Suffolk
Sweetly sleepy and slow-paced, East Anglia’s middle county is the perfect venue for a laid-back, lazy ride though forests, fields, heathland to a seaside pebble beach
SOME RIDES LEAVE you breathless in admiration at the scope of their scenery, some at the intensity of their tarmac, and others at the breadth of history through which you’re riding. The broad swathe of central East Anglia — a nibble along the edge of Norfolk, mostly bowling through Suffolk with a dip into Essex — has pieces of all three, wrapped up in a particularly cosy English charm. And, sweltering under the ripe sun of a lazy Sunday to complete a 200-mile loop, it’s the perfect riding to enjoy as summer gets into its stride.
The ride starts off just outside Downham Market, heading east on a tiny, narrow strip of unclassified road bounding between hedges and trees, through farmyards and past the barns and houses dressed in characteristic Norfolk flint. At Whittington roundabout, photographer Jason and I pick up the B1112 Methwold Road and begin to skirt the edges of Thetford Forest. Covering 73 square miles, the woodland is man-made, planted in the 1920s to supplement depleted stocks of timber after the first world war. But there is history here; flint was extensively mined for making axe-heads more than 4000 years ago when the land was bare, and over 400 pit-shafts have been discovered. Today, great Corsican pine stands shoulder-to-shoulder with broad-leaved oak, beech and maple, surrounded in part by sun-bleached heathland stretching invitingly into a distant blue heat haze.
Just before the town of Brandon we turn left onto a back road signposted Mundford, cross the A1065, and drop onto Harling Drove. But shock horror! Suddenly we’re off tarmac – Thetford Forest is criss-crossed with some great trail riding on legal byways, and Harling Drove is one. It starts as a simple stony firetrail through the forest — with plenty of walkers and mountain bikers, this isn’t a place to cut lose, so it’s steady away and nod politely at the scowling perambulators. Besides, I’m on Suzuki’s V-strom 1050 XT — with its 19in front, roadoriented Bridgestone A41X rubber and distinctly road-biased chassis, the Strom’s not cut-out for serious adventure in this trim. It is, however, up for a bit of straight-line byway simplicity. Just as long as it doesn’t get any more taxing.
A few hundred yards on and the path narrows, turning to sand with a series of short, sharp, Mx-style whoops that pummel the V-strom’s suspension and give the 19in front wheel something to think about. It’s about to get stressful for both Jason, on RIDE’S Africa Twin longtermer, and me, when the off-roading suddenly comes to an end. Turning back onto tarmac, we burrow deeper into Thetford Forest, firing through great tunnels of broad-leaved trees, branches arching overhead in a deciduous guard of honour, searing sunlight flashing across the road like a strobe. We join the B1107, leave the leaves behind for a moment, and hook up with the A11 to bypass Thetford town.
The B1106 heads south to meet Bury St Edmunds, which I always think sounds a bit harsh on Noel. We stop off at the Krazy Horse custom shop on the north edge of the town; a popular biker meeting spot – as much for the upstairs café’s menu as browsing the collection of ingeniously built customs and cruisers.
Leaving the town on the B1066, we continue southwards tripping through classic English B-road countryside at the peak of summer; buzzing hedgerows, crows circling like black dots on the vaulted blue, snoozing villages, front gardens and window boxes awash with vibrant colours, air thick with pollen – even the grey of the tarmac seems super-saturated into high definition
4K. The riding isn’t fast and beautiful; it’s a leisurely, dreamy roll from one 30mph limit to the next, taking the time to admire some well-heeled houses and wondering where all the money comes from and where my share went.
We stop on the green at Hartest to eat sandwiches and drink pop beside the war memorial. There’s no shadow; the midday sun is directly overhead. I stroll around the stone needle, reading its names – Privates Arthur Pettitt, Ernest Baker, Charles Clarke, Arthur Simpkin, Pearman Carpenter, William Debenham and
‘Pine stands shoulderto-shoulder with oak, beech and maple’
James Steed who, possibly as friends and probably for the first time, left this village with its thatched roofs, neat lawns and gentle tranquillity, and never came back.
We carry on south though more villages, including the historic Long Melford — named after its long high street — and past the impressive entrance to Melford Hall. We dodge through Sudbury and onto the B1508, turning right at Bures and heading towards Dedham Vale. It’s a lovely area, worth exploring for its villages and many walks along the banks of the Stour — this is the landscape made famous by John Constable’s paintings.
But today it seems like everyone in southern England has decided to visit. Just outside the village of Dedham itself, a field has been given over as a car park but the parking fee has prompted many people to simply park on the narrow country road outside, blocking two-way traffic and causing a solid jam. Five minutes going nowhere with two trucks wedged, unable to go forwards or reverse, ruins the scene. Dedham might be the heart of Constable country, but it’s a different kind of constable we need right now.
We back-track, pick up the unromantic A12, and take a shortcut to the next destination; the village of Mistley on the banks of the Stour estuary and just inside Essex.
‘The kind of road we’d belt along as kids on our 125s’
Mistley is an odd place with a bohemian vibe. A pair of grand towers dominate the village entrance; they’re all that remain of a church built in the late eighteenth century by a wealthy local politician. The main building was demolished 100 years later but the towers survived to greet visitors. After a quick ice cream at the riverside, we follow the B1352 through the town, past the old dockside with a flour mill, warehouses converted into flats, and the pyramid-shaped Barley Kiln.
The B1352 is a cracking little road; the kind of route we’d belt along as kids on 125s, studying every inch, dreaming of racing glory. It doesn’t go anywhere; Ramsey, then Harwich, then the North Sea, so we ride it one way, turn round, and ride it back to Mistley again, scraping pegs on the way for old times’ sake.
The day is pressing on and a closed road diverts our intended route around the south side of Ipswich – a run along the B1080 on the north bank of the Stour takes you to Chelmondiston and the southern bank of the
Orwell, where the Pin Mill pub and restaurant overlooks the flat expanse of the estuary. The tide comes up to the edge of the pub; the producers of an early 1990s episode of Lovejoy used it as a plot device.
We’re heading instead for the Suffolk Coast And Heaths — an official area of outstanding natural beauty. It’s also a different kind of area – the UK’S Area 51. In late 1980, servicemen at the local USAF base at Woodbridge saw flashing lights and an object land in the forest surrounding the base. A search party claimed to have seen an alien craft — over the years the story has investigated, retold, reinvestigated and found to be lacking credibility, especially given the proximity of one of the UK’S brightest lighthouses nearby, not to mention a second US air base at Bentwaters a few miles away. But it’s still a good story and, as we pull up on the edge of the dense, conifer-dominated forest, still powerful enough to send the imagination scurrying between trees and through the undergrowth like a sci-fi movie chase.
A quick blast through the trees and along back lanes delivers us to the redeveloped site of Bentwaters, the runway-cum-industrial estate now has an airfield diner open to the public (and it’s biker-friendly), and a cold war museum tour. Worth a visit when it’s re-opened.
But now the day is old and we need feeding — it’s a short burst along the pretty B1069 to the A1094, then down into Aldeburgh. Its long pebble beach and bustling high street are popular with tourists; Jason and I sort a bag of chips each and chew over a good day’s ride.
But there’s one last treat in store — most of the day has been at a fairly sedate pace, enjoying villages and views. But the ride back to Downham Market – B1122 to Yoxford, A1120 and B1117 to Stadbroke, B1118 and A1066 round Diss to Thetford – is taken at more of a canter, with fewer villages breaking our stride. As the sun drops behind Thetford Forest, this has been a fantastic day’s ride in a fascinating part of the country.
‘A different kind of area — the UK’S Area 51’