London to Walsingham Day 6

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One of the downsides of walking such long days is that you don't get much of a chance to see the places along the way.
Such was the case with Bury St Edmunds where I arrived in the evening and by 7am the next morning was on my way out of town.
Thankfully in this case I have previously visited on numerous occasions, but even so it took something away from the overall experience of the walk.
Getting out of town was quite straightforward as once on the footpath alongside the River Lark it was just a case of following it across a golf course and away into the countryside.
At Hengate Weir I left the river behind to go firstly through the parkland surrounding Culford School and then soon after leaving the village, onto a long straight lane that would lead me through woodland and then open fields eventually to Barnham.
From here to get to Thetford there isn't a viable alternative to walking along the verge of the main A134 until reaching Barnhamcross Common where I could then get away from the road and make my way into Thetford. Thankfully almost all drivers on the road were courteous, but still it wasn't the most pleasant experience.
It was still only midday and I was over half way through the days walk so I made the most of the warm spring day and took a long break in the town centre and watched the world go by.
Thetford is one of those small towns that has no big attraction but is a pleasant enough place nonetheless.
It's most famous son is Thomas Paine who was one of the American Founding Fathers. I hadn't heard of him before but a quick online search revealed what an interesting character he was.
The town's more recent claim to fame though I definitely had heard of, as it was Warmington on Sea in the sitcom Dad's Army, with filming being done in the town and nearby forest. This fact is celebrated with a wall mural and a statue of Captain Mainwaring - Thomas Paine also gets one by the way!
There's also a museum dedicated to Burrell who were an engineering firm based in the town and it's major employer.
So all in all a pretty average market town but with a bit of interesting history.
Lazy lunch break over and it was time to get moving again, now following the Little Ouse River out of town and into Thetford Forest.
After a few miles I passed Thetford Power Station, tucked away in the trees it seems strange to find such a place. Apparently it burns the waste bedding from chicken farms and the waste ash product is a high grade fertiliser. Another interesting fact to come out of visiting Thetford!
More woodland tracks led me to All Saint's Church Santon, one of the smallest churches in England, and as it was open I took the opportunity of another rest.
I'm not sure whether it was the previous day's road walking or just the daily distances but whatever my feet were suffering now, both from blisters and general pain.
Thankfully much of today's walk was on more forgiving terrain which continued almost all the way to Brandon where I had a room booked at The Ram, a pub with over 500 years of history, and which would almost certainly have been a resting place for Walsingham bound pilgrims prior to the dissolution in 1538.
I hope that they were as impressed by it as I was. There's a lot of negativity about the state of the UK pub trade but with good beer and food, comfortable rooms, friendly staff and plenty of customers this one seems to have got something right.
As tempting as the selection of beers looked though I needed an early night as tomorrow would be the longest day of the walk.

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