Hairy, club-carrying and wood-dwelling, the wild man or woodwose is a familiar figure in mediaeval art and literature. Part-man, part-beast, he – and sometimes she – can still be seen going about his daily business, whether it’s hunting lions with a Herculean club or throwing a pagan stare over a congregation of Christians.

The wild man is carved into the very fabric of Norfolk and Suffolk: the region’s early churches and historic houses, even its heraldic coats of arms, bear fertile witness to the potency of the woodwose. East Anglia is still alive, too, with tales of beasts and monsters – including the 12th century wild man of Orford:
Men fishing in the sea caught in their nets a wild man. He was naked and was like a man in all his members, covered with hair and with a long shaggy beard… Brought into church, he showed no signs of reverence or belief.

We will seek out the wild man in the ancient woodland of Wyken Hall, where we will enjoy drinks with Sir Kenneth and Lady Carlisle, and in the historic market town of Aylsham. We will also sail on a traditional Norfolk Broads yacht to Potter Heigham, where a weathered woodwose casts a beady stare over the local church.

We stay at the three-star Scole Inn situated in the village of Scole, near Diss. The Scole is a delightful example of a 17th century coaching inn with many period features, including a hand-carved staircase and an original hand-painted sundial.