Escaping to Norfolk

We decided that we would take the opportuntiy to get away on July 4th, the day lockdown was eased, but headed East to Norfolk in the hope that everyone else headed West! Vincent now has a bike rack - so with our bikes and all out cycling gear we planned to make the most of flat Norfolk for some exploring by bike.

We had an easy journey to Thetford Forest and chose our spot at the Camping and Motorhome Club site which is situated next to the area that was used as a camp by the Armoured Division known as the Desert Rats .

The site was pretty full and had a mix of hard standing and grass pitches. We chose a grass pitch which had quite a bit of shelter from the trees so Vincent did not get too hot for the dogs. After a quick lunch we got on our bikes and had a 30km ride around the local lanes past lots of pig and duck farms.

On Sunday we had a lovely walk to the ponds at Ickburgh then back though the forest to Vincent.

As we were on the edge of the forest we decided to cycle to the forest centre on the Monday and cycle round one of the mountain bike trails before heading home. We managed to keep mainly off road for the majority of the 50km. Thetford Forest is the largest lowland forest in Englamd (19k hectares compared to Alice Holt's 900) so we only saw a small part of it.

On Tuesday we packed up amd drove to the Norfolk Broads and found our home for the next three nights - a campsite next to the Reedham Ferry - a vehicular chainferry across the River Yare. We had eaten our breakfast outside at Thetford but the drizzle was pretty set in when we arrived at Reedham. We decided that we still needed to explore so left Mitzi and took Luna for a trek alomg the river to the neighbouring village of Limpenhoe. The tall grass along the river path had just been cut so it was quite hard to see any of the river through the reeds and we were totally drenched by the time we got home.

On Wednesday we took our bikes across on the ferry (£1 each - each way) and completed a a nice flat 40km - one of the advantages of being in Norfolk. We managed to buy some local sausages and bacon from a farmer before heading home.

In the afternoon we took the dogs into Reedham for a walk around the village. The village is quite spread out. It has three pubs, a train station, a brewery, a small theme /animal park, a small mariner, one shop, a tea room and a church. Quite alot for a village on the edge of the marshes! After a cider in the garden of The Ship which overlooks the victorian swing bridge we headed home.

Today we explored the other side of the River Yare with a cycle ride to the RSPB nature reserve at Strumpshaw. Time now to head back to The Ship with the dogs for an evening cider!