Ride report by Ian A
With other regular Saturday Wheelers either away motorbiking, doing the ‘Norwich 100’ or relaxing on Corfu, only Mark and Ian met at PC on yet another warm and sunny day. A more relaxed day out was in the offing with an early coffee stop at Stiffkey before ‘pushing on’ to Whitwell. The route pretty much retraced Ian’s steps (or pedal revolutions) back to High Kelling via West Beckham and Bodham, before heading across the A148 and the normal route across the railway bridge and down to Wiveton. We stopped part way down Bridgefoot Lane to admire and photograph the (distant but still impressive) poppy display by Blakeney Church – more to come later.
By Wiveton Church we picked up Andrew and Richard and the 4 of us then went up the hill to Langham, where en route we were afforded even better views of the poppies at Blakeney so we stopped for photos. Clearly it’s a bumper year!
After Langham we passed the Langham Dome and continued on to Cockthorpe before the descent to Stiffkey Stores.
It was very busy when we arrived and we considered not waiting (well Ian did anyway) but the queue moved quickly and we found seats in the shade for our excellent coffees – and cakes for most of us. We set off south up the Wighton Road hill before descending to the Warham Road, turning left for Binham, Field Dalling, then crossing the A148 again to pretty Briningham, Melton Constable and a fast section (it’s all relative) to Hindolveston and Foulsham, before the final few miles to Whitwell Station.
The Sidings Cafe has been a regular stop in the past but has not been visited for at least 4 years. After a bit of debate and table swapping with a very kind (but probably ultimately exasperated!) couple who we politely asked to move as we wanted their shade and there was other shade for them but not enough for the 5 of us (Graham A had met us there too – so all his fault really ha ha) we settled on a table in the garden at the back and went back to tell the couple out front they could have their original table back! Anyway, we all ordered paninis with salad and those posh vegetable crisp thingy’s and they hit the spot. As did Mark and Ian’s pints of Wherry which at £4 a pint was excellent value. Mark did a bit of average flower identification in the garden with his ‘App’. Probably only does Chinese flowers…
After lunch we rode to Reepham with Graham before bidding him farewell and heading north towards Salle, skirted Wood Dalling and Thurning and on to Briston. Out of Briston, Andrew showed us all a clean pair of heels (and sandals) on the climb up to Edgefield which he won by a fair distance with Ian in second place probably a furlong behind – or several chains at least. As a pretext for getting our breath back there was much discussion about the merits of furlongs/cubits/ leagues and their juxtaposition with miles, and even kilometres might have got a mention. I kid you not. So about two and a half hours later we set off down Rectory Road to the Pottery (I bought an egg separator there once, broke it when I got home so went back for another one and it sits in the cupboard still unused). Anyway, from there Ian somehow managed to put a bit of distance between himself and the other 3 (no idea how or even why) only for Mark to come shooting past him before the Hempstead/Selbrigg crossroads. We then stopped (again!) at Selbrigg Pond to admire the plastic bag/duck (we’ll never know) and look at a few fish plus damselflies and dragonflies. At the next junction Ian, Andrew and Richard turned left for High Kelling and Blakeney, leaving Mark to ride solo back to PC and Sheringham.
An excellent ride, taking advantage of ‘Twitchy Chris’ not being there with 2 cafe stops, 2 photo stops, 2 ‘comfort stops’ and the Selbrigg Pond nature stop!
In other news: Ian used Black Bikes during the week to fit new bearings and diagnose/fix a creaky squeak from his drivetrain and was very happy with the service provided by Zach, the new owner since about a year ago.
PC to PC was 55.5 miles at an average of 14.9 mph (15.5 Out, 13.9 Back)
Riders: Andrew B, Graham A, Ian A, Mark M, Richard W.
Upcoming Rides –
Wednesday 3rd June – Nest Café, Burnham Deepdale
Saturday 6th June – Watsons, Bacton
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 