I had been thinking of a long distance cycle for a while and the knowledge that I lived at the easterly end of the widest part of England led me to plan a route across England, following a line westwards, avoiding A roads and sticking to cycleways and country lanes. The ride was going to take in Saffron Walden, the Chilterns, Milton Keynes, Chipping Norton and the Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, and end at the Welsh border in I then planned to cycle on to Hereford to get the train back to Ipswich.
The lockdown, because of the COVID pandemic, caused me to postpone my preferred start date in June, but a window opened in September 2020, when restrictions on travel were lifted and the journey became possible.
I purchased a lightweight tent and some carriers and had a few practice runs in Suffolk to test the increased weight and volume on the bike. All seemed to be good. I am not a road cyclist pounding out the miles, but prefer to amble along, so my modest 40 kilometres a day meant that I should be able to achieve the 450 kilometres in 8 days.
I plotted the overnight stops at campsites, hotels and airbnbs me to the challenge, locking in each days itinerary.
The forecast was mixed, but I set off in good spirits and butterflies in my stomach, on a bright morning, from my home in Ipswich.
The Suffolk byways are special, meandering though villages with names -Flowton, Aldham and Lindsey. I quickly got into a rhythm and my mind wandered about how things have changed in my 60 years in Suffolk . The mew of the buzzard in fields, replacing the flocks of ringed plovers. Eucalyptus trees and yuccas, replacing vegetable patches in cottage front gardens. Saplings that I had helped to plant turning into woodland. Life slips by. Maybe the ride across England will give me a chance to store those memories and provide a fresh lens on England, in 2020.
I stopped at the Chapel of St James the Apostle on the edge of Lindsey. A 13th century flint building that had been built for the owners of Lindsey Castle . The atmospheric building is now looked after by English Heritage. If James
is the Saint of Pilgrims, he was certainly out to test my resolve, as, after leaving the chapel, the thunderclouds rolled in and a deluge, of biblical proportions, pored down for over an hour, soaking me thoroughly. I eventually found a church lychgate where I was able to shelter and tip out the excess water from my shoes. Eventually, though wet through, I cycled on to my first overnight camping spot, just outside Sudbury. A testing first day.
I broke camp, had a breakfast in Sudbury and set off along a disused railway track through the water meadows of the upper Stour. Leaving the river valley and getting into more arable countryside you became aware of the seasons change. Where harvesters had finished the wildlife was having to cope with less cover, enabling me to see a herd of deer and a hare, which froze until I got very I was running along the border going through the villages of Cavendish and Clare. The house design was starting to change after these settlements, more traditional cottages giving way to modern homes suitable for the industries to the south. The
A quick pub lunch and then the afternoon cycling the lanes around delightful Ridgewell, Thaxted and on to Saffron Walden. I had booked an airbnb for the night and was met by a charming lady who made me very We swapped stories of hosting before I headed into Saffron Walden to explore and grab an evening meal at a lovely Indian restaurant. the staff about the homemade mango chutney I was offered pot to This lovely touch I had to decline as the thought of the pickle leaking through my gear in the panniers was not worth the risk!
Saffron Walden is a picturesque, medieval town which derives its name from the marketing of crocuses for their saffron, obtained from the stigmas of the flowers. This reached its height in the 16th century.
