Mid Suffolk Light Railway

A couple of weeks ago we set off for the Mid Suffolk Light Railway (the 'Middy') near Wetheringsett, via Haughley. More info here. Lunch was a sandwich and figs bought at the local shop in Mendlesham - since we'd had a big breakfast in Bury for a treat, at the Angel Hotel. Mendlesham has some very attractive bits but not much of a web presence, with the notable exception of this rave review of St Mary's church.

The Middy museum had closed for the season, unbeknownst to us, but we enjoyed a cup of tea courtesy of one of the helpers there, as we watched others prepare for December's Santa Specials, which involved some shunting, moving a load of old sleepers with a JCB, some head scratching and plenty of chatting.

The facilities at the Middy are excellent - modern and clean. It's obviously a labour of love for the volunteers there; they seem to be doing a great job and no doubt we'll be back when they are in steam.

Good hedges ride to Dalham

We've been cycling most weekends, but blogging less frequently. Too Busy, aargh. Going out on the bikes on a sunny Sunday is the perfect antedote to overwork every other day of the week; totally absorbing.

So today we went west of Bury to Dalham, and enjoyed lunch at the Affleck Arms - 2 courses of good quality, tasty food and drinks for £15 each. En route we enjoyed the many fine examples of hedging and topiary that seem the vogue round here.

Dalham is in the Kennett valley, with steep (well, steep for Suffolk) climbs in and out of the village. Repleat, we struggled up the road to Gazeley, past this old kiln (pictured) and through gorgeously autumnal woodland to loop back to Bury via West Stow and Culford.

Ixworth Pykkerell

Just a 20 mile loop from Bury today, via the Pykkerell for lunch. £28 for roast lamb, pud and pint of orange and lemonade x2. We've been there before and it is consistently good for food and service, with the added advantage of an interesting-looking ancient outhouse at the back, and lovely old yard for parking the bicycles. Nice starched linen tableclothes too.

Ixworth itself seems to have seen better days, and has a rather faded grandeur to it. The village is no stranger to cycling though, and hosted the West Suffolk Wheelers' Ixworth Criterium earlier this year.

The return route took in pig town at Livermere and the mysterious but perfectly preserved Ampton Hall. Bury Blue has taken some nice photos of Ampton. But this is the view one gets from a bicycle.

Bury to lovely Lavenham

Lovely to ride in the sunshine on Sunday; so hot was it that the rays seemed positively to press down on us. We headed for Lavenham, 'a remarkably preserved medieval village' according to the National Trust, which has a presence there (the Guildhall, below).

Our route to Lavvers is fantastically rural - arable land just about all the way, as far as the eye can see. The combine harvesters were out, getting in the barley and wheat, but we also passed fields of sugar beet, oilseed rape, sweetcorn and great purple swathes of linseed.

We lunched at Sweetmeats Tea Rooms and ice cream parlour, down the side of the Swan Hotel. Three courses of unusual but tasty grub and a pot of tea for £25.

Lavenham looks beautiful on a sunny Sunday, no doubt about it.

Weekend of le Grand Depart

By train to London for the Tour de France Prologue. We headed for the Serpentine, saw some riders zipp past through spectators 3 deep at the barriers, then saw the finale on a big screen at the People's Village. It was all very good-natured depsite the huge numbers of people, beer (plastic bottles of Carlsberg from the beer tent), and queues to join queues for the footbridges to cross the course. Really disappointed Bradley Wiggins didn't win, but he's still the man.

Went out on the mountain bikes during the Canterbury stage, in between ITV coverage. Nobody about in the countryside around Ware, Much Hadham etc, lovely. Stopped for a route-planning meeting at Latchford, on the little footbridge over the river Rib. It's a good spot for wildlife - have seen fish, crayfish, and an otter there in the past on various occasions. This time we had leaping trout. There's some stuff about wild trout conservation on the nearby river Ash in in Hertfordshire here. Not mad about landowner Buxton, who is mentioned though; he gives every impression of loathing cyclists, and we're certainly not made to feel welcome on his land - even on the rights of way that run through it.

Bury to The Buxhall Crown

The Sunday after our epic Yorkshire Dales tour, we were surprised to find the relatively gentle West Suffolk terrain hard on the legs. The intermittant rain felt familiar though.

We rode eastwards towards Stowmarket as far as Buxhall, for an expensive but delicious lunch - beautifully presented and with excellent service, in the Crown. Two points to note:

• £30 should be enough to feed and water two cyclists at lunchtime. Increasingly, in Suffolk on a Sunday, it's only just enough. Ideally we'd re-fuel in tea rooms, but gastropubs are usually the only option away from the main towns.
• This was the first day of the smoking ban, hence the pub was smoke free. Good.
  

Yorkshire Dales Cycleway

The end of June saw Action Man and me doing the Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way: round trip of 120 miles from Kettlewell (we missed out the official Skipton start), over a leisurely four days.

The first leg, to Ingleton, looked relatively easy (flat, in other words) on the map profile, but the constant up and down of the foothills was pretty tiring. After a surprisingly steep drop into Settle, we found the Tourist Information staff very helpful in sorting out accomodation for that night; and Poppy's tearoom in Kirkgate a welcome source of tea, sandwiches and Yorkshire Curd tart.

The next day's ride saw some serious hills, starting with Kingsdale and Deepdale on the way to Dent, where we shared cycling stories over tea and toast with three chaps from the Cheshire Roads Club, then more climbing to the spectacular Dentdale viaduct, serving Dent station, the highest in England. We stayed in Hawes that night, in the last B&B room available in town as it was Gala day. Took ages, and the intervention of Hawes Tourist Information Office, to find somewhere to stay.

The hardest day of the tour was the Hawes to Leyburn leg, via Swaledale (where we saw plenty Swaledale sheep, with their black heads and white muzzles - said (on our map) to be 'a popular choice with hill farmers because of its ability to cope well with the harsh weather conditions and poor grazing on the high moors'). Leyburn isn't on the route, strictly speaking, but we couldn't get accomodation in nearby Wensley as planned, and this meant an extra couple of miles of uphill slog that we could have done without after a long day.

The weather detoriorated overnight, and the rain that flooded Sheffield, Doncaster and Hull fell on us too during the short hop back to Kettlewell. We rode through deserted roads over Coverdale, pushed along by a ferocious tail wind and drenched to our skins depsite waterproof jackets. The curlews we'd heard previously on the tour were clearly in evidence here, flying close to us, and pretty much the only other lunatic lifeform braving the storm.

Fortunately we'd left the car with friends and were able to get dry and changed before heading for Harrogate, and the very reasonably priced Yorkshire Hotel, for posh B&B before heading south for home.

Overall observations: the route is fantastic - fabulous scenary and hard riding; the way marking was a bit sporadic - definitely need a map; the people we encountered en route were very friendly; we took mountain bikes with road tyres, and used all the gears; good idea to book accomodation ahead, especially at the weekend; it's hilly!

Cole Green Way

Have been staying intermittently with my sister in Welwyn Garden City recently. Am happy to report that I can get there from my Herts base almost entirely off-road via the Sustrans route to Ware and Hertford (towpath), then the Cole Green Way (disused railway) to the outskirts of WGC, and cycle paths to the town centre. Gently uphill all the way, but v pleasant.

Silver Ball shuts at 2pm on Sundays

The East Herts countryside looks so good at the moment - green and lush. Did the time-honoured ride over Perriwinkle Hill - with views of the Cambridgeshire plains - to the Silver Ball at Reed. Hello Ace was there as usual with his motorcycling pals and glass of milk. He is just back from the Isle of Man and the 100th TT, full of stories.

Fishy

10th June, a lovely day. Action Man and I re-did the Bury to Clare ride. Excellent lunch again at the Globe in Clare - £9 for 3 courses. Not so much wildlife noticeable this time, although we did see what appeared to be a single dace near a load of trout in the Stour at Cavendish.

the bike show saved my life

Jack Thurston is back with the fantastic Resonance FM Bike Show podcast. Praise be. When getting-out-the-door difficulties become the norm, this show restores the will to cycle.

Road testing the tow path runner

The plan is to ride the 12 miles to one of my places of work - I go there twice a week on average. Most of the journey is do-able on the Lee towpath, and I need to be able to leave the bike lashed up whilst I'm at work without worrying too much about it getting nicked.

Introducing the new towpath runner....a 1937 BSA Gold Vase single speed. It is a birthday gift from Action Man, who was willed it by a friend who died last year. The friend had the bike from new, and did many many miles on it in the forties and fifties. Mick at Omega Cycles in Hoddesdon did a lovely job of restoring it to good working order and re-painting the frame.


Road testing on Saturday went well - a part towpath, part road, part cross country ride to a party at my parents' house in Watton-at-Stone, Herts. The last bit went through Bramfield Forest, which was full of bluebells and quite magnificent.

Easter mini tour of NW Suffolk

Action Man arrived on Easter Sunday with his rucksack and ill-formed plans for a two-day ride to Somewhere. We took all morning to find a suitable destination that had accomodation available, and set off in a Diss direction, following the delightful Low Road along the Waveney valley through tiny villages and then gorse-covered heathland up towards the Norfolk border, with the sound of a chime whistle from the Bressingham steam museum floating across on a lovely tail wind.

The wind made it an easy ride to our digs: the Cornwallis Hotel in Brome, near Eye. This beautiful Tudor hotel was perhaps a bit posher than we deserved after such modest efforts to get there, but never mind; we made up for it on the return leg with 50 miles against the wind.

Action Man is a big fan of Sandringham Class locomotives and he had spotted Quidenham on the map, whose Hall has a loco named after it. So from the hotel we looped north into Norfolk via Burston (see magnificent mill, pictured) and Shelfanger - this time hearing the sounds of a race meeting at Snetterton on the wind - to find Quidenham (pictured), now a Carmelite monestry.

West towards Newmarket

April Fool's Day. We headed West from Bury, blown along by a strong Easterly wind, and through the lovely rolling countryside of Little Saxham, Ousden, Upend (pictured - this spot hasn't changed; see here) into the horsey villages on the outskirts of Newmarket. The verges here are wide and beautifully kept; the roads deserted.

We were aimng for the King's Head at Dullingham, but found it closed for refurbishment and ended up at the Black Bull in Balsham for a very tasty roast dinner, served by friendly staff. A chap at the bar was complaining about something he'd read in his paper concerning a new version of darts, played with a square board. He was most unhappy. An April Fool.

Woolpit

25th March. Time was short so we did the short hop from Bury to Woolpit. Lunch at the Bull - unpretentious food, not expensive. Good.

Woolpit has its own website, which says:

"Woolpit is an attractive Suffolk village with period and modern houses nestling around a mediaeval village centre. Its lively community is richly provided with a wealth of clubs and organisations, and well served with shops and other amenities.

Its greatest claims to fame are: the legend of the Green Children, a mediaeval mystery of strange children appearing from nowhere, whose skin was green and who would only eat green foods; the beautiful church of St Mary, with its stunning hammer beams and angel carvings, perhaps equalled but unsurpassed in Suffolk; and the former brickworks, long since disused, the white bricks of which were used, locals claim, to build the White House in Washington, D.C.

These days Woolpit attracts tourists and painters who appreciate its picturesque setting and historical heritage, but those who live here also take pride in the annual Woolpit Festival, a medley of concerts, readings and theatre; in the 30 or more clubs and societies catering for a wide range of needs and interests; and in the development and care of their beautiful home village."

Save the Silver Ball for another day

Action Man and I were in East Herts this weekend and planned to ride to the Silver Ball transport cafe on the A10 at Reed. We know from past experience that pubs are usually fully booked for lunch on Mother's Day. In any case, the Silver Ball does cheap, OK food, and it's a nice ride.

Unfortunately we were a bit tight for time because of other commitments, and the strong wind was making things slow and cold. We decided to go to the Fox and Hounds in Clavering, in the hope they'd have some room and some lunch for us. But all we found was a sign on the door 'closed until further notice'. So we ate our emergency rations and returned to base camp.

We passed through Much Hadham out and back. Here's a photo of the High Street at it's narrowest point - usually choca with parked cars and a queue of Audi's, BMW's and Range Rovers waiting to get through.

It's noticeable after riding in Suffolk for a while, that the Hertfordshire lanes are busier with traffic, that the traffic goes much faster, and that the road surfaces are generally in poorer condition - appalling in places.

The other thing I notice - although less so today because the wind drowned out the noise - is aeroplanes. Whichever bit of sky you look at, there's invariably an aeroplane in it.

Bury St Edmunds to Clare, the pretty way

Perhaps it's the spring weather, or the call of my 40th birthday, or hormones perhaps, but I have once again caught the Cycling Bug. Last time this happened I gave up work to race; the time before I sold the car and rode to work and everywhere else.

Anyway, Action Man and I did a lovely ride today as per the leaflet in the Bury Tourist Office, to Clare. Hilly but fab. Terrific views, quiet lanes, pretty villages (am thinking chocolate box Cavendish and bleakly beautiful Hawkedon).

We lunched at The Globe in Clare, having spurned the pub next door (too smokey, bit rough, long wait for grub - that was the clincher). The garden of The Globe was full of Cambridge CTC types, on fixers, Moultons and Bromptons (and some ordinary tourers). Wearing our Herts Wheelers regalia, we were approached by a fellow from Stevenage, who likes to ride to Cambridge on a Sunday and ride from there with the CTC. He does 120/140 miles on such Sundays.

The Globe gets a Gold Star for service, grub and value for money (£9 for 3 courses - hardly Suffolk prices, in our experience - that's cheap).

Other highlights were the lovely spring sunshine, the three lots of deer sitings (none muntjaks), the waterfall, the ramblers who made way without audible complaint, and the complete absence of Scarey Incidents with Cars.