When we last did LEL we initially made the mistake that flat=boring, hilly=interesting. What I realise now is that over four days, a constant diet of hills can be equally tedious. As someone who lives in the Pennines, I find Norfolk incredibly beautiful. Ditto quite a bit of Lincolnshire. Where it's not beautiful, it's mostly down to ugly housing and housing estates. So I've come to really appreciate the LEL route and the variety of terrain that it offers. That's not to say I won't be changing some of the route, because I think it can be better.
I must say I like the idea of YAY, though routing into York can be as tricky as Manchester. I'm getting wedded to the idea of a memorial ride for Don though, and that would definitely mean a Manchester start.