The Road To Thetford - Day 21 - Hot and knackered but I did it anyhow

My original plan was to be up for 5am and be out of the house by 5.30am but I was not committed enough to get up at 5am, so when I did get up at 6.30am and out of the house by 6.45am, the sun was burning through the last of the mist that would have kept things cooler for me in the early stage of today's long run.

The route I took clipped the edge of Moulton St.Mary before skirting the edge of Beighton, popping out at South Burlingham, into Lingwood, then Buckenham, Hassingham, edge of Cantley before returning to Freethorpe - about 11.5 miles and three hours.

It was clear early on that the fatigue from yesterday's 6.5mile run plus the harsh heat of the morning sun was going to make today's run tough both physically and mentally - far more walking than I wanted and because I had decided that today's run was 12-14 miles or a max of three hours, the time limit was applied.

It would have been so easy to stop after a couple of miles and head home but I choose to push on accepting it would not be a great long-run but life is not about easy, its about what we do when the going gets tough - now you'll have Billy Ocean ear-worming for the rest of the day.......

Beighton Church which is far walk away from the main part of the village and due to being surrounded by farmland and a few  well-to-do homes, it is not easy to get a full shot of the church itself.

I passed an alpaca farm and these were the best shots I could get.

Shaun the Sheep!

South Burlingham Church

There is a lot of wild flowers in bloom at the moment in the countryside.

A footpath from Buckenham/Hassingham Road to Wood Lane although there is point that you get into the woodland and you wonder if you are now trespassing but the dark wooded area was cooling.

From Wood lane another footpath takes you to School Road - I came across two people riding their horses here.

Mini square bales - the area seems to mainly go for round bales rather than square bales.

Church in Buckenham (and round bales.....)

Church in Hassingham.

Another footpath but the entrance is so covered in stinging nettles that I choose to stick to the road.

The the second of the three-field public footpath, had been baled up so I was able to get a close up as I walked through the field back to Freethorpe.