We got up at 7am but I found as much as I could do around the house to delay our departure. By 08:30, we could put it off no longer. A last minute selfie with Thomas then off we went.
It was already pretty warm and I was soon looking forward to diving into the delicious shade of Hockering wood. As we approached, however, we could hear the grind of a nearby chainsaw. The wood doesn’t officially open until 10am, but we weren’t expecting work to be done before then on a Sunday. We could, of course, have checked with the landowner, but then it would have been tricky if he didn’t grant permission.
Fortunately, we had previously tried an alternative route in case of this scenario. It had no shelter, was about a mile longer and went along the A47 for a bit but we had no choice. As we started on this plan, we saw a dead barn owl. I hoped it wasn’t an omen.
The detour was soon finished and we rejoined our original route in time to see a hare twitching it’s ears, just off the path. The first 8 miles went quickly as we were aiming to make progress before the worst of the heat struck. Who could have guessed that our biggest risk on the first day would be heatstroke? We decided to have a break and just as we did Rich spotted a bench in the shade on Hoe Common. After some cake and plenty of water, we put on sun cream and sun hats and off we went. After only a short time, we stopped for cold drinks at the Café in the Museum of rural life in Gressenhall - we knew we would need more fluid to combat the heat than the 2L each we were carrying.
The rest of the day was spent in frequent shady stops; each time we seemed less able to cool down. A beautiful grass snake that stopped stock still for us to photograph was a rare moment of respite. Next we saw a hare in a field just past the common. A fitting way to bookend our day. As we arrived in Castle Acre, The Ostrich pub has never looked more inviting.
As I’m writing, our kebabs with everything have just arrived from Swaffham Kebab and Pizza House, so it’s time to sign off for today.
