Former Norwich City striker Grant Holt to walk from Ipswich to Framingham Earl to raise funds for EACH

A former Norwich City striker will swap his football boots for walking shoes as he gears up for a long walk from Ipswich.

Grant Holt, who played for the Canaries between 2009 and 2013, will make the 44-mile trek from the Suffolk town to Framingham Earl, just outside Norwich.

He plans to set off at 5pm on August 8 and walk through the night before arriving at his destination the following day.

The dad-of-three will be taking on the challenge in aid of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) – and as part of his latest fundraising leg he was granted a tour of one of its hospices, The Nook, which is located in Framingham Earl.

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Lynn kicked off their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Championship side Norwich City at The Walks. The previous year’s encounter ended with a comfortable 2-0 victory for the Canaries.

An explosive start from both teams didn’t come to much, but American international Josh Sargent would give the visitors the lead inside 12 minutes, rifling home a rebound after Dixon-Hodge parried a shot across goal.

Dixon-Hodge would be in action again a few minutes later, denying Sargent a second with an excellent save from close-range. Jordan Ponticelli would come close to levelling the tie at the other end after a fantastic cross-field ball from Stephens, but a tackle from Duffy sent the ball out for an inconsequential corner.

Josh Barrett and a trialist would both have opportunities within the next few minutes, but a deflected shot from Ashley Barnes would double Norwich’s lead in the 23rd minute.

Tony Springett would add a third for the visitors five minutes later, hammering a shot into the bottom left corner.

Norwich would dominate possession for a lot of the half, and add a fourth 43 minutes in through McCallum, who shot across Dixon-Hodge to bury his strike in the bottom left corner.

Barnes would give Norwich a fifth before the break. A smart finish at the near post from a cross took the ball past Dixon-Hodge and into the net.

Lynn would get one back before half-time, after a complete miscommunication between debutant Shane Duffy and Tim Krul saw the centre-half head over the former Dutch international and into the net. The teams would go in with Norwich in firm control.

As is the case with friendlies, a number of substitutions were made for both sides at half-time. Notable additions for Lynn included new signings Emmanuel Oke and Quaine Bartley, as well as Tom Hughes and goalkeeper Paul Jones.

Jones would be sprung into action immediately, making a double save to deny the visitors only 3 minutes after the restart.

Unfortunately, a defensive mistake from the substitute keeper allowed Norwich to restore their five-goal advantage. A heavy touch in the box gifted Ashley Barnes an open net to complete his hat-trick.

Cameron Hargreaves and Adam Crowther would both leave the field in place of trialists 62 minutes in.

Bartley would come close to a debut goal just shy of the 80th minute, breaking the Canaries’ defence and getting in behind, but skewed his shot just wide from a tight angle.

Jones would deny Idah twice late in the game, and other than a Hughes shot that sailed far over the bar, nothing else significant would happen. The full-time whistle blew to confirm a comprehensive victory for the visitors.