EAT Day 3

It was a warm night in the dense pine forest, I woke as usual just before 6am to the relentless chirp of birds all around. Eric is keenly consuming the dehydrated food she usually doesn’t like – we use a brand called ‘Pure’ who think they’re the best bet after raw food. It’s powder which you add water to which naturally we favour due to the weight reduction. We also have a broccoli cheese topper because naturally she a princess and needs seasoning. Eric usually dislikes the porridge-like texture immensely but it looks as though back-to-back long walks sees that she’ll eat anything. Even vegetables.

She’s now savvy enough to try and escape the putting on of her saddle bags, so we have that small performance to get through before we can set off.

We packed up and left by 6:45. Eric is on high alert at dawn so she’s usually strapped to us. She’s full of the joys of spring once again, probably because I’m carrying all her belongings and she has been reduced to a spoon and some poo bags.

Today was pretty much straight line, give or take a few kinks. We mainly walked forest tracks and dirt roads.

Snakes has been counting the amount of abandoned gloves she encounters – she’s up to 7 so far.

The day was cooler and windier which was good for Eric as today featured fewer water sources. We pulled in by a lake though and found a handy abandoned chair for me (and Eric) to enjoy. Here we dined on breakfast gruel and coffee before steaming the next four miles to a bench in Little Cressingham.

The next 5.5 km are on road, much to everyone’s dissatisfaction. Although it’s a quiet lane and we did spot more abandoned gloves, so not all bad.

Snakes dipped off mid way to see to some business. On swift completion of said business she returned to walking with an absolute plethora superlatives to say about her experience regarding : a great location, a swift completion , easy clean up, minimal waste removal required , no threats of being discovered. And on and on it went.

We lunched in a field. One of the very best things about these walks is that you get to have a daily picnic. Eric consumed her ‘roast dinner’ which we purchased for her yesterday and then collapsed in a little heap. I wrote a little and leaned over to see what Snakes was up to, to find her on the ‘Solidoor’ website looking at front door designs.

Soon we were off road and back on trails, Eric made use of the streams which were now running clear. Before North pickenham signs started appearing alerting us to a cafe in the small village. Just before the village the same cafe sign had some sharpie beneath it reading “open Friday and Saturday.” Why the HELL would you not specify that on every tantalising sign you erected ?!

We moved on, and we’re making good time, at this rate we’d be early for my proposed coppice once again. Ahead on our journey was Castle Acre where I happen to know there is an excellent pub. There is also a church, one who’s website boasts how it is the only church which sits on the Peddars way, a way, I remind you, that has been used for centuries by itinerant traders, who have no doubt, been sheltering in the church for all of those centuries.

I rang the church warden- to no avail. So I rang the vicar , Angela. A man answered, the words he spoke when answering sounded like a single noise so I missed who he was. The rector’s husband? Her PA perhaps?

I told him was after the rector of Castle Acre church, Angela. “She’s in a meeting, can I help?” I explained our story: two ladies and a poodle on a 200 mile jaunt around East Anglia looking to shelter in the church, we require nothing , are completely self sufficient, just permission for the church or the church yard for the night- we’re also extremely nice. I think he was alarmed. “Probably not”, he said, then proceeded to tell me the pub had rooms. When I said they were fully booked (no idea if that was true) he began to suggest all the other illegal places I could try. I thanked him and he said he was sorry but didn’t have authority to let me. I asked who would , he said the church warden , but added that he “probably would say no”. I asked “how can I turn the ‘probably’ into a definitive no, or yes”. He didn’t know. When I said we’ve never been turned away from a church (not a lie but there have only been four of them) he gained interest and wobbled in his “probably not” and offered to pass the message on. I said this was an excellent idea.

In the meantime I tracked down the email for the vicar who blessed our walk as we left off , all the way back in Bungay- I figured having another vicar on our side couldn’t hurt.

The trail now was mostly tarmac or dirt road, were no stranger to these things having walked all of New Mexico mainly in this fashion, but it’s no one’s favourite. I love a country lane as much as the next countryman but for a short trail the Peddars Way would be more fun on a bike, or maybe in a car- which is common practice.

We motored and moaned a final few miles on the road to castle acre, at mile 21, this was Eric :

We made it to Castle Acre and sat in the porch of the, so far, forbidden church making our dinner awaiting the allusive church warden to arrive. Miraculously my phone rang and it was Angela, the vicar. She was very nice, but said (about 14 times ) that she didn’t know the answer to is being able to stay, that insurance, that it’s really the wardens decision, that she was new , that another church a mile away might be better that, that, that… I thanked her many times but she didn’t seem to want the call to end without a solution – but end it did.

Meanwhile James the vicar had emailed me back and told me he’d ring Angela and shove her in the right direction. Nice one James !

I called David the church warden one last time. He couldn’t have sounded more like Mark Heap if he tried :

He told me more times that I care to remember: that it’s difficult, that insurance , that he’s in a difficult spot, that I should have contacted him a week ago, that he just doesn’t think it’s workable , that that that….

I kept thanking him for his time but he again, wouldn’t let the call end . I left my number with him and, end it eventually did.

Meanwhile Snakes had got bored of my mission and left for the pub.

David called back and said we could sleep in the porch , that he’d leave the loos open and joked that he’d “send us the bill tomorrow”. He reminded me four times that should have let him know of our arrival week earlier, though.

I was grateful.

He called back again five minutes later to let me know, that the porch was open, as were the loos and that we could stay there.

I like David.

David liked to chat.

I appreciate churches hold items of value, that people can be arses, that important things naturally need security and care and protection but ; Angela, James , David and I all agree that sheltering in churches overnight should be a normality. Anywhere – not least directly on a pilgrims trail. We agree it should be allowed, that people , poodles and even labradors, should be welcome. Not only were we allowed to sleep in the porch, but David promises to look into this more closely for future pilgrims. So, we’re actually changing the world here guys.

We sheltered in the pub until dark, until we felt sure that no local taking their dog out for a wee would be alarmed by us fettling around the church porch , then we set out to set up home for the night.

David forgot to mention the motion sensor light didn’t he?!?

We slept very very soundly and very warmly thanks to Angela, James and David