This 26km stage, I was dreading with how my right shin had been reacting yesterday. However it was pretty even with road and track walking.
The kinesiology tape was out and my right leg looked like a modern art piece by the time I had finished strapping it up.
From Castle Acre the route follows the ‘Nar Valley Way’ through quiet paths and lanes. Although the sun was out, it was cold – my dexterity in my hands were sluggish, making it a challenge to fill in the visitor book at St. Andrew’s at East Lexham.
An Anglo-Saxon church that had been restored with national lottery funds. Distinctive by its round tower. Wall paintings adorned the interior. I took 10mins to rest having covered 5km – my strategy to appease my leg.
I followed the road past Lexham Hall, its country estate on either side of me. All picturesque and grand – a nice part of the world. Eventually it comes out on the main road from King Lynn into Litcham.
A road I know well from weekends cycling out to ‘The Bull Inn’, having a pint then cycling back. Had it not been 0920h when I got into the village, I would have called in for a swift half for nostalgia.
After collecting the stamp and stocking up on supplies from the local shop, I followed the route north to Tittleshall pausing for a leg break at St. Mary’s.
From there it was across fields to Godwick. A site of a medieval village; all that remains is part of the tower to the church.
Then on to Whissonsett. As I joined the road into the village, a car came to a stop and the driver asked if I was walking the Camino. It was Tim Burton — not the film director, but one of the people involved in helping establish the Walsingham Camino routes. A completely unexpected meeting with someone connected to the pilgrimage while walking it myself.
Next stop was Colkirk and the temperature dropped prompting me to put on my fleece. It was also at this point my leg started to complain. I slowed my pace and thankfully it was only a short stint on the road and soon I was cutting across fields into Fakenham.
I eased myself into the town collecting the stamp at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, the end point for the penultimate day.
Stu's Camino 