From the choice of newly discovered walks we take each year it's 50-50 whether we return. There are varying reasons why some don't pan out - from finding cows to completely overgrown paths or routes which are too road-heavy there's often things to scupper a circuit. You might think that rural Norfolk must have hundreds of paths to explore but to be honest in our patch, which I would extend to an hours' drive, there is a woeful shortage of good circular paths to take. Footpaths which don't lead anywhere are my main annoyance.




The tracks lead us past fields of pigs which up until then had't concerned me unduly. However, they were munching away in their toughs by our path which drew to my attention their vast size and hunger, not to mention the mere two strands of wire separating us. They certainly tanked into the troughs. Another field held pigs who weren't eating and instead were more curious about passers by - I assume it's not often they encounter people. One accidentally touched the electric wire and had a big old squeal and a dash off which caused a chain reaction of each section of pigs in turn making a charge towards the central complex. My heart was thumping at a heck of a rate and all I could think was that if they u-turn and charge back again it would only take one pig to slip in the mud to take out those 2 strands of wire then a whole field of pigs would be chasing us with nowhere to go. Pigs run fast and they are frighteningly huge. Oh and I'm sure they eat anything, including fallen pedestrians. That was a stressful few minutes. More so as I knew our walk required a further 2 field boundaries with pigs. I did hatch a plan to bolt for the trees and climb up a sizeable tree as I doubt pigs can climb and at some point they would get bored and wander off or help would arrive. 












All I could think was, is that a PIG? Oh no, it's a deer, phew.


I don't think I'll return in a hurry.
Take care,
Sophie