The last pie of the month was a Tesco Melton Mowbray medium pork pie - another new pie, as we've only had their Finest* Melton Mowbray pies before. But first we had to survive another of the Walk Master's "
Extreme Walks": Setting off from a lay-by on the A1075, Dereham Road, just north of Shipdham, we headed north then eastwards, to face into the strong winds and
rain that made feel even colder than it already was. To add a little spice to the walk we had to climb over a barbed wire fence then cross an active runway. We were fortunate that on this instance, we didn't have to dodge any aircraft - probably due to the weather conditions. Passing the museum of the
USAAF 44th Bombardment Group, we came to other obstacles to test us,
including a cow poo "lake" to cross and slippery bank & fence to climb. Making it back to civilisation, we took refuge in the church porch of
All Saints, Shipdham. The church has a wonderful cupola on its square tower and inside has two fonts and a very old lectern amongst other items to note. The rain that had abated prior to reaching the church, once again started as we finished our sandwiches, we headed off to find solace in the Kings's Head. Here we had good pints of Black Sheep & Wherry by an open fire and an interesting mardle with the locals. Onward, to the cars, a non-challenging mile-long hike along footpaths at the edge of fields. Pâté on oatcakes was passed over due to worsening weather and we went straight into pie tasting. The pies, with rather straight sides, revealed a well filled pie with little jelly, when cut. A slight aroma was present, a "fresh" smell, rather than appetising. "A confident little pie, almost cheeky, if somewhat minimalist" a pleasant pie with not much flavour, helped by the application of mustard. Despite having "Authentic Melton Mowbray Pie" on the wrapper, the pie was lacking in pepper and could not easily be identified as such. The blind tasting resulted in a respectable score of 6.64286 with a rather high standard deviation of 0.98802. A wee dram of 46% Islay Malt, to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of
Robert Burns, washed down the pie. Shortcake appeared to accompany any remaining tea. So Tesco scored a normalised 6.5 for its standard Melton Mowbray pies.
This week was to be our visit to Cookie's, but at the last minute, the Walk Master advised that due to the dreadful weather, we would not be going. We headed instead to Woodton to start our 6 mile walk without the prize of a pie at the end. 
First we visited Woodton All Saints church, with a fine specimen of a parasol in the foreground. Finding no scratch dial we went round the rear of the church and through a field of inquisitive bullocks - waving sticks about we kept them at bay until we had crossed over the electric fence. Our path then took us through a field of cows that had made the field a mud bath! This proved to be quite a challenge for Ana who was wearing her "MBT" shoes, as did the muddy lane that followed. Here we came across a clump of huge horse mushrooms, each about a foot across. Now heading south down Nobb’s Lane, with blackberry bushes laden with fruit that we sampled to excess. Continuing south along Mill Road, we eventually came to St. Margaret’s church, Topcroft, previously visited after the stormy walk last November. Here we had lunch in the porch. 
The walk Master then told us we would not have to wade through mud on the second half of the walk - he didn't mention the very high and slippery styles, the overgrown footpaths and having to climb a ladder! A bonus was that thus far we had evaded the rain. As we approached our third, round towered church with an octagonal top, light rain started. We explored St. Andrew’s church in Bedingham finding no scratch dial. We made our way to the King's Head, just under a mile away for pints of Old Speckled Hen, St. Edmunds and Battle of Britain. When we left the pub, it was raining; the Führer dictated that we should forgo tea as we walked the short distance to the cars. This proved to be a good call, as the heavens opened up on our journey home!
