B2Y7: Norwich to Yarmouth

A final leg that was further than planned. And somewhat damper – with rain all day I sometimes wasn’t sure if I was going through the Broads or underneath them.


I had a quick look round Narch in the morning. The riverside path (above) and the cathedral (below) are well explored by bike, and the city centre overall is full of consistent character and historic charm. And a surprising number of hills.


I whizzed out in the rain to UEA, to meet up for a coffee with Sarah, and a pleasant chat encompassing Larkin, Pevsner, organic porridge oats, and Roger Deakin’s swimming trunks (no relation to N).

It was noon, still chucking it down, and time to make east for Yarmouth along NCN1. It has the usual Sustrans four-sides-of-a-square tortuousness, alongside what might have been a river, or water park, or something, and then through some pleasant, or possibly unpleasant, villages, I couldn’t see because it was grey and drizzly. Sadly, Reedham Ferry – the smallest ferry in the world, or something, when it’s running – wasn’t running, being closed for unannounced repairs.


So I cut straight into Yarmouth, and journey’s end (above) at dusk. Though it had been dusk since two.

On the beach by the pier, with everything closed and rainlashed, I was assailed by the only other person there, a mad woman with two carrier bags and a Dutch accent. She talked for twenty minutes about her eksh-hushband, who ish a schitt, and wanted to know if I was married, where was I staying tonight, and could she use my phone to call her husband in Rotterdam liffing vid hish new voman, de schitt.

Then the rain started again, and so I headed for the station, and home.

It’s been a lot of fun: Welsh mountain passes to Norfolk Broads, gloriously sunny tailwinds to howling gales and all-day downpours, sociable pub regulars, mad people, and a quirky little cross-section of England and Wales at its (mostly) best and (occasionally) not so best.

I've cross-mentioned the Barmouth to Yarmouth trip on my main Real Cycling blog.

TRIP STATS
Miles today: 45
Miles since Barmouth: 355
Highest point: 585m, Bwlch y Groes
Lowest point: -1m, the Fens
No of pheasants startled: 9, arguably 14
No of Wetherspoons visited: 6, plus 2 without entering to steal the wifi just outside
No of punctures: 0
No of Travelodge nights for under £15: 4

SP2HM 4: Ferriby to Hornsea (to Ferriby)

I stayed at my mum's in Ferriby, and those of you who who have done similar will smile at the memory of the hospitality blitzkrieg: mountains of food, oceans of wine. No mountains here of course - after Ferriby it's the plain of Holderness, sprawling east to the North Sea, and the nearest you get to ocean is the grey expanse of the Humber Estuary. At least the TPT runs alongside the water, with an impressive view of the Humber Bridge's austere grandeur, and on a sunny day it was quite pleasant.



The TPT takes you parallel to Hessle Road, not Hull's wealthiest suburb, along well-chosen traffic-free cycle paths such as this, where, er, cycling is prohibited.



The TPT ploughs determinedly through Hull's north-eastern estates such as Sutton and picks up the old Hull-Hornsea railway, another Beeching casualty, for its final stretch. Ten rather uninspiring miles north from Hull is Hornsea itself; the lake, Hornsea Mere, is a convenient rhyming endpoint but you don't get to see much from the trail. You do, however, go past this pet shop which splendidly embraces local dialect ('bod' is 'bird'; in Hull it would be pronounced more like 'baaaiiirrrd', but this is East Yorks).



A tad further on is the old Hornsea station, site of a TPT end marker that echoes the one in Southport...



...and a few yards beyond it is the beach, with a complementary tower thing to Southport's. It was a lovely sunny Sunday, with lots of cyclists finishing their day ride or the complete trail. I had an ice cream and a series of pleasant chats, and then turned round to bike the 20-odd miles back to Ferriby...

Miles today: 50ish (inc backtracking to Ferriby)
Miles in total: 200ish (Southport to Hornsea) 225ish (in total)