Ride report by Ian A
A bit of confusion about who was out today on what was hoped to be a dry and mild day for the ride to Kelling Heath, a new destination for the Wheelers club riders. In the end it was only Mark at PC and he picked up Duncan and Ian at the Bridge Road/A148 junction in High Kelling. It was good to see Mark back out although still not fully recovered from the nasty viral infection that’s doing the rounds. (So we had to share the workload on the front!) The trio headed past the Rugby Club meeting traffic at the pinch point at the NNR road bridge but swerved through that to continue down to the junction and turn left for the gentle drag into Holt where we picked up Andy on the Cley Road who had ridden there from Corpusty via Edgefield.
The route then took us on a loop via Wiveton, Langham, Saxlingham, Glandford and back to Wiveton. On the way we had a brief ‘comfort stop’ where we removed gilets, leg warmers etc. as it was definitely warming up. We then continued uphill via Newgate and onto the junction at “The Heater” (who knew) where we turned left for the descent to Weybourne down Holgate Hill. That just left us the small matter of the climb past Weybourne Station and up Sandy Hill Lane to arrive at the holiday park and our lunch stop. Duncan showed us all a clean pair of heels up the climb from Newgate and out of Weybourne to the Holiday Park entrance. Not to mention a very clean chain & cassette as Andy had remarked earlier!
After an unsuccessful attempt to use the wooden bike racks (our wheels were too big!) we parked our bikes against a fence and walked across the plaza to the cafe/restaurant. It was quiet inside (not to mention a little gloomy too – trying to save energy costs maybe?) and after some quick negotiating we found a nice round table for lunch. The toasties and wrap with fries were all very tasty and good value – even if not perhaps overly laden with filling – but the coffee was good too.
Conversation centred around upcoming trips to Gozo, Norway, Andy’s rather challenging house/shed/barn(?) clearance task and expensive local eateries – Ian was at the Gunton Arms yesterday and the food/service was excellent and doesn’t have to be silly money if you choose sensibly!
After lunch the route took us on to Bodham where we crossed the A148 without incident and then rode via West Beckham and the Barninghams to the Matlaske junction where Andy turned right to head back to Corpusty while the remaining trio continued on to Aldborough, Hanworth and Sustead where we took a small deviation from the planned route to avoid heading directly south into a headwind and took an easier route back to Gresham Church where Mark headed back to PC leaving Ian & Duncan to head up Holt/Mill Road (yes Duncan left Ian behind there too – but waited at the top) where they took the well ridden route back to High Kelling via Lower Bodham. At the A148, they parted ways for Holt & High Kelling. A slightly lumpy and not very long ride round well known roads and I think we’d all be happy to stop at Kelling Heath again – but probably always outside the busy summer season.
PC to PC was 44.4 miles at an average speed of 14.5 mph
Riders: Andy S, Duncan S, Ian A, Mark M
Upcoming Rides –
Saturday 18th April – North Creake Abbey
Wednesday 22nd April – Heydon Tea Rooms
Routes for rides on the website under Dates and Destinations: https://nnwheelers.co.uk/club-runs/
Visit the Clubs Runs Gallery for larger and more photos: https://nnwheelers.co.uk/club-runs/club-runs-photo-gallery/
North Norfolk Wheelers 