At first I thought Norwich would be a convenient staging point for my journey to Walsingham, but upon arrival from London I was immediately enchanted with the town. The streets lined with medieval houses twist around the village center where there is an arcade and an enormous open air market. The Norman cathedral is one of the loveliest in England, set in a vast walled close that stretches down to the banks of the river. I could not get enough of the cathedral and spent a part of each day wandering its aisles and chapels. Edith Cavell (an English nurse shot as a spy by the Germans in World War I) lies buried behind the cathedral. Norwich’s better known saint, Dame Julian, lived in a cell attached to a small church about a mile from the cathedral. The church and Dame Julian’s cell were destroyed in World War II bombing, but have been rebuilt and very much have the air of a holy place.
