Tour in Norfolk

[Abr1966]

Hello everyone, new to the forum!
I'm a regular cyclist and bought myself a tourer last year and had a couple of short tours.

I'm looking for info or recommendations about touring in Norfolk? Going in early July for 4-5 days and no firm plans except that I'll be setting off from Kings Lynn.

Thinking I'd like to ride country lanes but maybe stay each night by the coast and may youth hostel/b&b rather than camp.

Any suggestions greatly received!

[bohrsatom]

We attempted to ride from Ipswich to King's Lynn last year, but cut the journey short due to bad weather so ended up in Norwich instead.

There are plenty of country lanes and route NCN1 winds its way through the area too. It does get busier and more built up by the coast so better stay inland a bit if you want quieter lanes IMO. The other benefit of being inland is you are sheltered from the winds!

We camped 2 nights at camping and caravanning club sites, one in Cromer and the other in Kessingland, around £22 per night if I recall. The purpose of the trip was to test our camping equipment but otherwise for the cost I'd have tried booking a Travelodge instead.

Our full planned route is here: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/pag ... 460724&v=u

[Bsteel]

The Goldeneye map for Norfolk is a decent starting place for showing NCN routes, trails and some suggested riding routes.
http://www.goldeneyeguides.co.uk/cyclin ... ntry-lanes.

[thirdcrank]

IME It's a wonderful area for cycling with a network of very quiet roads. Be aware that the North Norfolk coast area is extremely popular with bird watchers so you are likely to be in competition with them for accommodation, including during school term times. There's also been the "Kate effect" according to my local contacts. You might find it easier to get accommodation a bit away from the coast.

[mercalia]

well re YHA there arent many left. a few on the north coast and one at Blaxhall , near Ipswich, thats it ( other than Cambridge )

what ever you do you should include the Norfolk Broads in some way. quite fun wandering around around them on bike. can get a bit touristy but still nice

Norwich to Lowestoft
Maybe cross the river at Reedham Ferry( free) - there are nice country lanes on either side of the river Yare ( that I used to use to get from Lowestoft to Norwich ) Lowestoft could be a good place to stay

Burgh "castle" looking out onto Breydon Water is an old Roman "fort" of immense proportions.

The area around Haddiscoe and St Olives on the marshes is magical late afternoon and evening at sunset when the mist covers the land, real back of beyond and dreams of the past

The B1074 from St Olives to Lowestoft a very pleasant ride via Somerleyton Hall if you into mansions

if you want to have a good ( fictional) read of that area here is a very old book still in print that is fun

Ghosts of the Broads

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Ghosts-Broads-Charles-Sampson/0711702381

[mjr]

Route 1 is tarmac cycle tracks and fairly quiet roads King's Lynn to Holkham, then a stone road to Wighton and tarmac roads to near Whitwell. The Whitwell-New Costessey (just outside Norwich city boundary) section is bad enough for long enough that I won't ride it and I'm usually fairly relaxed about unpaved roads. There are alternative quietish roads roughly parallel though. Route 1 through Norwich is pretty nice.

The Holkham-Wells loop is scenic but the beach section gets busy and is very sandy. An easier option IMO is to leave Holkham along https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/86885819 onto Mill Road and ride a short bit of the A road up the false flat, continuing straight on at the sharp bend until you see the Route 1 loop signs pointing downhill. The beach cafe has good cycle parking and outside seating if you want to keep an eye on it most of the time.

Route 30 is tarmac C roads to Northrepps and then a mix of C and unclassifieds. It's been years since I rode any of it, so won't comment.

There are also some unsigned routes which the local cycling campaign rides use a lot, give or take some variations: Lynn-Fakenham-Lynn, Lynn-Wells-Lynn, Lynn-Sutton Bridge-Wisbech-Lynn, Lynn-20 Churchwardens-Lynn. And a few we've used less often: Lynn-Norwich 100, Holland Hundred. You might be able to get some ideas for good places to eat from our rides lists on http://www.KLWNBUG.co.uk - other than the Fairlight Lodge and Stuart House Hotel in King's Lynn, I don't really know good places to stay because I live here now.

[Vorpal]

Take your pick of lovely routes

+1 for the Goldeneye map.

I like Castle Acre and there are a couple of decent tea stops, there, too (or were some years ago).

I can recommend https://www.deepdalebackpackers.co.uk/ as being cyclist friendly.

The only other thing I will add is a recommendation to avoid the coastal A road on summer weekends, at least between sort of 9 or 10 am and late afternoon. It gets busy, and there are quite a few people with trailers and caravans and the like who don't seem overly experienced driving them Also it's quite narrow in a few places and holiday makers seem to think it makes a good car park. Other times, it can be lovely, with nice views, plenty of tea and ice cream stops, and a pretty good selection of reasonable accomodation.

Norfolk CTC have a cafe list, in case that's useful
http://www.norfolkctc.org.uk/?q=caf-s

[thirdcrank]

IMO the problem with the A149 is that it's a main road with modern levels of traffic but still in the 1950's or before in terms of engineering. In a sense, that's no bad thing but a lot of drivers are in a hurry and tend to drive as though they are on a clear road with a good view which they have not got. I presume some become impatient with slower, more cautious drivers who they see as sightseers but who may be like me, unable to see round blind bends and unwilling to risk it. Luckily for cyclists, there are so many quiet lanes that there's little or no need to use main roads other than for short lengths in towns and villages. For whatever reason, IME, the quiet, narrow roads, seem to attract no through traffic at all. If you do meet a motor vehicle it will generally be going to somewhere like a farm with no other access. But what passes for main roads seems to attract impatient drivers.

[Gattonero]

This is an easy route, leaves plenty of time to visit Holkham Hall, Sandringham Estate, etc.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10007072

Ended up doing some strolls around, clocking 200k in the end. Was summer and the weather nice, but one day with strong wind and rain!

[mjr]

I like Castle Acre and there are a couple of decent tea stops, there, too (or were some years ago).

There used to be two cafes, one which gets full and one which didn't seem to like cyclists, plus a fairly expensive pub. I think the less friendly cafe has closed now. To be honest, I prefer the Stag at West Acre 3 miles west or some of the cafes in Swaffham 5 miles south (Bridget's seemed good to me) or I think someone said the Black Swan Cafe and Bar in Little Dunham 4 miles east was cycle-friendly but I've not got over there since it reopened. There's also fairly cycle-friendly stops at Sandringham Visitor Centre, Bircham Windmill Cafe, Hunstanton Old Lifeboat Cafe, Denver Golf Club, plus most pubs and cafes in the villages.

The only other thing I will add is are commendation to avoid the coastal A road on summer weekends, at least between sort of 9 or 10 am and late afternoon.

The A149. It's worth doing a half mile on it to get into Hunstanton from Ringstead (turn onto Waterworks Road for Old Hunstanton or Church Lane for the main town - straight over the A149 at the end of Chapel Bank), or it's about the only way to reach RSPB Titchwell, but it's not a fun place to ride for very long. Most of the rural A roads are too busy to be much fun, but most are wider than the coast road clockwise of Snettisham. There's plenty of C and U roads, though, including some pretty direct ones!

Luckily for cyclists, there are so many quiet lanes that there's little or no need to use main roads other than for short lengths in towns and villages. For whatever reason, IME, the quiet, narrow roads, seem to attract no through traffic at all. If you do meet a motor vehicle it will generally be going to somewhere like a farm with no other access.

Not always, but the quiet, narrow roads do carry enough large farm and quarry traffic to deter the impatient motorists from using them. Out on the fens, the deterrent effect of small roads is further increased by Darwinian speed limits: a combination of roads that settle into ripples as the fens dry out in summer, ninety-degree unsigned bends and often drainage ditches alongside that are just wide enough to trap an upturned car - if you bounce or skid your car into one, you have to smash the windscreen or rear window, if either's still above water.

It's a beautiful place to cycle but not a great place to drive in a hurry IMO.

[mjr]

This is an easy route, leaves plenty of time to visit Holkham Hall, Sandringham Estate, etc.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10007072

Ended up doing some strolls around, clocking 200k in the end. Was summer and the weather nice, but one day with strong wind and rain!

Awww, as well as missing Snettisham, Hunstanton, Thornham and Burnham Deepdale by miles, that goes so close to Bircham Windmill, Frizz the Dragon, Burnham Market and the Holkham Obelisk without riding past any of them! Did you at least see a steam train?

[Gattonero]

This is an easy route, leaves plenty of time to visit Holkham Hall, Sandringham Estate, etc.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10007072

Ended up doing some strolls around, clocking 200k in the end. Was summer and the weather nice, but one day with strong wind and rain!

Awww, as well as missing Snettisham, Hunstanton, Thornham and Burnham Deepdale by miles, that goes so close to Bircham Windmill, Frizz the Dragon, Burnham Market and the Holkham Obelisk without riding past any of them! Did you at least see a steam train?

Feel free to edit and add POI

[Abr1966]

Thanks everyone for the really helpful replies so far....much appreciated!
Andy

[mjr]

This is an easy route, leaves plenty of time to visit Holkham Hall, Sandringham Estate, etc.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10007072

Ended up doing some strolls around, clocking 200k in the end. Was summer and the weather nice, but one day with strong wind and rain!

Awww, as well as missing Snettisham, Hunstanton, Thornham and Burnham Deepdale by miles, that goes so close to Bircham Windmill, Frizz the Dragon, Burnham Market and the Holkham Obelisk without riding past any of them! Did you at least see a steam train?

Feel free to edit and add POI

I can't - RWGPS's terms prohibit adding commercial content to it and all those places except the Dragon are arguably commercial, nor can I warrant that none of them infringe any third party's rights.

Bircham Windmill is http://www.openstreetmap.org/node/3505130593
Frizz the Dragon is next to http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/390406281
Burnham Market is http://www.openstreetmap.org/node/29807303
and the Holkham Obelisk is http://www.openstreetmap.org/node/478119048

[Gattonero]

Awww, as well as missing Snettisham, Hunstanton, Thornham and Burnham Deepdale by miles, that goes so close to Bircham Windmill, Frizz the Dragon, Burnham Market and the Holkham Obelisk without riding past any of them! Did you at least see a steam train?

Feel free to edit and add POI

I can't - RWGPS's terms prohibit adding commercial content to it and all those places except the Dragon are arguably commercial, nor can I warrant that none of them infringe any third party's rights.

Bircham Windmill is http://www.openstreetmap.org/node/3505130593
Frizz the Dragon is next to http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/390406281
Burnham Market is http://www.openstreetmap.org/node/29807303
and the Holkham Obelisk is http://www.openstreetmap.org/node/478119048

You can.
Login, copy the route to your routes then edit. It would be interesting to add your info which seems very handy