Each evening is getting lighter as the days draw out towards Spring. I am sure North Norfolk is still in for some rough weather but Spring is in the air. The signs are all around us with huge clusters of snowdrops, crocus and other bulbs pushing up towards the warmth of the sun, and willows emerging into flower.
At this time of year, it is worth taking the eight mile trip from Blakeney to Little Walsingham. The garden and grounds surrounding the ruins of Walsingham Abbey are stunning in February and March when there is a carpet of snowdrops and winter aconites blooming over 18 acres of woodland and riverside.
Little Walsingham has attracted pilgrims since Saxon times. It was one of the world’s most important sites for pilgrimage in the Middle Ages with pilgrims travelling by ships berthing in Blakeney or Cley. And they still come to see the charming and historic village some call England’s Nazareth with its religious shrines to the Virgin Mary.
The Slipper Chapel with its shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, the Chapel of Reconciliation and the Domain is one of only four locations in the UK granted minor basilica status by The Vatican. Henry V111 had the priory and its shrine destroyed in 1538 but this has had no impact on those making a pilgrimage to Walsingham.
Snowdrop Walks run daily 10am to 4pm until March 3, 2019. Admission Adult £5.50. Child 6-16 £2.50
A Snowdrop Walk on Saturday, February 23, will raise funds for Walking4Norfolk, the charity which cares for carers.
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