Last week I went with Heather to Walsingham. I'd been a couple of times before. (The highlighted links are my previous posts).
"Walsingham, in north Norfolk, England (United Kingdom) has been a place of pilgrimage since medieval times, when travel to Rome and Compostella was virtually impossible. The original Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, founded in 1061, was destroyed at the Reformation.
Many barren years passed until the Slipper Chapel, a 14th century wayside pilgrim chapel, was restored and pilgrimage to Walsingham began once more." from the roman Catholic website and the C of E one .
It's a wonderful place in a little valley, almost untouched by the brash 21st century. All the people that we met were open and so friendly. We were greeted at the pub by a charming gentleman in a suit with a medal around his neck, not the owner but a customer. He had noticed us looking at the lunch menu & thought he should inform us that the cook was on by herself today and was struggling a bit....would we consider another pub further down the road. We did & had a not-too-bad Brit lunch of quiche, chips & salad accompanied by lots of laughter at he owners expense, he had just opened 2 days prior & could not figure out for the life of him how the Gin dispenser worked.
"Walsingham, in north Norfolk, England (United Kingdom) has been a place of pilgrimage since medieval times, when travel to Rome and Compostella was virtually impossible. The original Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, founded in 1061, was destroyed at the Reformation.
Many barren years passed until the Slipper Chapel, a 14th century wayside pilgrim chapel, was restored and pilgrimage to Walsingham began once more." from the roman Catholic website and the C of E one .
It's a wonderful place in a little valley, almost untouched by the brash 21st century. All the people that we met were open and so friendly. We were greeted at the pub by a charming gentleman in a suit with a medal around his neck, not the owner but a customer. He had noticed us looking at the lunch menu & thought he should inform us that the cook was on by herself today and was struggling a bit....would we consider another pub further down the road. We did & had a not-too-bad Brit lunch of quiche, chips & salad accompanied by lots of laughter at he owners expense, he had just opened 2 days prior & could not figure out for the life of him how the Gin dispenser worked.
After our lunch we perused the couple of shops in the town that sell ecclesiastical vestments... I bought an absolute beauty, Heather bought a beautiful cut glass holy water holder (There must be a proper name for it Jeremy?). Here it is. Gold sequin things in a pattern of grapes & vine on a background of white silk.
It would make a gorgeous bed hanging. Maybe I can extend it & lend it to East Harling for Easter.
The sun shone & we laughed & paddled our canoe. There were Kingfishers & tiny wrens scolding us as we came too near their nests. It was hard work going upstream as there was a head wind but I'm glad we went that way first & didn't have to struggle on our return journey. 
We stopped 1/2 way and lay on the bank & thought of Ratty & Mole, Gerard Manly Hopkins & Browning's poem 'Oh to be in England now that April's there'...
We didn't have lashings of Pop, but we did have some essential provisions... 
and I'll lead you to a beautiful land.
A 13th century Church where they were ringing a quarter peal of Oxford treble bob minor. 
Birds of prey including this beautiful Barn owl. 
Huge & graceful Shire horses with their owners who sported the most amazing sideburns I've ever seen.
Here I am looking very prim, trying to look old enough to go on an English "Coach" trip. At least the hair colour is correct.
There was a beautiful Evensong in the Cathedral dedicated to 
This is the main door in. You can just see at the bottom left, where there is a white square of paper, the tiny door that is cut out of this huge one for daily comings & goings.
