March 15th Day 1
We arrive in Norwich early afternoon and start cycling hell for leather to Great Yarmouth's Travelodge. Whitlingham Country Park and the Wherryman's Way provide a few audio tour diversions, and the White Horse in Chedgrave provides some Tim Taylor, the first of many Woodforde Wherry and a 1/3 of Adnams witbier. That night we eat at Tides restaurant, Gorleston.
We arrive in Norwich early afternoon and start cycling hell for leather to Great Yarmouth's Travelodge. Whitlingham Country Park and the Wherryman's Way provide a few audio tour diversions, and the White Horse in Chedgrave provides some Tim Taylor, the first of many Woodforde Wherry and a 1/3 of Adnams witbier. That night we eat at Tides restaurant, Gorleston.
March 16th Day 2
After a hearty full ernglish at the breakfast bar on Gorleston Quay we take in the scant delights of dreadful seaside town Great Yarmouth. We briefly take a peek at Caister Roman Fort & Caister Castle, before heading through Filby Bridge and Ranworth Broad, briefly stopping at the Ship Inn in South Walsham. We had planned to take the Ferry to Horning, but it closed a year earlier and no one's taken its website down. This results in an extra 8 mile slog via Hoveton, but we stumble upon the Woodforde Brewery and tap which more than makes up for it. We stay at the lovely Swan Inn in Horning.
After a hearty full ernglish at the breakfast bar on Gorleston Quay we take in the scant delights of dreadful seaside town Great Yarmouth. We briefly take a peek at Caister Roman Fort & Caister Castle, before heading through Filby Bridge and Ranworth Broad, briefly stopping at the Ship Inn in South Walsham. We had planned to take the Ferry to Horning, but it closed a year earlier and no one's taken its website down. This results in an extra 8 mile slog via Hoveton, but we stumble upon the Woodforde Brewery and tap which more than makes up for it. We stay at the lovely Swan Inn in Horning.
March 17th Day 3
After a buffet breakfast at the Swan, we wind a leisurely path to Happisburgh via Hickling Broad. Happisburgh ("Haze-brough") is probably the fastest eroding bit of coastland in Britain, but has other delights, not least the Hill House. This spendid pub has spendid beer, splendid food and is presided over by a splendid landlord. They have a beer fest at Summer Solstice, wehich we hope to return to. We then cycle straight to Cromer, where we're staying at No 4, with Stuart and family. The family includes many friendly pets, including Butch the not at all butch dog. We stroll along the pier, eat at Number 9s and drink at The Wellington. We finish the night off with cards in the Major's Snug in the Cliftonville.
March 18th Day 4
We head off late after a very hearty breakfast from Stuart. Following a national cycle route we head for Cley-next the-Sea via Felbrigg Hall. Cley ("Cly") and it's neighbour Blakeney is a lovely tranquil coastal town with a much photographed mill nestling amongst the reeds of the broads.We then head inland to the magnigicent partial ruin of Binham Priory, through the new age nuttery of Walsingham (via the lovely Bull Inn) and spend the night at the very isolated White Horse Inn, East Barsham.
March 19th Day 5
After a cooked breakfast we're up early enough to see a Barn Owl as we speed back to the coast via the Branthill Farm Real Ale shop. We place an order for delivery and pick up a few bottles for later consumption. Then it's onwards and downwards into Wells-next-the-Sea. Wells is a gorgeous little seaside town with a bustling quay and a huge sandy beach which stretches on to nearby Holkham. We spend far too much time here watching seals, and save a toad from being squished under my wheels. Then it's on to Burnham Market, sometimes referred to as Chelsea on sea because of its fame amongst the famous. We spot a Black Cab in the Jockey, and jump to the obvious conclusion that Stephen Fry must be in the pub, but we fail to spot him. We have a gorgeous Stilton Rarebit from Lucy's and generally mill about on the village green.
Having spent so much time in Wells and Burnham we now have to really push the boat out cycling to our lodgings at the Queen Victoria Snettisham. We don't have time to take in much at Hunstanton, but it seems like a generic seaside town that we wouldn't like anyway. That night we drink the beers we bought from Branthill - a humpty dumpty brewery's cheltenham flyer and an elveden ales' 10% arctic ale.
After a cooked breakfast we're up early enough to see a Barn Owl as we speed back to the coast via the Branthill Farm Real Ale shop. We place an order for delivery and pick up a few bottles for later consumption. Then it's onwards and downwards into Wells-next-the-Sea. Wells is a gorgeous little seaside town with a bustling quay and a huge sandy beach which stretches on to nearby Holkham. We spend far too much time here watching seals, and save a toad from being squished under my wheels. Then it's on to Burnham Market, sometimes referred to as Chelsea on sea because of its fame amongst the famous. We spot a Black Cab in the Jockey, and jump to the obvious conclusion that Stephen Fry must be in the pub, but we fail to spot him. We have a gorgeous Stilton Rarebit from Lucy's and generally mill about on the village green.
Having spent so much time in Wells and Burnham we now have to really push the boat out cycling to our lodgings at the Queen Victoria Snettisham. We don't have time to take in much at Hunstanton, but it seems like a generic seaside town that we wouldn't like anyway. That night we drink the beers we bought from Branthill - a humpty dumpty brewery's cheltenham flyer and an elveden ales' 10% arctic ale.
March 20th Day 6
Our first and only day of rain.We stop off at Sandringham's gift shop to try and wait out the rain to no avail. We haven't time to taken in nearby Castle Rising, though it looks well worth a visit in drier weather. King's Lynn is a nice enough market town with not a lot going on. The weather worsens as we follow the river inland towards Downham Market, but the Aquapac protects my handle bar mounted HTC hero fine. Downham Market again doesn't seem that interesting, so we only have a quick breather and then get back on the road for Oxborough. It is dark well before we arrive, but this is actually all for the good because it means we arrive to the fantastic sight of an eerily illuminated Oxburgh Hall. We stay at the Bedingfeld Arms, a lovely local which lets us hang our wet gear in front of their roaring fire.
March 21st Day 7
We get up early to explore Oxburgh Hall, only to find the hall doesn't open till later. So we go on an 8 mile detour and arrive back for opening time. By coincidence, it's free entry day for the National Trust, although we do end up joining the National trust at a discounted rate anyway. Oxburgh Hall is a magnificent red bricked Elizabethan manor, and we spend a good number of hours here. Eventually we carry on to Weeting Castle, which isn't really worth your bother. As we leave Norfolk for Suffolk we come across Lakenheath Station, and a quick scan of the timetables tells me we can stop cycling if we want, so I do. This gives us plenty of time to explore the beautiful Ely and it's awe-inspiring Cathedral. We end the day with some lovely real ales (daleside spring frenzy & an oakham jhb)and a quiz that we lose at at the Townhouse.
Summary
#beer
Woodforde Wherry, Woodforde Nog, Adnams Bitter, Adnams Witbier, Wolf Brewery hero, Flankers Tackle, Cromer Wellington's Old Welly, Humpty Dumpty Cheltenham Flyer, Elveden Arctic Ale, Yetnams, Daleside Spring Frenzy, Oakham JHB
1 comment:
Heck thats a ride and a half.
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