Between the Fens to the west and the clay soils of eastern Norfolk, Breckland is a distinctive area of sandy soils that have undergone an intriguing history. Once open heathland it is now dominated by pine tree plantations and military training areas. Through this unique landscape, one of Britain’s lesser known pilgrimage routes follows a straight Roman road. The Peddars Way has been described as Britain’s ‘least known and loneliest national trail‘.

Tor Falcon a Norfolk resident and landscape artist realised that she too knew very little about it and set out one January to walk the trail and draw what she observed.  Carrying a bucket (in which to carry her sandwich lunch and on which to sit), a bag of chalk pastels and a drawing board, she made dozens of sorties along the route, capturing this unique landscape in striking images.

With the help of Google Streetview, some aerial photographs, moth-eaten topography books, and a guide book or two, we have joined forces with Tor to create this on-line adventure along the Peddars Way illustrated with her fabulous drawings and the stories she wrote at the time.

Tor will be explaining why she chose the views and how she sought to capture them.  She will read from her book: Peddars Way: A Walk with Chalk and  additionally, the tour will include readings from other texts written by local scholars.

We don’t try to complete the entire 49 mile length of the Peddars Way in one hour long tour – although Tor has covered the terrain many times over – we choose to start, well…. at the start on Knettishall Heath, a few miles from Thetford, and then follow the trail north westwards towards Castle Acre, via the Merton Stone, where we shall rest and take stock.

We continued from the Merton Stone to the River Nar, an unspoilt chalk stream close to the ruins of Castle Acre priory on another tour, two weeks later.

Two weeks later:

Tor will be explaining why she chose the views and how she sought to capture them.  She will read from her book: Peddars Way: A Walk with Chalk and  additionally, the tour will include readings from other texts written by local scholars.

We don’t try to complete the entire 49 mile length of the Peddars Way in one hour long tour – although Tor has covered the terrain many times over – we chose to start, well…. at the start on Knettishall Heath, a few miles from Thetford, and then followed the trail north westwards towards the mythical Merton Stone. On this (second) adventure we continue towards the River Nar, an unspoilt chalk stream at Castle Acre, and beyond towards Holme-next-the-Sea.

Listen to an excerpt from the first stage as Tor explains how she draws a tree.

Tor Falcon studied fine art painting at Norwich School of Art.  She  I interested in exploring landscapes through drawing – travelling familiar places along unfamiliar routes, relearning the lie of the land, drawing it, and writing about it.  She shows work regularly in the UK and in 2015 won an ING Discerning Eye award at the Mall Galleries in London.  She lives with her husband and children in Norfolk, not that far from the Peddars Way. Listen to Tor Falcon talking walking.