Tour diary 2012

August 2012 - Four day tour in Suffolk
Slideshow, diary and photos

Following Tuesday Cycling's successful 2011 short tour starting from and finishing at our home base in Lymington, it was decided that we should venture slightly further afield in 2012. John and Sheila remembered enjoyable previous cycling trips made around Suffolk - rolling countryside with no great hills, but also not boringly pancake flat; interesting countryside with attractive towns and villages; and, as everyone knows, it never rains in Suffolk in August. Having sold the idea to other TCs, John then had a few fretful days wondering if there really was some awful hill he had completely forgotten.

As before, The brief was to:

Not make the daily distances too long
Not make the terrain covered too challenging
Visit interesting places
Ensure the TCs requirement for frequent cafe or picnic stops was met

Plus for this trip, throw in a couple of ferries, the seaside and a prison

Sheila took on the role of route planner and and after extensive research devised a four-day tour, with scheduled stops in:
Woodbridge, Framlingham, Halesworth, Bungay, Beccles, Southwold, Walberswick, Dunwich, Thorpeness, Aldeburgh, Snape, Orford, Bawdsey Quay / Felixstowe Ferry, Shotley, Flatford Mill, East Bergholt and Hadleigh. (There was also a "Don't stop here you are inside a prison" at Hollesley).
She provided detailed route sheets, tourist notes on interesting historic and geographic places to be encountered en-route and copious instructions; negotiated an assortment of accommodation and feeding bookings; and chartered a ferry to take us from Felixstowe to Shotley

Preparation, training and fitness check-up

If you are interested see the 2011 tour notes, but this year we decided not to bother with any of this stuff and just accepted that Birgit and John were fully certified as non-walking wounded.

Sunday: Gathering at Woodbridge
Fine sunny day and the rest of the tour remained dry with a mixture of sun and cloud. A bit windy one day - but overall as good as four successive days have been throughout 2012

Set on the river Deben, Woodbridge is an attractive market town and former port, noted from the Middle Ages for its shipbuilding, rope-making and sail-making industries. Narrow streets hide many historic buildings including fine examples of Georgian architecture. The Sutton Hoo Saxon royal burial ship was discovered just across the river. There is a working tide mill, one of only two in England, the other being at Eling near Totton.

We arrived in dribs and drabs in the garden of the Grove House Hotel in Woodbridge late on Sunday afternoon, and unloaded our bikes into the garage ready for the off at 9 a.m. in the morning. The new owner gave us a warm welcome after getting over the news (not passed on by the previous owner with whom Sheila had negotiated) that we were leaving our vehicles with him. Finally deciding to eat in was a success and everyone retired to bed promptly feeling well-fed. Mystery door bell ringing at 2 a.m. woke some of us up before being foiled by Pete, although a truly satisfactory explanation was not forthcoming!

Day 1 Woodbridge to Beccles 85km (53 miles)

ITINERARY:
Framlingham: A late 12 century castle replaced a wooden structure given to Roger Bigod by Henry I in 1100. It is now a shell, managed by English Heritage. Known to locals as ‘Fram’, the town reached its zenith as the centre for the locality in the Victorian period.
Peasenhall:  An attractive village, whose main street is set by a stream with thatched and colour-washed houses. The Suffolk Seed Drill was invented and manufactured here. The New Inn is a 15th century hall house now owned by the Landmark Trust.
Halesworth:  A bustling market town in a curve of the river Blyth. There is evidence of settlement here in 2000 BC. The 1686 almshouses had a non-smoking rule, but a cache of smoking implements were found hidden during renovation. In the 19th century it was a major centre for malting, brewing and agriculture.
Bungay:  An attractive and thriving market town situated in a loop of the beautiful river Waveney, Bungay boasts many historic attractions including the ruins of Bigod's Castle, the ancient Buttercross - where a market is held each Thursday - and the old Borough well.
Beccles: A market town on the river Waveney, which links it to the Norfolk Broads, Beccles has quaint architecture and a notable bell tower. The clock faces away from the river because "Suffolk folk would not give the time of day to their Norfolk neighbours". Formerly the home of William Clowes the printers, founded 1803 and by 1829 the largest print works in the world. In 2006 the remains were found of a 4,000 year old ancient walk-way crossing marshland into Norfolk. It is 16’ wide, capable of carrying carts, and archaeologists believe that it was in use from the Bronze Age in around 1,000BC, through the Iron Age and to Roman times and at least the 4th Century AD.

After a substantial breakfast on Monday morning we set off through very quiet lanes. At Easton we cycled for some time beside a superb crinkle-crankle wall. Having measured most of the Lymington ones, John insisted on stopping for a photo and was intrigued at the variation in the wall from half-brick to one-brick as it swept around a corner. From there it was easy cycling to coffee at the very popular Dancing Goat café in the main square at Framlingham, which was still decorated overall with Union Flags. The old cycling photos inside the café remain unexplained but seemed appropriate. Many ladies of the party went missing on a shopping expedition but were finally retrieved to start the next leg via Peasenhall, where we made a short stop to admire the old 15th century hall house now owned by the Landmark Trust (and once stayed in by John).

Then on to Halesworth for a sandwich lunch on benches in the pedestrian street, although John and Sheila’s tandem arrived a little late following a sudden front wheel puncture just short of the town. Shortly after setting off again, Lesley discovered that one bolt from her SPD cleat was missing. After we all stopped she re-joined the group wheeling her bike and wearing one shoe with the other still firmly attached to its pedal. Once it was wrestled off, Lesley decided she could continue using the platform side of her pedals instead of the SPD cleats. A check on bike shops by Jonathan with his smartphone enabled Mike to go ahead and do a recce of bike shops in Bungay.

More quiet lanes brought us to Bungay and the flowery Butter Cross where Pete discovered the second puncture of the day in Jan’s tyre. But it was a reasonably convenient and cool repair spot and take-away tea proved popular, although Mary and Mike found a great café and Jan and Pete resorted to ice creams after their puncture-mending exertions. However the bike shop nearby could not help with the cleat bolt. A short detour was taken to view the river before we set off. This extended into an impromptu garden visit after Sheila and then Birgit chatted up a passer-by who happened to own the riverside house beside the bridge.

A flat run close to the River Waveney brought us to Beccles where by happy chance our route into town went right past a bike shop. While Mary sought Mike in the town centre, the rest of us paused while Lesley haggled over a new bolt for the SPD cleat and the obliging shop owners turned all their spare parts boxes inside out to find one. Meanwhile the other ladies of the party checked out the sales rail. Judy was successful with a fetching new pair of padded shorts before Sheila dragged the group away to head for our B&Bs. Both proved comfortable and welcoming. Jonathan and Rosemary were particularly taken with what appeared to be the honeymoon suite with mini-lounge and private garden (and union flag duck for the bath). Supper in the Swan House was a mixed success - rather snug round a smallish table. Starters went down well but the main course was thin on the ground. The desserts made up for this a bit.

Day 2 Beccles to Snape 69km (43 miles)

ITINERARY:
Southwold: A charming and popular seaside resort with a lighthouse, pier and beach. Period houses and old fishermen’s cottages surround nine open greens. It is almost an island, being bounded by the North Sea to the east, the River Blyth and Southwold harbour to the south-west and Buss Creek to the north - there is just the one road into and out of Southwold. We shall leave via a gravel track and a footbridge.
Walberswick Linked by the footbridge with Southwold, a pretty village with pebble, flint and brick houses set round a green. Once a thriving port trading in cheese, bacon, corn, timber and fish from the 13th Century right up to World War 1. Home to the British Crabbing Championships which were cancelled in 2011 due to huge numbers of entrants in recent years.
Dunwich: Founded by the Romans, by the 12th century it was one of Britain’s greatest ports. But constant erosion by the sea and storms washed away parts of the city, including 8 churches, and sand and shingle blocked up the harbour. Now reduced to a tiny village. Legend says that, at certain tides, church bells can still be heard from beneath the waves. Swimming opportunity.
Thorpeness: A former fishing hamlet developed into a fantasy holiday village in 1910 by a wealthy Scottish barrister with a penchant for mock Tudor and Jacobean architecture. Famous for The House in the Clouds, built round and on top of an old water tower. 19th century post mill.
Aldeburgh: In the 16th century it was a thriving port and shipbuilding area, becoming a fishing village and seaside resort in the 19th century. Now a sedate seaside town where fishermen pull their boats onto the shingle beach. The sculpture on the beach, The Scallop, is dedicated to local resident Benjamin Britten, who used to walk along the beach in the afternoons. It was created from stainless steel by Suffolk-based artist Maggi Hambling and caused considerable controversy.
Snape: A small port dating to Roman times, who produced salt here. Anglo Saxon boat burials have been found here. The Maltings, which used to produce and export high quality malted barley, are now home to the Aldeburgh Music Festival started by Benjamin Britten and other arts events, and offers shops, a cafe, tea rooms and pub.

Next morning saw another 9.0 am start. Threading through suburban streets soon took us down the charmingly-named Cucumber Lane and across fields still early-morning cool. This was to be a sight-seeing and seaside day with Southwold as the first stop, where Mary introduced us to the delights of the Pier and we partook of morning coffee with a view, north or south as the fancy took us. Birgit made some sketches and Jonathan liberally sprayed lube on Rosemary's saddle springs to try to eliminate their pronounced squeak. He also taped a small split in the saddle cover (more on this later). The town was busy with holiday makers but provided a shopping opportunity for sandwiches for lunch, which were passed to Mike by many for transport onwards.

Our only off-road section of the trip carried us along an easy to cycle track to the wooden footbridge over the River Blyth and on into Walberswick where a slight detour brought us to the river’s edge and a short walk into the sand dunes. Much crabbing was taking place with crowds of August holiday makers. Very different to the empty and atmospheric place with old tarred fishermen's huts that was Walberswick when John and Sheila were last here.

We set off then along the B road towards Dunwich while Mike planned to meet us with lunch at Thorpeness. However we arrived at Dunwich ready for food, and the lucky few who had followed one of the key cyclist rules - "never be separated from your food", settled in to eat their provisions as a pre-lunch while Mary phoned Mike and urged him to retrace his steps and meet us at Westleton in order to provide sustenance to the unfed part of our group. The curtailed stop prevented Birgit having to take a dip to celebrate the previous "Cynthia North Sea swim". We weren't sure whether she was disappointed or relieved?

At Westleton the village green offered a shady picnic spot and Mike soon arrived with lunch while Birgit settled to more sketching. She also gave a Swedish pronunciation lesson: Birgit = "Beer" as in 2 cold beers please + "Git" as in....well you know. Burgit, Berrget, Burgate, Bridget and Bird S**t are not acceptable. A ride through forest and the RSPB Minsmere nature reserve followed. The dense heather in full bloom was stunning with nectar smelling of honey wafting on the breeze. a slightly busier B road then took us into Thorpeness where some of us investigated the House in the Clouds.

Continuing to Aldeburgh we stopped to view the Shell sculpture by Maggie Hambling on the beach – it met with mixed reactions but seemed popular both as a work of art and robust enough to be a children’s climbing frame. Aldeburgh was very busy and "summer holidayish" and it was surprisingly difficult to find a cafe for tea. Finally take-away tea taken on the sea wall seemed the best we could do. The shortish ride from there brought us to Snape by 5 o’clock, rather later than planned, and we went straight to the Maltings for a look round the buildings, shop and the Henry More and Barbara Hepworth sculptures on the marshes. Pete reminisced about sailing up the River Ore to Snape. Here we also discovered that Rosemary’s saddle had completely collapsed and she had been cycling the last few miles uncomplaining while perched on the remnant metal substructure of her former saddle. After various discussions on how to acquire a new saddle Jonathan arranged with Mike to return to Woodbridge to collect the ladies saddle from Sheila’s ‘Pink Peril’, which was stashed there in John and Sheila's car.

We repaired to our various B&Bs, Lesley’s so-called ‘neighbour’ of one being a walk away but thankfully near the pub selected for supper, the Golden Key. The Albion House B&B turned out to be a fascinating place full of arty memorabilia and teddy bears, run by a ghost writer of show biz memoirs and her lady partner. John just managed the steep steps to the attic bedroom which required entering on all fours to avoid the low ceiling. He and Sheila shared the small space with a few of the many bears. Supper round a long table was a greater success than the previous evening, and Jonathan and Rosemary just made it in time. Sheila slightly spoiled the relaxed post-prandial atmosphere by announcing that she had negotiated 7.30 breakfasts at all the B&Bs for an early 8.30 am start the next morning, because of the two ferry crossings to be fitted in by lunchtime.

Day 3 Snape to East Bergholt 77km (48 miles)

ITINERARY:
Orford: Steeped in history, this little town has brick and timber buildings lining the streets to the quayside. Until the 16th century it was a bustling port trading in fish and wool, but the lengthening shingle spit across the river mouth caused its eventual decline. The river now meets the sea about 4 miles south at Shingle Street, a single row of isolated cottages. The castle has a 12th century keep. Orfordness is the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe and was once home to a secret military testing site. Joanna Trollope stayed here when researching her book, “Daughters-in-Law”.
Hollesley: Now a Category D prison and Young Offenders’ Institution, Hollesley Bay began in 1887 as a colonial college training those intending to emigrate. The prison had housed a labour colony for the London unemployed. The land was originally purchased by Joseph Fels, an American soap-manufacturing millionaire and friend of George Lansbury, the prominent Christian Socialist who was also a leading member of the Poplar Board of Guardians.
In 1905 Fels transferred the land to the London Unemployed Fund, who in turn handed it over to the Central Unemployed Body for London. Subsequently it was taken over by London County Council. There were a number of similar labour colonies across Britain. Their aim was to train unemployed people for work, with a view to helping them escape pauperism.
In 1938 the Prison Commission purchased the site for use as a Borstal. In 1983 Hollesley Bay became a Youth Custody Centre - this replaced the borstal system. This in turn was replaced by a Young Offenders Institution in 1988. In 2002, the old borstal site became mainly for the use of minimum security adult offenders. The prison has been repeatedly criticised for the apparently large number of escapes, which has led to the nickname ‘Holiday Bay’. Famous inmates include Brendan Behan and Jeffrey Archer.
Bawdsey: An attractive row of houses. The hall was the home of the Cavell family (daughter Edith Cavell was shot by the Germans in WW1 for helping prisoners to escape.)
Bawdsey Quay: A fishing port until the early 15th century. Bawdsey Manor was a top-secret research establishment where radar was developed from 1936 to 1940. Bawdsey Manor continued as an RAF base through the Cold War and Bloodhound Missiles were sited on the cliffs until the Bloodhound force ceased operations in 1990. Bawdsey was closed when the missiles were withdrawn to RAF West Raynham in 1991.
Felixstowe Ferry: A small foot ferry across the River Deben links Bawdsey Quay to Felixstowe Ferry.This hamlet near the mouth of the River Deben has a pub and cafe and a church built in 1954 to replace one destroyed by a German bomb.
Felixstow: Formerly just a village situated across the estuary of the River Orwell and the River Stour from Harwich in Essex, it became a late Victorian resort retaining much of its original charm, with south-facing gardens, paved promenade, pier and theatre. The docks are now Britain’s leading container port. Landguard Fort stands on the site of the last opposed invasion of England by the Dutch in 1667.
Shotley: Shotley peninsula lies between the rivers Orwell and Stour. Until 1976 Shotley Gate was home to HMS Ganges, a naval youth training establishment. The commanding officer’s residence was Erwarton Hall, which has an unusual gatehouse built in 1549. We later pass the Royal Hospital School, an independent school which moved from Greenwich in 1933.
Flatford: Flatford Mill is a Grade I listed 18th century watermill built in 1733. Attached to the mill is a 17th century miller's cottage which is also Grade I listed. The property is located in the heart of Dedham Vale, a typically English rural landscape. It is noted as the location for works by John Constable, whose father owned the mill. Constable made the mill and its surroundings the subject of many of his most famous paintings.
East Bergholt: Built mostly in the 15th and early 16th Century, the church was the beneficiary of East Bergholt’s celebrated cloth industry wealth. The building of a bell tower was started in 1525, but the decline of the wool industry cut funding short and work ceased in 1530. The Bell Cage was erected as a temporary measure in 1531 and the bells have been in regular use ever since and are still rung to this day. Although other Bell Cages exist, the one in East Bergholt is the only place where the bells are swung by pure force of hand applied directly to a wooden headstock and not by rope and wheel.

Our ferry, specially chartered by Sheila, was due to sail from Felixstowe at 1:00pm and would not wait. So, not knowing how many trips we would require on the Bawdsey ferry, how long it would take and whether we might suffer a visit from the P*****re bad fairy on the way, meant that we had to press on with not too many early stops and get some time in hand. Sheila risked permanent unpopularity by asking the team to stay behind the leaders where possible and each to take responsibility for ensuring that the cyclist behind followed them round each junction, in the interests of keeping rolling and not ending in a stationary clump at each junction. The team responded magnificently and pursued John down the rural lanes at an average speed of 20 kph.
(Note from John: due to my poorly shoulder etc I was not really up to much energetic cycling but it was one of those tandem days when you do nothing and just enjoy being pushed along by the powerhouse behind).

We rolled into Orford and down to the quay, which was looking very attractive in early morning sunshine, for a brief stop. Too early for a coffee stop and because of the route onwards a mid-morning "coffee stop" would have to be a roadside breather with water and bananas rather than an actual cafe.

Sand washed out from banks to cover the road gave a bit of added excitement on some lanes with the J & R tandem sliding in one deep stretch to leave a very impressive sideways tyre track. A bit further on we encountered some recently re-surfaced road with loose gravel on a short steepish section of road as an alternative to sand. Somehow we managed to get the group split by a walking-pace road sweeper truck with no way for the latter part of our team to overtake until the top of the climb was reached. Despite these minor delays we kept up a steady progress on through Hollesley prison where it was all very quiet with no sign of the inmates strolling around the grounds.

Having made really good time we reached Bawdsey Ferry by 11.0 am with plenty of time to make two ferry crossings to get us all across. Sheila and then Birgit waved the table tennis bat at the opposite shore to summon the ferry but failed to produce any reaction. After a while we concluded that the boat at the opposite slipway was not the ferry. Re-reading the information at the little kiosk confirmed that the ferry was "running today" and provided a phone number. Sheila phoned this and managed to speak to the ferryman to find out that the ferry had gone on a trip up the river but would return "shortly". Nothing to do but relax and enjoy the view. After a while it appeared coming down the river. We were the only people waiting to cross and the ferryman decided to make an attempt on the record for most bicycles piled into the front of a small boat, thus bringing all of us and bicycles across in one trip.

Landed at Felixstowe Ferry in such good time meant that we could pause for a more leisurely coffee all together at the Felixstowe Ferry cafe. However the coffee break was overshadowed by Rosemary’s problems adapting to the unfamiliar ‘Pink Peril’ saddle. While she had bravely battled on with this unfamiliar saddle, the pleasure had most definitely gone out of cycling. Jonathan and Rosemary decided to cross again on the ferry to the Bawdsey side and make their way from there slowly back to Woodbridge where Mike (who had been summoned by phone before driving all the way around the Shotley peninsula) would meet them, and bring them and Jonathan’s solo bike to East Bergholt.

The now reduced team cycled on across a golf course and along the coast to skirt Felixstowe. Sheila's route was based on the premise of "turn left at every opportunity" unless that means you actually fall into the sea. It worked well to bring us along the coast. Even a road closure was successfully negotiated with a short walk. Cycling around Landguard Fort brought us to the point where we were to catch our next foot (and bicycle) ferry wedged in at the end of Felixstowe container port. The only snag was that there was no visible landing place. This was resolved when the ferry arrived and ran straight into the shingle beach down which we were to push and/or carry our bikes in order to clamber on board. We were intending to take a specially chartered crossing directly to Shotley, but as we were early we went on the regular service reaching Shotley via a stop at Harwich. The choppy journey with the waves splashing over the bow left us and the bikes covered in sea water and Birgit’s sketch book at risk. This ferryman also hated tandems and took his chance to charge us the ‘special journey’ fare however! Birgit explained the sights remembered from when she had worked here for Trinity House.

Lunch in the shade at the Shipwreck pub a few yards from the landing stage at Shotley was very welcome, before we set off on what proved to be a scenic but more hilly route along the Shotley Peninsula between the rivers Orwell and Stour to Flatford Mill. Various pauses included one to view the spectacular gatehouse of Erwarton Hall and one outside the Royal Hospital School’s splendid buildings.

The car party managed to arrive at Flatford Mill within minutes of us finding a table in the café for a relaxed National Trust afternoon tea taken together. We spent some time wandering around the site while Birgit fitted in some more sketching. Then we went to our B&Bs, both halves of the party finding splendid gardens, pleasant accommodation and welcoming hostesses. After a bit of sightseeing, including the bell cage, we met at the Red Lion where a prepared a table awaited us and we all tucked into filling meals after our most energetic day. John and Sheila were touched by Pete’s kind words of thanks for Sheila having brought the group thus far without becoming totally lost. Pete also expressed the team’s appreciation of Mike’s labours and handed over a contribution to his fuel costs.

Day 4 East Bergholt to Woodbridge 57km (36 miles)

ITINERARY:
Hadleigh: A market town. Until the 17C Hadleigh was a wealthy cloth-making town. It still contains some lovely old timber framed houses with pargetting. As the cloth industry declined, so did Hadleigh and it wasn’t until the age of the train that the town really prospered again. At that time some of the older properties which had been neglected for centuries were re-fronted in Victorian style, which gives Hadleigh the appearance of mixed architecture when in fact many buildings are medieval. The town, whose High Street is nearly a mile long, boasts 250 listed buildings.
Ipswich: Steeped in history, Ipswich has played a major role in the history of England for nearly 1,500 years. The town was awarded a Royal Charter by King John in 1200 and has been a gateway to Europe for centuries. By the year 1500 the town was made a King's Port - one of only eleven enjoying many trading privileges. Adventurers from the town were among the first to settle in the New World, founding Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The town was a centre for emigration to America throughout the 1600s.

We met by the village sign for a final group photograph before setting off for Dedham by a necessarily circuitous route, since the A12 gets inconveniently in the way. There we spent twenty minutes looking around and Sheila met an elderly lady who had a tandem in her youth and with her husband cycled in the Lake District with no gears. Some of us went into the church to view the only Constable painting still on public view in the Dedham Valley.

From there we sauntered on through country lanes to Hadleigh where Rosemary flagged us down and the Crabtree Café previously checked out by Lesley proved very pleasant. We occupied Terrace Three of their little garden before seeking lunch sandwiches in various shops nearby.

We found the perfect picnic spot in Bramford – three benches arranged on a little green by a Millenium armillary sphere – and Mike and Rosemary soon caught up with us for a leisurely lunch. Negotiating the edge of Ipswich didn’t take too long and more rural lanes soon brought us to the edge of Woodbridge and back to the Grove House Hotel. A welcome cup of tea in the garden gave us the energy to pack up the cars before we all set off in various directions. Just to round off the cycling four of us met up a few days later at the Mildenhall cycle rally.

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The 2012 Tuesday CC tour cycling prize is awarded to Mike

Team car driver extraordinaire

For fetching and carrying beyond all normal requirements and uncomplainingly complying with requests to go on, come back, recce food stops and cycle shops

August 2012 - Four day tour in Suffolk Slideshow, diary and photos