Wandering in Norfolk

Beginning his wanderings through Norfolk, David Howe’s feet take him not only from one place to another but also from one thought to another. He discovers unexpected, often delightful connections between the county’s landscape and its history, its bedrock and buildings, the flinty character of its soils and the radical men and women it has nurtured – Boudica, Julian of Norwich, Robert Kett, Thomas Paine, Horatio Nelson, Amelia Opie, George Borrow, Edith Cavell and many others. Following the invisible threads that link people and places, Howe wanders and wonders his way through Norfolk’s remote geological past, and like others who have walked Norfolk’s many tracks and trails, he reflects on life’s brevity and its beauty.

Wandering in Norfolk lifts the spirits as much as it revels in the interconnectedness of things. ‘Life is very sweet’ says George Borrow’s friend, Jasper Lavengro. And so in celebrating Norfolk, David Howe finds he is celebrating life as he follows in the glorious footsteps of previous generations of the county’s great walkers and wonderers.

David Howe has lived and worked in Norfolk for over forty years. Although he has always been a keen walker, since retiring from the University of East Anglia his wanderings in the county have become even more regular and reflective.