Peddars Way Blog

Hi, I thought I’d tell you why I’m writing this blog. Well it’s because I’m hoping to raise £5000 or more to help St Andrew's Church in Little Massingham, Norfolk. All the money I raise will go towards restoring the church roof after lead was stolen.

You may ask when and why am I doing it...
Next Spring I'll be walking from Colchester, Essex to the North Norfolk coast. I'll be trying to trace the ancient Roman route from Colchester and join the known Peddars Way in Suffolk.

From an early age I’ve been keen to follow up a story handed down through some four generations of my family, that Peddars Way went all the way from the Norfolk coast to Colchester. Having been born and raised in a West Norfolk village where Peddars Way runs, this family story really resonated with me.

At long last I have a very good reason for trying to solve this mystery. When I leave Colchester I will try to follow a possible Roman route joining the known Peddars Way. Whilst walking I hope to raise money to help replace the roof of St Andrew’s Church, Lt Massingham, because three or so years ago this Grade 1 Listed church had all the lead stolen from it. This was devastating news for the parishioners and as Patron of that church I really wanted to help a small community raise the £150,000 needed to complete the refurbishment. The church is in one of the villages where Peddars Way passes through.

My starting target is low, but I'd love to raise much more. Can you help? If you’d like to donate to the new Friends of St Andrew’s Church Little Massingham charity see link below.

FOSALM.org

The training is going well. Looked at possible route to take when we set off in the spring.

A friend and I took a two mile walk through some really pretty countryside. The leaves on the trees were quite beautiful.

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My Research - Locating Peddar's Way

Two updates, one on 29th April - the location of the village of Chelsworth. The other on 24th April, writings and research by Rev. H. Copinger Hill. If you have stumbled across this research and wondered how and why it came about, I thought I should offer an explanation. From an early age I’ve been keen to follow up a story handed down through some four generations of my family, that Peddars Way went all the way from Colchester to the Norfolk coast. Having been born and raised in a West Norfolk village where Peddars Way runs, this family story really resonated with me. On 22nd September 2020 I’ll be leaving Colchester on a charity walk, raising funds for Little Massingham Church. More details at the foot of this page. Anyone walking north from Colchester would encounter one major problem, water! The more maps I studied, the more areas of water I saw! The River Stour and Box and other rivulets dominate the border area between north Essex and Suffolk, this would definitely influ

September 2020

Link to my research page Update October 2nd September 2020 At 10.30 am on the 22nd September we will be leaving Balkerne Gate, Colchester to walk to the Norfolk coast, some 90 miles. The High Steward of Colchester, Sir Bob Russell will be walking with us to the Suffolk border. The most important thing about the event is that I will be raising much needed funds to help restore the roof of St Andrew's Church, Little Massingham, Norfolk. If you can help by donating, that would be wonderful. All details are shown below. It is almost a year since I first had the idea to undertake this charity walk. Originally this should have taken place in April, but because of Covid-19 it was put on hold. At long last I will be able to set off with my walking companion Rina Adams. If you would like to join us as we walk sections of this route or if you need to contact me about anything else to do with the walk, please see the blogger contact link - top right of page. Once we begin our journey I wi

My Journey - from 3000 steps a day to a 252,418 step trek across three counties

What’s this all about you may ask yourself? As a child, living in Norfolk I frequently walked sections of the Peddars Way, a famous Roman or perhaps pre-Roman road which runs from Holme-next-the-Sea, through my childhood home village of Little Massingham and onto Knettishall Heath, Suffolk. However, I had always been told it actually went all the way to Colchester in Essex. In my youth I quite often walked it, but there were occasions when it was because I was in some sort of trouble with my parents. I would usually be found escaping - with my dog and small suitcase - along this route, and when I was challenged, I’d climb into my father's car and be driven home. I think there was a strong element of Dick Whittington about me as I knew that if I walked for long enough, I would get to London. Seventy years on and having moved to Colchester, I was still fixated by this road and realised time was running out if I wanted to finally try to prove that the Peddars Way really did go all the

March 2020

Only a few weeks until the start of the trek from Colchester to Holme, Norfolk. Yesterday we completed our Tuesday walk. Disappointed that it was only 8 miles it felt like much more. I was so tired after I arrived home I had to have a long snooze! The plus side is I'm drinking more water! WEDNESDAY 4th March Fitted in another training walk today. Walked 6 or so miles. Rina was fascinated by the size of this oak tree. It was only after 18 months of losing weight, that I thought I might be able to do this walk. It will be easier if I can lose more weight before 27th April... and the beginning of our trek north. Yesterday I received an award from my Slimming World group for being their ‘Greatest Loser 2020’! This week I’m finding I’m in a lot of pain, I need to investigate how I can manage it better. I think it’s sciatica in my hips and legs! I need to find some treatment soon... although I do find it does help a bit when I’m exercising at the gym. I’ve also been writing

February 2020

11th February Update Over the last two weeks we have been walking closer to home because it's been so wet and muddy under foot. Today we walked around the outskirts of the town. Found it rather annoying that cycle routes give estimated distances but nothing for walkers! Walked a fraction under 6 miles today, very windy, needed my hat. Saturday 15th February Update This week I’ve tried to get in more walking and exercise at the gym. This morning went out before Storm Dennis arrived as I’d heard that one of the old military gates along Butt Road, Colchester had be restored. Over several years I’ve been campaigning to see these gates refurbished - lovely to see this one in place! Tuesday 18th February Our weekly walk really went into overdrive because we walked just over 9 miles today! No wonder several parts of my body were hurting. Muscles and hips aching and I thought I’d not make it home! This morning in Head Street we had a little fun when a man saw us using o

June 2020

Updated 28th June 2nd June Having arranged to walk with Rina in Layer de la Haye the following day, this sparked a chain of events. I decided I couldn’t leave it any longer before I filled up my car with petrol. Normally buying petrol is no big deal, but as this was the first time I'd had to buy any since the 'lockdown', I decided I could no longer put off making a journey to the petrol pumps... something I wasn’t looking forward to! I had already decided that I would try to pay at the pump, even though I’d never done it before. I thought, it couldn’t be that difficult. When I arrived at the petrol station, I was confronted by signage asking me to use the ‘pay at pump’ facility rather than go into the shop. I donned my mask and my rather conspicuous blue gloves and got out of the car. At first it was difficult to read the instructions because the mask was making my glasses steam up! Eventually I managed to scan my loyalty card, having first tried it one way and t

July 2020

Updated - 23rd July 9th July When I met up with Rina yesterday we decided to walk a 'dry route', owing to the rain we have had in the last few days. I had planned to use the map device on my Fitbit and post it to this blog, at the time I was rather puzzled why it wouldn't work. Later I remembered my phone can't receive a signal when I'm in Layer. Walked down to just beyond the reservoir. Not may birds about, but spotted a couple of Grebe. On our return we crossed the road and walked up to a farm and then along through wheat and barley fields. Last time I was there these fields were still green. Walked back towards the church and village on a slightly muddy route, it was quite a job to remove all the mud from our shoes. We discussed when we might be able to start our walk to Norfolk. Hope it will be September. Total mileage, a fraction over 6 miles. 11th July Joined my family bubble today for a walk at Anglesey Abbey. Lov ely 3 mile walk in the sunshine. I notice

Update January 2020

Update January 2020 Between Christmas and New Year I've been increasing my walking - I'm now walking on a regular bases. Earlier this week it jumped to 6.5 miles in one day! This was probably a mistake as it caused a problem with my left foot. I'm now being more realistic and today quite happily walked 3.5 miles. Slow and steady for the rest of this month... although I have another 6 mile walk coming up next week! We now have a firm date for leaving Colchester and walking north, looking for and at times walking along Peddars Way. We’ll be leaving on Monday 27th April at 10.30 am! Marina (Rina) Adams, has volunteered to walk the full distance with me. I've known Rina for more than twenty years, as my late husband, Tony was friends with both her and her husband John. Tony and John got to know each other when Tony was a freelance cameraman for Anglia TV and John was a photographer for the local newspapers and Photographic Manager for Essex County Newspapers. On

Peddars Way Charity Walk - Colchester to the North Norfolk Coast

Find out about Friends of St Andrew's Church Little Massingham

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