the bracken – I embraced the peace and solitude.
I took a break at Mundford, deciding to eat my packed lunch early, sunning myself on a bench in the church yard. However soon my inactivity caused me to feel the cold, prompting me to move on.
A bit of road walking followed into Ickburgh. The path criss-crosses the A1065, the main road from Swaffham to Brandon – a road I have driven down many times while living in Norfolk.
The iconic memorial to the ‘Desert Rats’, a tank division from WW2, marks their headquarters, and my next stage of the walk, over their training grounds.
The route led me to Hillborough, where a church in the middle of nowhere, clearly not regularly used on account of the cobwebs, mice and bird droppings in the nave, was the only church today with a stamp!
At this point my legs were complaining after a the last 5km being on tarmac, and I still had 5 more to go. The front muscle that runs along my right shin was letting me know about it. The camber of the road clearly causing it issues.
I hobbled in Gt. Cressingham and into the ‘Old Windmill Inn’. I plonked myself at the bar for a pint before checking in.
My room has a bath – I don’t often take baths, as with these old places it will use a lot of hot water, which is inconsiderate for other guests, but my muscles needed some indulgence – no regrets.
Stu's Camino 