Pickerings pork pies were to be sampled this week after 66 weeks since we last
sampled them. To ensure we had a prime pie palate, we had a bracing 6-mile walk. Parking by the side of the road on Wash Lane, near Hales Green, we crossed the A146, Beccles Road and headed towards Raveningham, with the 260,000-gallon
water tower in the distance on our starboard side. We passed the late 18th century
Raveningham Hall, arriving at the parish church of
St. Andrew in the grounds of the hall. The church has a round tower with a later octagonal top and importantly, a
scratch dial at its southeast corner! Inside, the chancel has canopied recesses on each side, containing commemorative tablets to the Bacon family.
After we had admired these, and had eaten our sandwiches, we exited the church into a blizzard – the Walk Master & Weather Wizard had not inflicted another of his extreme walks upon us - the snow was coming from behind. Exiting the park, we past the cast iron monument built in 1831 by J. T. Patience – showing mileages from London and Norwich. Heading westwards to Hales, we stopped at the
Garden House to ensure that our mouths were not too dry to sample pies, Woodfordes Wherry & Norfolk Nog at £2.00 a pint. Onward into another blizzard and to the church of
St. Margaret, Hales, the most complete Norman church in the county - a scratch dial fanciers delight, boasting no less than
9 dials! A short journey back to the cars and onto the pies. Pâté on oatcakes were again passed over due to the Siberian weather coming from the east. The good looking pies with a dark, beautifully marbled filling, low on aroma and nicely jellied were very tasty despite being so cold, though not enhanced by mustard. They scored a spot on 8.5 with a standard deviation of 0.70711
After we had admired these, and had eaten our sandwiches, we exited the church into a blizzard – the Walk Master & Weather Wizard had not inflicted another of his extreme walks upon us - the snow was coming from behind. Exiting the park, we past the cast iron monument built in 1831 by J. T. Patience – showing mileages from London and Norwich. Heading westwards to Hales, we stopped at the Garden House to ensure that our mouths were not too dry to sample pies, Woodfordes Wherry & Norfolk Nog at £2.00 a pint. Onward into another blizzard and to the church of St. Margaret, Hales, the most complete Norman church in the county - a scratch dial fanciers delight, boasting no less than 9 dials! A short journey back to the cars and onto the pies. Pâté on oatcakes were again passed over due to the Siberian weather coming from the east. The good looking pies with a dark, beautifully marbled filling, low on aroma and nicely jellied were very tasty despite being so cold, though not enhanced by mustard. They scored a spot on 8.5 with a standard deviation of 0.70711
