Under the Norfolk Sun
Norfolk Stage 05 – Hunstanton to Sheringham 65 Km (Sun 8 May 2022)
Weather: 7⁰C min – 14⁰C max, fine
“Your bike is a discovery; your bike is freedom. It doesn’t matter where you are when you’re on the saddle; you’re taken away.” ~ Doug Donaldson
What a joy to wake up and be greeted by a glorious blue sky! At 8:45 am there was just a slight chill in the air when I set off toward the seaside town of Sheringham about 65 km east of Hunstanton. Perfect for riding!
Choosing NCN1 (Burnham Market Rd) instead of the busy road that hugs the north coast was an inspired decision for two reasons. First, the smooth, single-lane road was perfect for cycling. Secondly, I got to sample two of the best Portuguese tarts I have ever eaten, while bathing in sunshine sitting on a bench outside “No. Thirty3 The Bakery” in the lovely town of Burnham Market. They tasted so good I bought another two for lunch!
Initially, the scenery was uninspiring because there were high, scrubby hedges on both sides of the road. Through the occasional gaps in the hedges, all I could see was yellow canola crops and dark green barley crops (to make more beer to quench the thirsty Brits).
But don’t get me wrong, it was thoroughly enjoyable settling into a rhythm as I glided along at peace with the world. With few photo opportunities, the only stops I made were to move off the road to allow oncoming traffic to pass on the narrow road (about every 30 minutes).
Wells-next-the-Sea is an appealing seaside town and has some interesting history. During his Five Years on the Beach, Nelson would ride to Wells-next-the-Sea to pick up newspapers by which he could stay in touch with the outside world. It didn’t say whether “ride” means he was a cyclist or a horseman (I suspect the latter).
At Cley-Next-The-Sea I saw my first Norfolk windmill. When I did a Google I learned that Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor filmed scenes for Conspirator (1949) at Cley Windmill. The film also starred Robert Taylor and Honor Blackman. Almost sixty years later the marshes were used for The Duchess (2008) with Keira Knightley.
Without a doubt today’s highlight was the Wighton Scarecrow Festival, a great community initiative to raise funds to build a village hall. I was so impressed with the creativity of the locals that I took lots of photos (click the special button above to see them). I particularly like the couple sitting under two signs, one saying “This is not a party” and the other saying “Work event” (an obvious dig at the UK prime minister). The other one that appeals to me is the red-shirted person nursing a laptop, asleep in a chair and showing a sign saying “Working from home is so tiring”. Can anyone relate to this?
The seaside town of Sheringham (where I am staying tonight) is an absolute delight, with an attractive town centre and lots of interesting cafes, restaurants and coffee shops. It is quite a contrast to the drab, flinty, seaside town of Hunstanton where I stayed last night, and the Mount Lavinia apartment that I have checked into is superb. I think I will enjoy my brief time in Sheringham!
Not all parts of Norfolk is fabulously looking but from the photos of the little town it seems quite a pretty little seaside village. There is also a very interesting history to the place. Thanks for sharing the history of the place and photos. I particularly enjoy the working from home bit!!
Sheringham was once an old fishing village and now has a population of about 7,000. The motto of the town since 1953 is “Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat”, which means “The sea enriches and the pine adorns”.
Glad to see you found some more red poppies. And also the dead centre of town – an oldie but a goodie of a Dad joke! LYTTMAB
Dad jokes are the best! The only downside to Norfolk is not enough red poppies.