April 8, 2023
Kings Lynn to Hunstanton
Royal estate in forest and fish ‘n chips beside sea.
Before leaving Kings Lynn, we tour the harbour front and visit the seafarers’ church of St Nicholas. Here we meet a very interesting chap, of about our vintage, who fills us in on much we didn’t know about East Anglia and more specifically Kings Lynn. Once a very wealthy city, Kings Lynn was a member of the Hanseatic League and traded with all those Baltic States. Grain seems to have been a major export. He also explains in some detail the background of the church.
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kings Lynn’s buildings are very stately looking in the old part of town and a number relate to its past life. These include the harbour buildings, and those in the square and the streets nearby. These have been paved in pavers and cobbles that are impossible to cycle on, but maybe that’s the idea.
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The Sustrans trail to Hunstanton is a bit of a revelation. Starting at the railway station, it’s clearly signposted and sealed and it gets us through a beautiful public park out of town smoothly.
We cycle through small villages of charming brick houses, pretty gardens, starting to bloom and there’s a blue sky. First stop is Castle Rising where there are some impressive houses and a ruined castle from Norman days. From here it’s a short ride to Sandringham, the royal estate greatly favoured by the late queen.
At a clearing in the forest there’s a massive crowd of visitors eating, chatting and generally frolicking about. Accents and languages are many and varied, but the general tone is one of relaxation and Joie de vie. After all, Spring is here, there’s about to be a coronation with a new king and queen, and all’s, mostly, well in the world.
After munching on our cheese and chorizo rolls, we exit the park past the Royal Sawmill. In case we were unsure about who owned it, the two massive Union Jacks over the gate gave a strong hint.
We hit a few hills now but traffic is minimal. We are in EV12 and Sustrans 1 , although Sustrans 30 pops up now and again. We take the Heacham Road and wend our way through the town to the sea. Here there’s a wonderfully wide seawall for walking and…what’s this? ‘No Cycling’. Well we are cycling the ‘Rebellion Way’ or bits of it, so we rebel and ride the last part of this day along the gloriously sunny sea wall to Hunstanton.
As we approach closer to Hunstanton the usual British seaside sights assault the senses. It’s exuberant chaos; plastic tat, food on offer that could do permanent harm to the digestive system and family groups of all shapes and sizes, often pushing a baby buggy. It’s full on and one can only gasp in awe.
Then The Wash and Tope appears on our horizon. It’s pretty much like the pictures, but the bar is very busy. The young barman, who calls me ‘Bud’, eventually sorts out our room and when I ask, says we can leave our bikes outside around the back. Uncertain as to how secure this is, I vacillate and ask about other possibilities. There are none, and they assure us that the yard will be locked at night. We secure the bikes as much as possible and cover them with our plastic ground sheet which is bound to deter any would be bike thief. It’s the crackling.
Our room is sunny and has a beautiful view looking out to sea and the setting sun. Apparently this part of the UK has the only sun which sets over the sea. I haven’t checked the veracity of this claim but it’s possible. The land mass directly across the water, is Skegness, visible on a clear day. In the 1920s a champion woman swimmer swam over there. The water is not too deep and warms up by October. It looks rather murky though.
We venture out along the promenade and order fish’n chips from a very nice chap who has just started business and is doing a roaring trade. His vegan specialties are a hit he tells us. What we get is very welcome after a day’s cycling, even if it is somewhat more expensive that the NZ version.
The disco starts about 9:00 just as we are nodding off. It’s alarming how much noise can come up through two floors. There’s Karaoke too. I used to think some pop singers had terrible voices, Karaoke singers , even through two floors, tells me they were actually quite good. By 11:00 it’s Sweet Caroline time and the cacophony comes to a rising crescendo and ends. ‘Good times never seemed so good..no no….’
Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 178 km (111 miles)
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