Where would you go? 2 nights great roads loose women and great rides..

[onesea]

For 4 years I have been promising myself a solo bike camping episode.

I have permission from she who must be obeyed.

It will be a Monday through Wednesday.

So now destination... Living near Southampton not able to escape to 0930 home by 1730 Wednesday...

Given my dislike off motorways I recon South of Manchester.

Fancying Norfolk way as I have not really been there.

Although really open to ideas...

[Bender]

Wales.

[dynax]

same as [mention]Bender[/mention] plenty of loose [strikeout]sheep[/strikeout] women and great roads

[Bender]

Great roads, outstanding scenery and @XTreme no longer lives there.

[onesea]

Wales.

 

I have ridden a fair bit of Wales, North and South.

It's not off the agenda as in my usual manner I will leave booking late and hope there are spaces in weekday for a tent...

East coast of England I have little knowledge off...

[dynax]

Wales.

 

I have ridden a fair bit of Wales, North and South.

It's not off the agenda as in my usual manner I will leave booking late and hope there are spaces in weekday for a tent...

East coast of England I have little knowledge off...

 

In that case get yourself around Lincolnshire and the coast around there

[Bender]

I've done Cornwall and some of the lower east its not a thing I would like to repeat.

[S-Westerly]

North Somerset into Devon along the coast. Possibly crowded though.

[onesea]

I've done Cornwall and some of the lower east its not a thing I would like to repeat.

 

I have ridden a fair amount between here and there, been there in a convertible a Landover and boat.

If I was going to explore Cornwall it would be by boat or Landrover...

Unless it's the only place that is sunny then I would take the bike again...

[Guest]

Come to Norfolk and Suffolk. Beautiful coast, nice roads, dryest part of the UK, good cider etc.

[rob m]

Wales.

 

+1. When are they letting us lurgy-infected English back in?

[onesea]

Come to Norfolk and Suffolk. ......., good cider etc.

 

Now can you tell me about the women or should I pitch my tent in Essex

Seriously suggestions on place or areas to stop. Thinking 2 nights 1 campsite would be good...

[bonio]

Norfolk is a bit rubbish, oi reckon. Lots of 50 limits. Too much traffic. Cameras everywhere.

Suffolk's got a lot of great riding, and so too has north-east Essex. This area bounded the M11, A11, A14, and A120 offers really good riding. The better half is the part to the east of the A131 / A134, as it gets less traffic and it's a bit more hilly.

https://i.imgur.com/7HQiJO8.png' alt='IMGUR>'>

The riding is even better in the triangle of land between Bury, Lowestoft and Ipswich. Even the A roads here can be surprisingly technical and give plenty of entertainment. The villages are absurdly gorgeous. The best riding lies to the west of the A12, but the coast area is worth exploring too: tiny lanes, and magnificent estuaries.

https://i.imgur.com/4ZiMk1D.png' alt='IMGUR>'>

If you're after a leisurely Tuesday, then it will do you fine, and if you run out of road you cross over to Norfolk on the Reedham ferry and take in the Norfolk coast road (there's no coast road in Suffolk). But it's a very small area, if you're after a long blaast on the bike then you'll do better in Wales

If you come over here, then places you might want to set as a destination and take a break at are

• Maldon in Essex (the last few miles of road there are bit rubbish). Go down to the old quay, see the Thames barges and the island where the Battle of Maldon was fought.
  
• Orford Castle. Pretty estuary and quay. Don't bother to go at low tide.
  
• Lavenham. Astonishing medieval town. A must-see
  
• Thorpeness. Quaint purpose-built resort, with good walks
  
• Walberswick / Southwold. You can walk between the two. Nice harbour, good beaches.
  
• Covehithe. Nice walk on the beach. Not accessible at high tide.
  
• Framlingham. Nice market square. Castle too.
  

[S-Westerly]

Anywhere but Lowestoft.

[onesea]

A plan is forming looking good for Norfolk, Suffolk watching the weather for early next week.

I am thinking of circumnavigating London..

Day 1 Camping somewhere near Bury St Edmonds

Day 2 Loop into Norfolk area

Day 3 Ride Home

My reckoning is 200 miles a day up and down.

Probably 100-200 miles run in and around the Norfolk Area.

Nothing is set in stone..

[Guest]

From bury you can take the A143 then turn off at Stanton towards barningham. It's a b road but quite a nice one. When you get to garboldisham turn off towards Thetford on the a1066 and you can link up with your route again.

We also went up the A134 from Thetford to king's Lynn yesterday and that was a nice route until it gets closer to king's lynn but don't know how it links to the coast roads. I'm probably talking nonsense as not long moved back and not out on a bike yet. Also I like goaty b roads and other people probably don't.

[mention]bonio[/mention] knows the area much better than I and should be better placed to comment.

[Guest]

Great roads, outstanding scenery and @XTreme no longer lives there.

[rob m]

Wales. I'm heading there the first chance I get.

[Bender]

Great roads, outstanding scenery and @XTreme no longer lives there.

 

Welcome to the party, you been napping

[Guest]

Great roads, outstanding scenery and @XTreme no longer lives there.

 

Welcome to the party, you been napping

 

Busy breaking the Internet Bender!

[bonio]

[mention]onesea[/mention] No mate, don't do this route. The roads are mostly shite.

I'll post some suggestions here. Just give me an hour or so.

[bonio]

The A14 is like a 4 lane motorway; it's not much fun for bikes unless you're just trying to get somewhere else fast.

So, a couple of suggestions for segment D to E:

First, one that includes the classic A1120, a road that is forever changing from wide to narrow, fast to bendy. Best when traffic is light, as there are some sections where it's hard to get an overtake in. It also has the blinding, short section north from Stowmarket, a little-known local road.

https://i.imgur.com/o22cA1H.png' alt='IMGUR>'>

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Blythburgh,+Halesworth/52.2563788,0.7187185/@52.2272647,1.1088619,11z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m25!1m1!1s0x47da2050454505ab:0x1f661be096d6fb60!2m2!1d1.5984999!2d52.3219241!3m4!1m2!1d0.9953245!2d52.2025371!3s0x47d9bab8aefb7681:0x1d181d446cfeaf45!3m4!1m2!1d1.0028326!2d52.2281834!3s0x47d9ba58b7a3d99f:0x86600a2fdbea341d!3m4!1m2!1d0.9436015!2d52.275237!3s0x47d9b7347db76b69:0xd745b573892b0c70!3m4!1m2!1d0.8360951!2d52.2715639!3s0x47d9b387eb6354fb:0xd9be17035221f04a!1m0!3e0

Or this one, which is probably the one I'd recommend. The B1123 from Halesworth to Metfield is truly sweet. Follow the main road all the way; don't take the shortcut down Christmas Lane. You will want to go back and do it again. The A143 is a nice, wide, flowing road with some sweeping bends, and plenty of opportunities to overtake.

https://i.imgur.com/o22cA1H.png' alt='IMGUR>'>

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Blythburgh,+Halesworth/52.2563788,0.7187185/@52.3318686,1.2053356,11z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!1m1!1s0x47da2050454505ab:0x1f661be096d6fb60!2m2!1d1.5984999!2d52.3219241!3m4!1m2!1d1.384562!2d52.3592595!3s0x47d9f2b215b9707d:0x8b88f940d15bd1cc!1m0!3e0

Here's a variation on the one above: the B1117 from through Heveningham, Laxfield and Stradbroke. Classic Suffolk countryside and a good road to boot.

https://i.imgur.com/xDdas2u.png' alt='IMGUR>'>

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Blythburgh,+Halesworth/52.2563788,0.7187185/@52.3214823,1.2437019,11z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m20!1m1!1s0x47da2050454505ab:0x1f661be096d6fb60!2m2!1d1.5984999!2d52.3219241!3m4!1m2!1d1.3432708!2d52.3069359!3s0x47d9925e1034d0bb:0xc02af2489163679!3m4!1m2!1d1.1925245!2d52.3203054!3s0x47d9957387b90025:0xeea7530c31ae6aaa!3m4!1m2!1d1.0622821!2d52.3410473!3s0x47d9b8b767ab78b5:0xddea22108f2c7880!1m0!3e0

[bonio]

Your route from C to D is nice. The stretch from Yarmouth to Lowestoft is a bit built up and gets a lot of traffic, but south of Lowestoft, the A12 is nice and wide and some sections are reasonably bendy. If you go that way, be sure to stop off at Covehithe, look at the church, and walk down to the beach and the broad. It's just a couple of miles off the main road.

If you fancy a different way, here's an alternative. It keeps in the best bits of the A12 (including the option to stop off at Covehithe) but takes you through the hearts of the southern Broads, crossing the Yare on the ferry at Reedham. Have £2 ready for the ferryman. It's a really nice route, but there's a few miles of fairly straightforward single track roads which you'd have to be comfortable with.

https://i.imgur.com/VMMaZeQ.png' alt='IMGUR>'>

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Rollesby,+Great+Yarmouth/Blythburgh,+Halesworth/@52.4889119,1.5092594,10z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m20!1m1!1s0x47d0aa82cdb8cd95:0x2f2e60f342895330!2m2!1d1.6193721!2d52.684591!3m4!1m2!1d1.5381433!2d52.6193935!3s0x47d9ff287376247b:0xd30f51ef51ae2ea4!3m4!1m2!1d1.5547848!2d52.5622636!3s0x47d9f85efa0ad6ab:0x2f41ccfda63a876a!3m4!1m2!1d1.6760293!2d52.4050634!3s0x47da19331e55b4f9:0xaec7f3a5639308!1m5!1m1!1s0x47da2050454505ab:0x1f661be096d6fb60!2m2!1d1.5984999!2d52.3219241!3e0

[bonio]

[mention]goat[/mention]'s suggestion of taking the A143 up from Bury, off at Stanton to Garbolisham and then the A1066 to Thetford is a good option. It's a nice improvement over the A134.

As for the rest of your loop, I can't add much, it's not an area I know well.

[bonio]

Final suggestion: this one's a complete loop between Epping and Cambridge. It takes in some of the roads I've suggested, and includes some cracking roads in Essex too. It takes about the same time as your route between the two.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cambridge/52.7469908,1.6434449/Blythburgh,+Halesworth/51.6095578,0.2669671/@52.2139588,0.2715726,9z/data=!4m71!4m70!1m25!1m1!1s0x47d85d89f32a012d:0x63a320e1a35e3d21!2m2!1d0.121817!2d52.205337!3m4!1m2!1d0.3822558!2d52.557796!3s0x47d818732a4066e7:0xc208fa08e4007bf5!3m4!1m2!1d1.0164376!2d52.5788179!3s0x47d9da5cf6be8521:0xa02f8623b5b5db97!3m4!1m2!1d1.439043!2d52.8729689!3s0x47d74fd0f0763433:0x85431e52f0faeda5!3m4!1m2!1d1.5508613!2d52.8005548!3s0x47d7530a4f2eee83:0xb3717ceb01a9cb48!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d1.6760293!2d52.4050634!3s0x47da19331e55b4f9:0xaec7f3a5639308!1m35!1m1!1s0x47da2050454505ab:0x1f661be096d6fb60!2m2!1d1.5984999!2d52.3219241!3m4!1m2!1d1.588018!2d52.2731837!3s0x47da20b77d903cf7:0x9b581133baea9fcb!3m4!1m2!1d0.835792!2d52.0841126!3s0x47d9ab96659055a1:0xdb6f73650e2495ee!3m4!1m2!1d0.5768038!2d51.9771507!3s0x47d8f82ad6179a41:0xebfd40079b85c95a!3m4!1m2!1d0.4175942!2d51.9357535!3s0x47d8f482c61cc0b1:0x6e69d7c1d8f6385f!3m4!1m2!1d0.3582512!2d51.8183979!3s0x47d892dd04cfa2c9:0xc0ad0875694356bc!3m4!1m2!1d0.2627329!2d51.6777405!3s0x47d8bdf4be947f49:0xb2322b9dbe5e8c63!1m0!3e0

The only rider is that the A10 between Ely and Cambridge can be really busy in rush hour (with traffic mainly going south in the mornings, north in the evenings). It's worth it though: the A10 between Littleport and Downham Market is great fun. The only speed camera was torched years ago and never replaced. It's the fens.