Worstead, Honing Bridge and the Weavers Way

From Worstead, the walk leads east along footpaths and farm tracks. Summer flowers such as campion, hawkweed, and creeping thistle grow along the way; the thistle has a sweet, musky smell that is very attractive to butterflies. Scentless mayweed, despite its name, flowers from July onwards (the word may is derived from the Old English word meaning "maiden").

The path turns north and at Broad Fen, Dilham briefly follows a waterway: the old North Walsham and Dilham Canal, which was opened in 1826. It closed after only a few years because it proved too shallow for any vessel other than Norfolk wherries, which had a draught when fully loaded of 3 to 3.5 feet (1 metre). The sailing wherry was unique to Norfolk and mostly sailed on the Broads; it was a square-rigged, single-masted, open boat, clinker-built of oak with a double-ended tarred hull, featuring one long hold for cargo protected by hatch covers, and usually carrying a black sail positioned well forward and spread by a heavy gaff.

The return to Worstead is along the Weavers' Way, a 56-mile (90-kilometre) long-distance footpath between the coastal towns of Cromer and Great Yarmouth that follows the course of an old railway line which closed in 1959. Like many other disused lines, it is a haven for wild plants.

Soon after crossing the canal, the old platform of Briggate station can be seen, half hidden in the undergrowth, and a little further along is the site of a disused windmill.

The walk re-enters Worstead past the 14th-century church of St Mary, whose magnificent proportions reflect the medieval wealth of the village. There are richly carved, over-restored screens in the chancel and chapels, along with the remains of some medieval wall paintings and texts. The St Mary's Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers who work at the church have produced a tapestry of the Baptism of Our Lord, which hangs in a rare painted frame in the reredos behind the altar. In the North Chapel, on certain days, the weavers can be seen producing cloth from local sheep's wool.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.