Nelson’s County

Norfolk Stage 03 – Cambridge to Downham Market 72 Km (Fri 6 May 2022)

Weather: 10⁰C min – 21⁰C max, fine

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“You have to make it happen” ~ Denis Diderot

Mindful of the fact that I had a longish ride today, I arose early and was on my bike by 8 am. Breakfast in my studio apartment consisted of the following that I had purchased at the Co-Op last night: a punnet of blueberries, a large container of coconut yoghurt, two pastries and a cup of English breakfast tea. Not as substantial as the full English breakfast I enjoyed yesterday, but sufficient fuel to sustain me for my ride.

There wasn’t a cloud in sight as I rode out of town on a perfect bike path running alongside a concrete bus route. Being a university town there are lots of cyclists in Cambridge and the cycling facilities are excellent.

Utopia ended after about 6 km when I found myself on a busy secondary road with no shoulder, which lasted for the next 5 km. Fortunately most of the traffic was coming towards Cambridge but I still had to concentrate on maintaining a straight line near the edge of the road, glancing frequently at my rear vision mirror.

It was a relief when I turned off onto a narrow single-lane road, but concentration was now required to avoid the numerous potholes. The road was in a state of disrepair and looked like a patchwork quilt, deteriorating into gravel in places. After another 5 km I was relieved to turn onto a smooth secondary road that had narrow shoulder and was remarkably free of traffic.

For most of my ride today I struggled to find any photograph subjects of sufficient interest, as I am conscious of not boring you with pictures of barley crops or ploughed fields, which seem to be everywhere in Cambridgeshire. Gone is the lovely countryside in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, but hopefully the scenery will change now that I reached Norfolk.

My thoughts turned to coffee and so, with my Garmin showing I was about halfway, I was pleased to come to the ancient town of Ely. Caffe Nero provided me with the beverage I was craving, which I enjoyed while sitting outside in perfect sunshine admiring the huge Gothic cathedral that Ely is famous for.

So why is so much barley grown around here? The answer to this question came from an elderly gentleman who had just finished painting a red phonebox in Little Downham. You see, beer is made from barley and the English love their beer! We ended up having quite a chat, as he used to ride a lot until his knees gave out, and also he had a triple bypass. He told me that disused phoneboxes are offered to local communities, so Little Downham had come up with the brilliant idea of installing a defibrillator in place of the phone.

While cruising along on a nice smooth road beside the Bedford river, I stopped to speak to another friendly local called Dave who was droving his cattle (“Devon” breed) along the levy bank. He recommended I stop at the Wigeon wetlands cafe about a km down the road and, if I tell them Dave sent me, the owner would look after my bike for me. Good advice! The coffee was excellent, as was the Cornish pasty. What intrigued me was that most of the other patrons had impressive cameras with large lens pointed at the birdlife outside the window.

You might be asking why I have titled today’s blog “Nelson’s County”. Well, Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson is Norfolk’s most famous son. If you want to know more, check out Nelson in Norfolk.

Downham Market, where I am staying tonight, is considered to be one of the ten most beautiful market towns in England. During the Middle ages, Downham Market was famous for its butter market and horse fair. King Charles I hid in the town after the disastrous Battle of Naseby during the English Civil War (1642 – 1646), where the New Model Army of the Parliamentarians almost wiped out the Royalist force, inflicting 6,000 casualties out of 7,400. Buildings of note are the medieval parish church and the Victorian clock tower, dating from 1878.

And so ends another fabulous day of riding. Living the dream!