A lack of pie munchers this week, to sample Sainsbury's Melton Mowbray Large Pork Pie – a pie we haven’t previously had. In the absence of the Walk Master & the Führer, King Canape led us on a pre-pie walk around Botesdale in Suffolk. Parking in The Street we started by having a look round
St. Botolph’s chapel of ease – after which the village was named “St. Botolph’s Dale”. We could not access the south side of the chapel, so no scratch dials were found.
We headed south along footpaths passing "
Bunny Hollow". The footpath crossed a ploughed field and it was decided to follow the perimeter rather than battle across the furrows. We reached the southern most point of our walk to see leverets dashing about madly. Taking a short footpath eastwards, we then made our way in a north easterly direction along Nan Hazel’s Lane for about a mile. Our route then took us along a byway near Stubbing’s Green, spotting the signpost had been knocked down, despite being on a 4” x 4” post, we propped up the sign and headed down the track only to find our way deliberately
blocked by farm equipment. Some of the party clambered over the obstacle, while half of the party managed to squeeze past, after we had trimmed the sloe bushes with secateurs. Don, the last to squeeze past, managed to slip into the adjacent ditch. After wringing the water from his socks and emptying his shoes, we continued a short distance before pausing for lunch in the shade of a tree. We now followed footpaths west, spotting painted lady butterflies before heading north and passing under the A143. Coming to a Y-junction, a majority decision kept us on track back to Botesdale by footpath. Shortly before reaching road, two deer crossed our path.
We journeyed up
Bridewell Lane to The Street and into
The Greyhound public house. We were in ‘silly Suffolk’ – the pub sign had a picture of a Springer Spaniel!
However, the pub was good selling Norfolk beers - Wherry and what we all enjoyed: 3.7%,
Lavender Honey from Wolf. Rejuvenated, we wandered back to the car for graze & tea: Josie was tea lady producing a brew to accompany this week’s feast: olive and anchovy Tapenade on bruschette followed by Sainsbury's Melton Mowbray Large Pork Pie. A rather uninspiring pie with a “minimalist” appearance having a dull pastry crust. Slicing revealed a pale pink filling with the merest soupçon of jelly and a faint pleasant aroma. Munching: the pastry let this pie down, but the filling tasted of roast pork with a peppery after taste. Mustard did nothing to enhance this pie – distracting from the flavour of the filling. The pie was judged to score a spot on 8 out of 10 with a standard deviation of 0.5. Cadbury’s chocolate chunk cookies completed the feast. On the return journey, we stopped by Botesdale’s
water tower – a 4 x 5 x 2 panel Braithwaite tank on a brick tower that served the WWII Prisoner of War camp 56, so that the Pie Master could photograph it.
A lack of pie munchers this week, to sample Sainsbury's Melton Mowbray Large Pork Pie – a pie we haven’t previously had. In the absence of the Walk Master & the Führer, King Canape led us on a pre-pie walk around Botesdale in Suffolk. Parking in The Street we started by having a look round St. Botolph’s chapel of ease – after which the village was named “St. Botolph’s Dale”. We could not access the south side of the chapel, so no scratch dials were found. 
We headed south along footpaths passing "Bunny Hollow". The footpath crossed a ploughed field and it was decided to follow the perimeter rather than battle across the furrows. We reached the southern most point of our walk to see leverets dashing about madly. Taking a short footpath eastwards, we then made our way in a north easterly direction along Nan Hazel’s Lane for about a mile. Our route then took us along a byway near Stubbing’s Green, spotting the signpost had been knocked down, despite being on a 4” x 4” post, we propped up the sign and headed down the track only to find our way deliberately blocked by farm equipment. Some of the party clambered over the obstacle, while half of the party managed to squeeze past, after we had trimmed the sloe bushes with secateurs. Don, the last to squeeze past, managed to slip into the adjacent ditch. After wringing the water from his socks and emptying his shoes, we continued a short distance before pausing for lunch in the shade of a tree. We now followed footpaths west, spotting painted lady butterflies before heading north and passing under the A143. Coming to a Y-junction, a majority decision kept us on track back to Botesdale by footpath. Shortly before reaching road, two deer crossed our path. 
We journeyed up Bridewell Lane to The Street and into The Greyhound public house. We were in ‘silly Suffolk’ – the pub sign had a picture of a Springer Spaniel! 
