Fun in the Sun in
East Cambs (C #12)
9 May, 111 miles
Having had a look at new, to me, parts of East Cambs a few
weeks ago I was keen to return and see some more. And today seemed like the
perfect day as it was sunny, with a light breeze and the prospect of the temperature
rising into the mid-twenties. Quite possibly the warmest day of the year so
far.
I made excellent time and paused in Swaffham Prior to look
at a rather fine windmill. Originally built in 1857, the mill was mothballed in
1947 and restored to working order in 1991. It is now possible to flour made in
the mill – either from the mill directly or from a several local stockiest. The
mill is actually one of a pair, a sister mill across the road is in a rather more
derelict state. Talking of two’s, the other notable feature ofd Swaffham Prior
is its two churches in the same churchyard – Saint Mary’s and Saints Cyriac and
Julitta’s.
Leaving Swaffham Prior I then headed over in a south
easterly direction through Fulbourn on the edge of Cambridge eventually
reaching Linton where I turned north for Balsham. By now the sun was fully out
and it was getting quite hot so I was glad of a shelter in Balsham where I
could take some shade and enjoy a cold drink. Across the road a travelling fair
was set up ready for an evening’s fun.
Then it was time to head broadly north east, towards Bury St
Edmunds and home. All in all an enjoyable if unremarkable ride. And with a
first hint of summer – hopefully a nice long dry one to come.
Suffolk Coast Spree (C
#11)
5 May, 110 miles
I had been suffering from cravings for a while so I decided to
put matters right. A ride to the Suffolk coast and a Pump Street Bakery doughnut
were at the top of the menu. When I’m down this way I always like to head over
to Bawdsey Quay which involves a short detour of about 10 miles. One day I plan
to ride to Felixstowe and then cross over to Bawdsey using the ferry. But I
haven’t yet managed to plan out a route to get round Ipswich on quieter roads.
Today was a lovely sunny day so there were a few people on
the beach soaking up the rays. On the way down to the quay I had passed on of
those massive water sprayers irrigating a field of sugar beet. This was the
first one I had seen operating this year so I wondered (hoped) if it was an
omen for a fine summer.
Bawdsey is the place where radar was developed and tested in
the 1930’s. One of the people responsible for the invention was Robert Watson-Watt,
a descendant of James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine. Inventing things
must run in the family. The radar station has a number of open days during the summer.
Next, I rode over to Orford which was as busy as ever. A
quick ride down to the quayside to take a few photos then it was back into the village
for that doughnut. And a very good doughnut it was. So good that the bike had
one too!
Resisting the temptation to linger and have another
doughnut, I headed off to Saxmundham and Framlingham in lovely sunshine. All
around me the fields were covered in the luxuriant greens and yellows of
spring. This is riding at its very best.
Hoxne Hundred (C #10)
17 April, 104 miles
I have recently been reading Mark Taylor’s book, Edmund –
The Untold Story of the Martyr-King and His Kingdom, who is something of a local
hero, despite very little being reliably known about him. In 869, aged 29 he
was killed by invading Danes. He was subsequently buried in Beadoriceworth (now
Bury St Edmunds). Twenty years later he was declared the patron saint of
England, to be replaced in the 14th century by St. George.
Ironically, the very Danes who killed him came to worship him on account of a
number of mystical happenings associated with him. And today, there’s a
campaign underway to reinstate St Edmund as England’s patron saint.
After refusing to surrender to the invading Danes he took
flight and it is claimed was eventually captured while hiding under a bridge Hoxne.
Legend has it that a newly married couple saw his gold spurs and gave away his
location to his enemies. And according to the legend, St. Edmund put a curse on
any couples who cross the bridge on their way to get married. His death, it is
said, involved the Danes tying him to a tree and flogging him. He was then shot
at with arrows and had spears stuck in him until he looked like a hedgehog.
Then he was decapitated, his head thrown into a bramble bush and his body left
where it lay. Sometime later his body and head were recovered and when placed
together they became whole again. So today I decided to focus my ride on a
visit to Goldstone Bridge at Hoxne where Edmund met his end.
Hoxne has one other claim to fame, the Hoxne Hoard.
Discovered in 1992, the Hoard is the largest collection of late Roman silver
and gold discovered in Britain. Nearly 15,000 gold silver and bronze coins
together with 200 items of silver tableware and jewelry were found. Today the
Hoard is on display in the British Museum
Mid Norfolk and Some
Sunshine (C #9)
13 April, 111 miles
Today was a lovely sunny day so I decided to repeat my ride
of 2 April and this time ride it the other way round. There was a real sense of
spring in the air today and the distinctive yellow of oil seed rape crops was
starting to show. The countryside really did look as if at long last it was
waking up from winter hibernation. New shoots were showing on the oak trees and
many of the hedgerows had a lovely green tinge from their flushing leaves. So I
was more than happy to pedal around, not thinking about much in particular, and
just enjoying the scenery.
The one thing that did strike me was how significant the pig
rearing industry has become in this corner of the country. Pig rearing has
always been a significant activity but, and maybe it’s just my imagination, I
sense that in the last couple of years the industry has grown to a totally new
level. Many of the fields are now full of pigs and the assorted paraphernalia.
The animals themselves don’t generally seem to be in any discomfort and appear
quite happy to bury their snouts in the soil in search of whatever they can
eat. One very striking feature is that fields with pigs in very quickly lose
any surface vegetation and take on a scorched earth appearance. Consequently,
there seems to be a regular rotation cycle to enable the fields to recover. For
the most part the pigs are oblivious to my passing, just occasionally one might
look at me rather disdainfully. Piglets on the other hand often seem quite
interested in me, provided I’m not too close as I ride past. And they can be
quiet interesting to look at, especially very young ones who are often quite
playful with each other. So there you have it, Lejog Mark’s take on pig
farming.
There was one other minor feature of note today – a new bus
shelter, complete with its own thatched roof. This seemed to be entirely in
harmony with the surroundings and certainly much nicer than the more usual prefab
concrete block versions. So much nicer in fact that my bike was keen to try it
out.
Crinkle Crankle Rider and Crinkle Crankle Walls (C #8)
11 April, 104 miles
Today’s ride reprises a familiar theme. Having ‘discovered’
the world of crinkle crankle walls (C#5,
30 March) I was keen to see some more. My interest was piqued by a conversation
with Mick Madgett who owns Madgetts Cycles in Diss. Allow me to digress for a
moment. The shop has been in the Madgett family for three generations. I would
describe it as a traditional bike shop – what it lacks in flashy modern
presentation is more than made up for by the depth of knowledge that Mick and
his team have couple with a quality of service that is second to none. And no,
Mick isn’t paying me to write this. The two Bianchi’s I currently own came from
Madgetts and have been serviced and repaired there as well.
Well back to
today’s theme. I had called in at Madgetts and Mick commented that he had seen
my blog about crinkle crankle walls. He mentioned that there was a particularly
fine example in the village of Easton, near Wickham Market. He also told me
about one in Eye, which I must have ridden past many times without noticing. So
that largely determined the choice of today’s route.
Arriving in Eye
I immediately spotted the wall and was amazed that I hadn’t spotted it before.
It runs along the front of Chandos House which was once owned by Sir Frederick
Ashton, choreographer with The Royal Ballet. The property was well known for
its weekend parties when the cream of London’s theatre and ballet stars would
visit. Dame Margot Fonteyn was a regular visitor apparently. So this reminded
me that I must ride with my eyes open in future to avoid missing out.
Having ‘ticked off’ the Eye wall I rode on to Easton which is between Framlingham and Wickham Market. This was a magnificent sight and is claimed to be the longest crinkle crankle wall anywhere –it was 2.5 miles long at one time; the longest continuous section is now about 0.75 miles. The wall achieved a certain notoriety in 2013 when a car crashed into it and demolished a 20-foot long section. Around 6,000 bricks were knocked over and 3,500 of them were cleaned and reused. The wall was eventually repaired at a cost of £20,000. The motorist has yet to be apprehended. As an aside I discovered while reading up about the wall that Easton Hall, the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, was demolished in the 1920’s and rebuilt in the USA as a ranch house. Wow!
In a small celebration of crinkle crankle and in order to
ensure that I crossed the 100 mile threshold today I followed a particularly
wavy route for the last 20 miles of the ride.
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