Riding The Peddar's Way

    A friend suggested i should record my 4-day trek on the Peddar’s Way à la Tschiffely. i am not so immodest as to compare riding 80kms in flat Norfolk with riding 10,000 miles from Argentina to New York in 2.5 years, but i can draw his inspiration!

My horse, Autan, and i travelled on the old Roman road of the Peddar’s Way at the beginning of January 2022.

    The remark most often expressed by my fellow riders is that January is cold and therefore uninviting. Most riders seem to have written January off. How can this be possible? For me January is the perfect month to ride out.  No-one ventures out except for hardy outdoor lovers, dedicated dog owners, bambis, pheasants, foxes, geese and hares, all of which i find excellent company.  The cold weather is exhilarating. It whips you for the first few minutes but then kisses you warmly all over as you and your horse get moving.  In January, the sun shines often and it rains far less than in August in the UK.  Last but not least, those who let you have a stable for a tired horse in the middle of winter, are people worth riding out to meet. They have been, without exception, outstanding hosts and i am glad to have saddled up.

Flock of geese in inverted V formation.
For safety, this is the shape riders should form when 3 or more horses travel on the road. 

     It was my third time riding the Peddar’s Way in January but it was the first time riding alone with my horse. Riding alone versus riding with others is a different ball game altogether. And, in my opinion, often a better one. Over the years i have heard my mentor say that a horse that does not back up well is guaranteed to not do well at everything else. Along the same line of experience, riding with people who are consistently poor at time keeping are guaranteed to be balls and chains along the way. Choosing whom to trek with requires careful consideration.

    Trekking starts with a mental & a physical effort but on day 3 or 4, horse and rider change mode. A switch happens and it feels like everybody is managing better and everything is balancing itself out.  It is worth trekking for four days, at least, to notice this switch. For Autan & me, it happened on the third day. The further you ride, the freer you become. Furthermore, the Way makes you happy.

    Trekking is discovering how much you trust your horse and how far he trusts you back. This is an integral part of trekking. Pretty soon, you do not need to tie your horse up when you stop for lunch. In the saddle, one follows the other and wise versa.

This was during a lunch break. Autan could have gone anywhere he liked. Yet, he stayed by me.
i walked away a few steps and he followed a few steps.
Then, Autan & i carried on each with our lunch.
Lovely feeling!

    On a more practical side of trekking, the following are prerequisites ~ Make sure your horse ties up confidently alone ~ Make sure you have a few knots in your repertoire to tie your horse safely & not to damage the saddlery when doing so. i have four knots i do regularly so that i don’t forget them. They are the half-hitch knot, the bow line knot, the bank robber knot & the Buckaroo square knot to tie up my scarf neatly ~ Horse and rider wear reflective gear. It is guaranteed to cramp your style but on UK roads it is essential for the safety of all involved ~ And fourthly, ride with an open mind as you will need it when you arrive at your daily destination.

Here Autan is tied up using 3 knots.
The horseman bridle becomes a halter when knotting a half-hitch & a bow line.
If the horse were to pull, this knot combination prevents forces exerted on the bit.
The third knot used is the Bank Robber knot to tie the horse to the stable bars.

Day 1 – 14kms in 3hrs  We started in Wretham. On the first day of the trek, there is often this desire to hit the road fast and furious. i don’t. Instead, we rode all the way at the walk; slow, medium, fast, collected and elongated walks under a frosty and sunny winter day. Autan met a llama for the first time. It was a stand off between them. Both head-high, they looked at each other like two statues in Le Jardin Des Tuileries.

Silvery start with frost underfoot.

Day 2 – 22kms in 4hrs30  This section of the Peddar’s Way is mainly tarmac and being a Roman road, it goes in a straight Northerly fashion. This is perfect for dressage exercises. There were a few obstacles along the way in the shape of kissing gates, a very narrow bridge and a knee-high ford. The sun shone for us all day.

Day 3 – 14kms in 1hr50  Being a short ride & off-road all the way, the intention was to go for speed. Under heavy rain and strong wind, off we went and we loved it! It was a smooth ride by judging at the unbroken state of two eggs i carried in my saddle bag.

This ride was dedicated to Olivier Faure, a French horseman friend, who left us. 

Day 4 – 29kms in 4hrs20  Autan was dancing & prancing in his stable ready to go. This is the day where everything comes together, weather wise too. It was another crisp and sunny day. We reached the North Sea at 1.30pm at Holme-Next-The-Sea. We closed our ride with cantering the infinity symbol on the beach. Aaahhh! Corny i know but nonetheless this is what we did.

In all, we rode 80kms in four consecutive days in the glorious Norfolk countryside.