We’d managed to get another round of needed re-packing in there and were ready for yet another change of climate. It probably wasn’t going to be as cold in Norfolk as it had been in Scotland, but it hadn’t been very cold there anyway. Oh well, you never know what you’re going to get in the Spring, and so we brought a little of everything in our packs for Great Massingham and were glad we did.
Another breakfast of tea, cereal, yogurt, and fruit. Jim and I went out to the good old Tesco to fill the Kia Sportage with petrol and then we piled in and hit the road for the Northeast, though traffic works tried to delay us. It actually wasn’t that bad a trip across the Northern Circular Road (the A406) a few miles over to the M11, and then accelerated to highway speed up to where we branched onto the A11 in Great Chesterford. We eventually made it to Swaffham (notorious for Liz Truss), and did a big food shopping trip in Waitrose. The plan was for Jim to make a few meals (chili con carne that night), but to have another few meals in some of the great pubs they have in Norfolk.
The last town before Great Massingham is the lovely town of Castle Acre, and then we were suddenly there, a little familiar and a lot different. We’d been to their house once, on our trip in 2009, and at that point there was snow and ice everywhere, one of the biggest snowfalls they’ve ever had around there. Nothing had been in bloom, and we didn’t have much of a chance to hang out in their garden. This time was very different and SarahE and I were just delighted with the sunny day and the incredible number of plants, vegetables, and some trees that they have in their garden. So many things were in bloom or just a little before or after it! I especially liked the hollyhocks, reminiscent of the hollyhocks we had by the kitchen door in Westport when we were growing up.
Their narrow garden goes straight back a long way, and at the end they have a garden house, with a new deck and a great room on the second floor that could be used as a remote bedroom. The garden house overlooks their neighbor’s field, which was planted with something I couldn’t identify and goes to the horizon. Out in front, across the road is another field and this is used by livestock. OMG, more sheep!!! These were very diverse though, a mix of white sheep, black sheep, gray sheep, Anglicans, and lambs.
After putting food and clothes away and touring the garden, it was time for lunch and then an excursion. We drove down to Castle Acre and started off by turning down Pye’s Lane, parking where the barbican used to be, and exploring the 11th century castle. Again, we’d been here in 2009 but that was a lot different.
We walked around inside the ruins of the old house, and then climbed up on the walls and walked around the path. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day by then, great weather for an outing in the English countryside. We continued past the castle and down Bailey Street to Blind Lane, where we passed through a fence and walked along the River Nar. Castle Acre is at the junction of the River Nar and Peddars Way, an old Roman road.
The Nar is a chalk stream, featured in an article in the May 2024 National Geographic. It’s in the process of being restored, though I doubt it will be restored to the major waterway it was in the medieval period, linking Castle Acre to the Little Ouse. The walk along it is lovely, with many kinds of wildflowers (and mud) and aquatic weeds waving in the current in the cold stream. We followed it downstream and saw many people enjoying it, including a group of kids swimming and horsing around in the water, whose parents really needed to be paying better attention.
After a stretch along the river, we took the path around the back of the massive Castle Acre Priory complex, another 11th century construction that is mostly ruined but still used to some extent. Some of the architectural detail in the ruined old buildings is remarkable. But mostly what we were doing is trying not to step in sheep shit or get swarmed by rabbits (some were very active). We looped back by St. James Church (not named after St. Mary), and through their graveyard, then up High Street through the center of town and back via the old bailey to the castle and on the other side, the car park. We passed a house they might have bought when they were house hunting, but they ended up with a better one.
A great walk! It definitely tired us out (is that what we were trying to do?). But Jim managed to stay on his feet long enough to make dinner, and we all contributed by eating it. We dismantled the framing of an embroidery Mom made back in the 80s so SarahE and I could (hopefully) fit it in our suitcases and bring it back to the States with us on the plane. A little more TV and/or cards and then it was time for bed.
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