The Walk Master being poorly, the Führer and other regulars unable to walk, seven of us went to South Walsham to sample a pie previously sampled this year, from
Cumpstey’s of Acle. Parking at the car park by South Walsham Broad,
we followed Fleet Dike north until it
met the River Bure, whose south bank we followed east, passing
St. Benet’s Abbey drainage mill, then the remains of St. Benet’s Abbey on the other side of the river. Fortunately we had planned to turn south, to walk to Upton over the Marshes, as the footpath that continued along the riverbank was
Closed.
Just before we left the river, a Norfolk Trading Wherry, the Albion, sailed by. Following the concrete track across the marshes, we were afforded good views of three windmills and saw our second
Harnser fly in. Half way along this track we came to
free fruit – masses of Blackberries and Bullace growing together, begging to be harvested. We obliged, eating quite a lot and taking home even more.
At the end of the track, we deviated onto another footpath where we reclined to take lunch at 3.85 miles. We then headed into Upton and to the
White Horse.
Arriving at this establishment with horses tethered out the front, we retired to the back garden with Sundew and Nelson’s Revenge from Woodforde’s brewery, just along the river. Rejuvenated, we headed south then west a short distance, along roads before following a pleasant footpath through Upton Fen Nature Reserve. Short stretches of alternating road then footpath reunited us with the car after 6.42 miles. After some changed footwear, the tea and feast were carried to our munching location by the broad. Here we first sampled Smoked Salmon Crescents, then Cumpstey’s large pie, last sampled on the
13th February. The pie had a good appearance and when sliced revealed a well-jellied dark interior, low on aroma. The pastry was good and the filling flavoursome, attracting criticism from some, for lack of texture, resulting in the high standard deviation of 1.06849 and a score of 7.58333, so another normalised score of 7.5 for Cumpstey’s. Hobnobs once again replaced the usual Shortbread.
The Walk Master being poorly, the Führer and other regulars unable to walk, seven of us went to South Walsham to sample a pie previously sampled this year, from Cumpstey’s of Acle. Parking at the car park by South Walsham Broad, we followed Fleet Dike north until it 
met the River Bure, whose south bank we followed east, passing St. Benet’s Abbey drainage mill, then the remains of St. Benet’s Abbey on the other side of the river. Fortunately we had planned to turn south, to walk to Upton over the Marshes, as the footpath that continued along the riverbank was Closed. 
Just before we left the river, a Norfolk Trading Wherry, the Albion, sailed by. Following the concrete track across the marshes, we were afforded good views of three windmills and saw our second Harnser fly in. Half way along this track we came to free fruit – masses of Blackberries and Bullace growing together, begging to be harvested. We obliged, eating quite a lot and taking home even more.
At the end of the track, we deviated onto another footpath where we reclined to take lunch at 3.85 miles. We then headed into Upton and to the White Horse. 
Arriving at this establishment with horses tethered out the front, we retired to the back garden with Sundew and Nelson’s Revenge from Woodforde’s brewery, just along the river. Rejuvenated, we headed south then west a short distance, along roads before following a pleasant footpath through Upton Fen Nature Reserve. Short stretches of alternating road then footpath reunited us with the car after 6.42 miles. After some changed footwear, the tea and feast were carried to our munching location by the broad. Here we first sampled Smoked Salmon Crescents, then Cumpstey’s large pie, last sampled on the 13th February. The pie had a good appearance and when sliced revealed a well-jellied dark interior, low on aroma. The pastry was good and the filling flavoursome, attracting criticism from some, for lack of texture, resulting in the high standard deviation of 1.06849 and a score of 7.58333, so another normalised score of 7.5 for Cumpstey’s. Hobnobs once again replaced the usual Shortbread.
