Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Rides and Touring => Topic started by: andrewc on 07 May, 2022, 08:24:38 pm
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I got the 11:47 from Liverpool to Euston, then rode up to Kings Cross for a train to Cambridge. Everything went calmly and smoothly, which probably means something is going wrong. Sure enough I’ve forgotten the porridge, the neoprene knee support and the paper maps.
I bought some burgers in Cambridge at Malloy’s butchers by the station. My wallet wouldn’t stretch to anything else £££…
Out to the C&CC site at Shelford where we stayed last year, they remembered Canardly….
The lightweight field is a sea of daisies which is nice. Lots of gnats hovering around. Burgers & veg with an Argentinean Malbec.
The plan is to head towards the coast, but I’ve no route in mind. I’ll probably avoid the Roman road we did last year though ;)
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Sounds lovely. Have fun! :D
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Porridge can be bought, as can knee supports, and lack of maps makes for greater surprise. Enjoy the daisies!
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Have a great time, Andrew! I think giving that Roman road a miss is a pretty sound plan.
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Enjoy, with updates please! Avoiding that cafe at Madingly is also a very good idea. :thumbsup: (The Romans have a lot to answer for, I tell you!) Somewhat envious, may the sun beam upon you. Take your frying pan and try some freshly caught fish on the quayside on the Blyth, Warbleswick/Southwold.
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I was woken by a very loud dawn chorus at 04:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep properly. Despite this and a sugar soaked Kellogs Granola breakfast I was on the road for 9 which is early for me.
Back into Cambridge & out the other side through Fen Ditton & Horningsea. I gave the footpath beside the Cam a go but turned back after the 2nd Cursing Gate. Too much effort getting a loaded tourer through.
Quiet roads to Wilburton where I had a pork pie & something called Bircher Muesli by the church. Like flavoured wallpaper paste.
I intended to do more quiet roads to Witchford but overlooked a turn & ended up following the nasty A10 into Ely. I found a branch of The Works & bought an OS road atlas at 3.5 miles per inch. It will have to do & I’ll feel guilty about cutting the relevant pages out.
Feeling tired, and having forgotten to put sunscreen on I decided to call it a day & road out to the Mad Hatter’s site on the Prickwillow road. A very nice site, but at £18.50 it should be.
Tomorrow will probably be out to Thetford and towards the coast.
Does anyone know what the Peddars Way is like? I’m happy with a bit of rough stuff but have seen mention of gates & stiles.
https://www.madhatterscampsite.co.uk https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=19963
My 2nd visit here (last year with Wowbagger & Canardly). A bit expensive, but we had 3 tents on the pitch & I think they only charged us the same rate. Excellent toilet block with family bathrooms as well.
Handy for Ely, shops, station & cathedral.
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I think some of the Mid-Essex lot cycled Peddar's Way a while back. I'll see if Oscar's Dad is sober enough to respond. ;)
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I think some of the Mid-Essex lot cycled Peddar's Way a while back. I'll see if Oscar's Dad is sober enough to respond. ;)
Yes we did, it was about a decade ago so my memory is hazy. We did it in a day, started in Ic-something-or-other. We were on loaded bikes, it hard work and sandy in places. All good fun, just do it!
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Knettishall is where we started the Peddars way, if I rememeber correctly. it's very sandy around Roughham common, and in North Norfolk it ened up hard and 'wasboard' rutted with tractor tyres.
It's a Roman road and long distance footpath. I'd stick to roads unless I was doing it for a specific reason.
BTW, Witchford to Ely is the A142 which has a cycle path next to it, unless you tried to go via Grunty fen, in which case you would have ended up on the A10, which has an even worse cycle path. They don't really mark cyclepaths round here... :facepalm:
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A cold & clear night. A dew laden tent & the meths is hard to light. Despite earplugs I woke at 04:30 again.
Looks like it will be a gorgeous day.
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Away by 9:30, drove roads across the Little Ouse to Feltwell, the cafe was shut so no 2nd breakfast. A short stretch on the B1112 and then more lovely quiet roads through the edges of Thetford Forest to Hilborough. From here via South Pickenham to Swaffham, where I shopped. I was last in Swaffham for a mates wedding about 35 years ago. He married the local vicars daughter and the squirearchy were out in force. It was quite a boozy do & thankfully no one recognised me….
From Swaffham by more quiet roads to East Walton and Abbey Farm which does camping. A horsey place full of young gels in boots & jodhpurs, the owner gave me a free beer as well. My sort of place!
£13 , showers £1. 1 shower, 1 sink, 1 toilet. All nicely done, but better for a solo trip rather than a group meeting.
https://www.abbeyfarmliveries.co.uk https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=12987
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My May Meanderings are taking me from Reading to St David's and onto Liverpool. Last night Oakley Farm Park, Newbury £6. Raining at the moment.
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It rained a little overnight & was quite breezy. I was on the road for 10:15 for what was to be a very short day. B1153 to Grimston where I took the Royden road and from there to Castle Rising. I had a trundle around the pretty village & a sausage butty in the cafe before visiting the castle, a flourish of my English Heritage card got me in free. An hour wandering around the keep & climbing some steep & narrow spiral stairs, then a spot of sunbathing on the grass outside.
Back on the road I decided I was too late to visit Kings Lynn so braved the A149 for a bit until I could turn off. Currently ensconced in the Queens back garden at Sandringham. I’ve booked 2 nights here, so tomorrow may be pottering around without luggage.
Some lovely quiet roads here, but it looks like to get anywhere near the coast you have to use the A149,
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From Castle Rising church, there's a tarmaced cycle path (about half of it is the old main road) all the way to the Sandrinham turn off the A149. It's part of NCN1.
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Castle Rising must be, along with Sheepy Magna and Steeple Bumford, one of the three essential English village names.
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It’s a tad damp outside, though probably sounds worse than it is as I’m pitched under trees. I might just have a wander around Sandringham & the grounds and then read my book.
Petroc Trelawney has just played a traditional Norfolk folk song on R3.
https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/lovelyjoan.html (https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/lovelyjoan.html)
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My May Meanderings are taking me from Reading to St David's and onto Liverpool. Last night Oakley Farm Park, Newbury £6. Raining at the moment.
Enjoy St. Davids, one of my favourite places anywhere.
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Yesterday was damp, so I put my Republican sympathies to the side & visited Sandringham. Beautiful grounds & gardens, the house is OK. Apparently the Queen likes jigsaws and they have enough firearms on racks to make a Texan gun nut jealous. All those Purdey’s…
On the road for 10 today. Dersingham & Snettisham to Hunstanton, the A149 wasn’t too bad. A large haddock & chips cost me £10, an accidental chip spillage endeared me to the local sea birds.
Hunstanton had the effect of making me (57) appear young again. I wonder how many people are mown down by mobility scooters in the place.
Quite a bit of wildlife on this trip, hares and several of those little barking deer (Muntjac ?). Lots of roadkill as well.
Across the top bit to the Burnhams where I have a beer & visit a lovely church at Burnham Norton
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Margaret's_Church,_Burnham_Norton (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Margaret's_Church,_Burnham_Norton)
I stocked up with food at Burnham Market then rode to Burnham Thorpe, birthplace of one H Nelson. That explains the pub names then.
Home for the next 2 days is Whitehall Farm which is a nice basic site with decent facilities. They charged me £30 for 2 nights YMMV.
Tomorrow should be a visit to Holkham Hall.
http://www.whitehallfarm-accommodation.com https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=4419
Facilities are unisex & in a converted barn. 6 toilets with washbasins in the cubicle & 6 showers, also with washbasins. A washing up area, lounge area & sockets for charging electrical stuff. If you wanted to stay at one site to explore the coast this would be a good bet.
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The beach at Holkham, or part of it, is clothing optional. You know you want to...
Have you visited Stiffkey, famed parish where the infamous defrocked vicar was a very decent chess player in his day, the last of which saw him meet his Waterloo in the jaws of a lion?
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The beach at Holkham, or part of it, is clothing optional. You know you want to...
How much will the YACF massive pay for me to _not_ post or Tweet skin shots ?
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I must have ridden through Stiffkey without noticing. Also once home to Henry Williamson.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/unseen-1930s-photos-illustrate-the-story-of-henry-williamson-the-1019526 (https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/unseen-1930s-photos-illustrate-the-story-of-henry-williamson-the-1019526)
I’m annoyed with myself. Holkham Hall itself is not open tomorrow, only the grounds.
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Have you visited Stiffkey, famed parish where the infamous defrocked vicar was a very decent chess player in his day, the last of which saw him meet his Waterloo in the jaws of a lion?
Did he beat the lion at chess and it took exception?
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And was he defrocked because of his stiff key?
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https://anecdotage.com/anecdotes/rector-of-stiffkey
Chess has attracted its share of misfits, chief among them the defrocked Reverend Harold Davidson. After captaining Oxford at chess, he became the aptly-named Rector of Stiffkey. Instead of saving young girls from sin, he saved them for himself. Davidson was consumed by lust, and, eventually by a lion in a Skegness amusement park.
There's a lot more detail about Davidson in "The Complete Chess Addict" by Mike Fox & Richard James. I have just scanned my shelves for my copy but I can't immediately see it. I have a suspicion that my Maidstone daughter may have borrowed it.
The pub in Stiffkey village is called The Red Lion. Whether that was because it was stained by the rector's blood I don't know. When I was touring Norfolk with Nutkin some years ago we camped nearby but my recollection was that I dined alone there - the differences between our respective appetites meant that this was fairly common occurrence on that particular tour. The meal included samphire collected locally.
Edit: according to this report, he was framed.
https://www.norfolkparadise.com/post/the-lion-taming-vicar-who-saved-fallen-women
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A fairly lazy day yesterday. I took the unloaded bike to Creake Abbey and had a wander around the ruins & a bite to eat in the nearby cafe. After that I rode over to Walsingham for another ruined abbey. Lots of contemporary pilgrims there as well.
Currently sprawled in my tent thinking I ought to pack up & get moving again!
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Saturday. Away from the campsite late & onto the coast road to Wells next the Sea. A busy little place. I had plaice & chips, which was nice, but I didn’t feel very energetic afterwards.
Along the coast to Stiffkey, where I took a picture of the Red Lion pub sign. Onwards through more seaside villages such as Cley. Lots of art galleries, artisan food shops aimed at the monied tourists from London & Essex I guess.
Got to busy Sheringham and stocked up on meths at Mr Fifty & foodstuffs at Sainsbos.
There is a C&CC site called Runton. To get to it you have to climb a long steep road, then descend a long , steep dirt track. Lovely location, but they made a mess of my bill & the gents wash block needs a bit of work. Loads of stuff out of order.
I went to sleep & woke up just after 5. I checked Twitter & found NSTN tweeting from a bivvy bag on the South Downs. We commiserated about noisy bird life.
Away from that site & onto the coast road again, sharing the road with a marathon which caused its own traffic chaos. Cool & overcast for most of the day. I turned inland at Walcott, went through Stalham and am now at a site near Potter Heigham. Next to the road & noisy.
Repps with Bastwick was the campsite. https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=2339 £10 for the night. Adequate facilities, but the shower was the worst of the trip, a trickle of water. Owners friendly & chatty. It's right next to the A149 so bring earplugs.
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Last time we stayed at West Runton, several years ago, half the facilities were also out of order. Shame, it's a lovely site. C'mon C and CC get your act together. I remember that a couple of clearly experienced female walkers were faster than me riding out of the site fully loaded, and were quite amused as they passed me by, probably due to the huffing, puffing and sweary noises, the access road is a bit steep.I did enjoy the stay and would go again. Cromer is a short walk along the coastal path.
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Saturday. Away from the campsite late & onto the coast road to Wells next the Sea. A busy little place. I had plaice & chips, which was nice, but I didn’t feel very energetic afterwards.
Along the coast to Stiffkey, where I took a picture of the Red Lion pub sign. Onwards through more seaside villages such as Cley. Lots of art galleries, artisan food shops aimed at the monied tourists from London & Essex I guess.
Got to busy Sheringham and stocked up on meths at Mr Fifty & foodstuffs at Sainsbos.
There is a C&CC site called Runton. To get to it you have to climb a long steep road, then descend a long , steep dirt track. Lovely location, but they made a mess of my bill & the gents wash block needs a bit of work. Loads of stuff out of order.
I went to sleep & woke up just after 5. I checked Twitter & found NSTN tweeting from a bivvy bag on the South Downs. We commiserated about noisy bird life.
Away from that site & onto the coast road again, sharing the road with a marathon which caused its own traffic chaos. Cool & overcast for most of the day. I turned inland at Walcott, went through Stalham and am now at a site near Potter Heigham. Next to the road & noisy.
Got any photos fella? Sounds like you're having a smashing time. It is lovely up there.
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Quite a few on my Twitter stream @andrewxclark
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Quite a few on my Twitter stream @andrewxclark
Gotcha! Another Trangia user, good effort!
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A late start to avoid the morning traffic. Down to Acle and then quiet roads to the chain ferry across the Yare at Reedham. £1 for a cyclist. More quiet roads to Thurlton where I ate snacks & drank a bottle of beer on a very uncomfortable bench. Probably designed to keep people like me away.
Down to Beccles, I had to use the A146 for a bit which was grim. A quick shop, then I walked out to the A145 London road. This wasn’t too bad so I followed it to Blythburgh and from there to Southwold. Currently listening to the waves while drinking a bottle of Adnams.
I want to be back in Cambridge for Thursday night so will have to sort out a route.
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Is N. Essex too far out of your way? I'm planning a one-nighter here https://www.thehareandhound.co.uk/ on Wednesday. I'm also planning an early departure for home as it's my sister's 70th and there's a pub lunch in the offing for Thursday. It's about 80k to Cambridge from there.
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Hi Peter, yes I’d seen that & given it some thought, but decided against pushing down that far. Colchester to Cambridge on a loaded bike, with a hangover !
I might try & get to Cambridge by Wednesday instead, treat myself to a day of wandering around & a visit to the Fitzwilliam museum.
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It’s looking as though I’m not doing my overnighter anyway. It’s my sister’s 70th and yesterday our brother phoned to see how I was fixed for a pub lunch on Thursday. I hate cycling to a deadline so I’m going to postpone my camping trip.
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Last nights campsite is run by Southwold Council. They wanted £32.50 for my little tent. The chap agreed it was extortionate & charged me £15.
http://www.southwoldcamping.com https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=2368
For what I eventually paid the facilities were adequate. Toilets & showers in different rooms of the same buildings. The listed prices are outrageous , because of this I'd not recommend it.
Just bought artisan quiche & scotch egg for lunch.
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Last time we stayed at West Runton, several years ago, half the facilities were also out of order. Shame, it's a lovely site. C'mon C and CC get your act together.
I looked at the website. Plenty complaining of the broken locks etc., but still giving it 5 stars. It'd get 3 from me, and that's being generous.
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A beautiful day for cycling, but I didn’t get very far. I left Southwold at 9:30 and picked up the B1123 which took me to Harleston by 3:30. Nice quiet roads & little villages, but I’m not sure it’s the best way to get to Cambridge! I sat on a bench looking at a map for about 30 minutes, but my route planning mojo seemed to have vanished. In the end I gave up & rode to a little site at Weybread which is rather nice.
Campsite was £15. https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=9752
In an orchard, near a pond so lots of insect life & pollen. Basic facilities, 1 shower, 2 toilets & 2 urinals in the gents, I didn't check the ladies... external sink for dishes. Cold water only. Lovely spot & friendly owners, the husband likes to ride round on his e-bike chatting to guests.
I suspect that tomorrow I may just plot a route to Thetford & get a train to Cambridge from there.
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As I thought, I was lazy & cheated. Quiet roads & cyclepaths to cross the A142, then via Dickleburgh, Burston, Winfarthing to Banham then via the Harlings & Bretteham to Thetford. At the station I refrained from shoving some LOUD & ANNOYING teenage girls under a convenient train, then got my own connection to Cambridge from where I returned to the C&CC site at Great Shelford.
A day wandering around Cambridge, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the (bloody marvellous) Botanic Gardens. https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk
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447 photos now uploaded to Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewclark/albums/72177720299206781
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447 photos now uploaded to Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewclark/albums/72177720299206781
Just had a quick flick through the first few. Good to see old skool panniers, none of this bikepacking malarkey. And a Trangia being used to cook proper food, not a JetBoil and freeze dried stuff. Good effort chap :thumbsup:
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As I thought, I was lazy & cheated. Quiet roads & cyclepaths to cross the A142, then via Dickleburgh, Burston, Winfarthing to Banham then via the Harlings & Bretteham to Thetford. At the station I refrained from shoving some LOUD & ANNOYING teenage girls under a convenient train, then got my own connection to Cambridge from where I returned to the C&CC site at Great Shelford.
A day wandering around Cambridge, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the (bloody marvellous) Botanic Gardens. https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk
I love Cambridge botanic Gardens, nice and easily accessible by train as well, and a very cheap day out with my son.
You should have mentioned you were coming this way, you passed within a couple of miles me and wobbly John at one point, and camped just down the road. I'd have let you use my front lawn for free
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Why aren't campsite fees proportionate ?
I pay £20 on average for campervan + awning with my wife +/- pet with electric hook-up.
Often see solo cyclist with tiny tent ( like yourself I assume) squeezed in to any old spot left
(and I hear campsites rarely turn away knackered solo walkers/cyclists...)
I assumed you'd be paying £10
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Why aren't campsite fees proportionate ?
Different pricing models, I suppose. If you price per pitch, it means you have a good idea how occupied your site's going to be. If you price per person, it's closer to the amount of fuel and cleaning you have to pay for. And so on.
I suppose you can skew things in favour of Old People In Caravans in order to have an easy life in terms of wash-block maintenance and dealing with antisocial behaviour, or in a way that's more attractive to Young People On An Adventure if you don't want to worry about the issues of making the whole site accessible to large motor vehicles. Charging lots for children is a good way to make families go Somewhere Else. How suitable your pitches are for tent camping in the off-season probably factors into that calculation, too.
Token-operated showers are my personal bugbear. I'll happily pay much higher site fees if it means I don't have to grope around with a face full of shampoo.
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Why aren't campsite fees proportionate ?
Different pricing models, I suppose. If you price per pitch, it means you have a good idea how occupied your site's going to be. If you price per person, it's closer to the amount of fuel and cleaning you have to pay for. And so on.
I suppose you can skew things in favour of Old People In Caravans in order to have an easy life in terms of wash-block maintenance and dealing with antisocial behaviour, or in a way that's more attractive to Young People On An Adventure if you don't want to worry about the issues of making the whole site accessible to large motor vehicles. Charging lots for children is a good way to make families go Somewhere Else. How suitable your pitches are for tent camping in the off-season probably factors into that calculation, too.
Token-operated showers are my personal bugbear. I'll happily pay much higher site fees if it means I don't have to grope around with a face full of shampoo.
True.
If a campsite only has a finite number of pitches, which most do, you’re going to want the same return per pitch / night irrespective of who’s on it be they an enormous rig or one person on a bike. But if a site has spaces which are too small to be a family tent / caravan pitch but big enough for tiny tents then as a site owner you’d be happy to charge less.
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When I start my campsite, the caravan will be relegated to the swampy bit with the mossies, the cyclists with tiny tents will have pride of place
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Token-operated showers are my personal bugbear. I'll happily pay much higher site fees if it means I don't have to grope around with a face full of shampoo.
A novel one I came across on Luxembourg campsites is that you get given a RFID dongle type thingy that's a sort of trapezoid shape. This is needed to get into the toilet block, and then again to use a shower. There's a countdown on the shower, and then you have to take it out and put it back in the slot thingy.
This is a problem if you are sharing a pitch, cos only one of you can shower at once, or pee at once... and you need to make sure the person you're camping with hasn't left it in their pocket and gone to sleep...
and it's really stupid. I'm not sure what they are trying to achieve with it...
J
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There's a great description in one of Josie Dew's books where she's trying to give herself and her two small kids a shower in a coin-operated shower. The kids are reluctant to shower, one of them escapes and she, stark naked and covered in shampoo, ends up chasing him across the campsite.