Day 15 – disaster averted
I stayed last night at the Youth Hostel in Sheringham. I had a three bed room to myself with a wash hand basin in the room.
The loo and shower were just across the corridor, and it was fine. Lucy went into a bike shed under lock and key and I had a peaceful and relatively restful night myself
I’d made an effort to get to Sheringham early to do a wash but the launderette I found was not doing self-service. It was only much later that I discovered there was a ME wash at a garage I had passed on my way in. You’ve probably seen them at supermarkets and garages: I first came across them in Ireland in 2018 when I washed my kit after a couple of weeks on the road. I determined to drop in there this morning after breakfast at the YHA, which was fine, indeed the sausages were excellent.
I chatted with two couples who were cycling round Norfolk and meandering through the Broads today. They were most impressed with my exploits and wished me well for the rest of the trip
I set off at 0857 in spitting rain with more forecast throughout the day and found the ME wash, loaded all my dirty clothes into the machine, paid the money by card and……..nothing happened. Whether it was me or the machine I do not know but I rang the helpline and was told that they would refund the money (which they have). Still, that left me reloading my bags with dirty smelly clothes for the onward journey. The weather worsened and I was soon very wet despite a good jacket: gloves in particular were wringing wet, although, fortunately, it wasn’t cold.
I soon got to Cromer and took a pic of the pier, one of very few today as managing a camera was difficult
The navigators then took me on a cross country route on narrow sandy, and now wet, tracks. I bailed out part way and found my way back onto the blacktop. I pulled into a bus stop shelter in Mundesley to change gloves but that didn’t help much. I was having trouble managing the phone and life was bleak. I was surprised at the amount of climbing, not steep but up and down regularly. I associate Norfolk with flat lands but that was not the case today.
Between Paston and Bacton there is a massive Gas terminal and road works, with traffic lights, were happening on a short hill. I pulled in and waited and a couple of vehicles pulled in behind me so, when the lights changed, I took off as fast as I could to avoid holding anyone up. I’d been aware since pulling into the bus-stop that the cues I was getting from Rita were very faint, but I was so wet that I thought nothing of it until I came to a junction and there was no cue at all. I looked down: my phone had been in my top jacket pocket which has a zip but the zip was open and the phone wasn’t there. Had I put it in a pocket? – fevered searching revealed nothing – it was gone. I was fairly certain that I had it at the traffic lights a mile back so I retraced my steps thinking the most likely scenario was that it had come out of my pocket as I took off when the light changed green. Nothing at that point so I returned and, amazingly about 200 yards further on, there it was on the verge, undamaged and working . phew! That, however, is not the end of the story because I am sure that it was still in its case when I picked it up but, somehow, later in the day the case went missing. Still, I’m not too bothered about the case – the phone would have been different. My main means of navigation, my only means of communication would have been lost and God knows how I would have found my way to my destination without it.
The rain continued but let up a bit at Happisburgh, about 20 miles in. I returned to the sea at Eccles, an extraordinary place, with lots of holiday homes but no made-up roads. The Council collect their waste, because I was held up by the bin lorry, but they don’t provide roads. Five miles of rough and sandy tracks and I was back on the tarmac with long straight roads and marshy terrain. I was on the edge of the Norfolk Broads where I had several enjoyable holidays 60 + years ago. On to Caister-on Sea where I missed the sea and on bike paths to Great Yarmouth where I saw the sea again and took a pic of the pier whilst sheltering from another squall
The rivers Waveney and Yare conjoin at Great Yarmouth and flow out to sea down a canalised estuary, able to take substantial ships. Still raining so no pictures but a little further on I cycled along the promenade of Gorlestone-on-Sea
I was now heading for Lowestoft and the weather was improving but the picture that I took after crossing the inner harbour didn’t save. I was last here in 2019 when I cycled the extreme points of Britain, of which Lowestoft Ness is one. So here’s a picture of me back then on a conventional bike
Same panniers but all that clothing is now gone. Back then I made my way back inland and didn’t appreciate that Lowestoft has long sandy beaches and pleasant promenades.
Now ten miles from the end of the journey lethargy was starting to creep in and I was feeling desperately tired. I pulled in beside the road for a pee and was amused to see a field of parsley: I’ve never seen it grown as a field crop before, but I suppose it has major culinary uses
I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and the place I am staying in tonight is a cottage a couple of miles from a pub. I decided to go down to the seafront of Southwold and took a picture of the pier before continuing along the prom.
Into the town to see what I could get to eat. Lo and behold I found an excellent fish and chip shop and stopped and ate £15 worth of cod and chips outside the shop. Down the road to the Co-op for a bottle of McGuigan Black label and I was sorted for the evening.
Nourished, I cycled on into town to see the Adnams brewery with that wonderful hoppy, malty, yeasty small
and then had to hit a couple of miles of rough tracks and a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the river
before, finally arriving at Lodge Cottage where I’m spending the night. And the most wonderful ending to my strange and strangely enjoyable day is that there is a washing machine and tumble drier that I shall use before I set off tomorrow!
