Part 2: Thetford to King's Lynn

Thetford to King's Lynn

PART TWO

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Rebellion Way route Shorter route option Chapter markers National Cycle Network National Cycle Network route number 30

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Thetford Forest

Part 2

Thetford to Kings Lynn

Distance: 89km (56 miles)

Highlights

• Deserted forest trails • Blissfully quiet Breckland back lanes under huge skies • Prehistoric mines, tank memorials and arboretums • Stunning medieval castles, priories and manor houses • Roman roads and sandy lakelands • Historic King’s Lynn

Be aware

• Main road crossings north of Thetford and east of King’s Lynn • The first 30km is sparse on refuelling stops, so stock up on snacks • Forests contain both ticks and sticks.

So be sure to check yourself for the evil burrowing bugs after riding through long grass, and be careful of any pointy branches that might poke through spokes or skewer your gears

Scene setter

This section of the Rebellion Way is the most remote and includes a lot of gravel, mostly through different sections of the huge area of Thetford Forest. That includes fast double track and fun singletrack as you wiggle north from Thetford and past the prehistoric mining centre of Grime’s Graves. The beautiful trees of Lynford Arboretum are next on the menu, then it’s more ‘you could be anywhere in the world’ forest wildness past the Desert Rats memorial before diving back into even more woods and even some old tank roads. You’ll finally break out into classic Brecklands rural landscape, joining the dots of prehistoric, Roman and Tudor history to the charming Georgian town of Swaffham and the unspoilt Norman time capsule of Castle Acre. You follow the sandal prints of long-lost legions north on Peddars Way before turning east through remarkably diverse and rapidly changing countryside. Then it’s into King’s Lynn itself, as it unveils the beautiful buildings and historic waterfront which remind us that it was one of the most prosperous and important towns in England for nearly a thousand years.

Thetting Forth

We’d love to be able to take you into Thetford Forest straight from the town. If you don’t mind 2km of main road from the town centre then you can indeed just head west, across the busy roundabout and straight onto the Forest Drive. However, our mission to minimise busy traffic takes you north out of town on a quiet back road for the first 6km. At the village of Croxton you turn left onto a broad but deserted road through the forest, carefully crossing the main road onto a mix of forest road, gravel track and singletrack around the edges of military firing ranges to the amazing prehistoric site of Grime’s Graves.

Thetford Forest

Covering almost 20,000 hectares, Thetford Forest is the largest man-made lowland forest in the UK. Like most Forestry Commission land, planting began in the 1920s and expanded during the 1930s to help combat the Depression and unemployment. It’s still a working forest, with a large area also given over to military training, but it also attracts over a million visitors a year. It has a network of mountain bike trails for various skill levels, and hosts MTB, gravel and even husky racing on a regular basis, as well as concerts and a high rope Go Ape course at the High Lodge Visitors’ Centre.

Grimes Graves

This English Heritage site contains over 400 separate mine shafts up to 14m deep and 12m wide together with interconnecting galleries between them. What’s remarkable is that they were dug by Neolithic people mining flint for blades and axes between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago using antler picks and shoulder-blade spades. They dug out an estimated 18,000 tonnes of material from the known shafts (others may be covered by later work) to find the nodules needed for the flint axes so vital for the clearance of forest by the first farmers. The sophistication of the Neolithic locals is shown not only by how carefully they backfilled the emptied shafts and galleries but also by how far the axes and blanks were traded across the UK and through Europe.

Trees, tanks and Tudors

Heading back across the main road, more zig zag twists and turns await on and off back roads and forest tracks. While not all these paths are public bridleways, there is unofficial but generally accepted cycling access on fire roads within Forestry England-managed woodland, so you’ll probably see a fair few other riders using them too. Remember it’s a working forest so tracks may occasionally be closed for logging operations, but it’s fairly easy to find an alternative way around.

Lynford Arboretum

This small but beautiful part of the Lynford Estate contains a remarkable amount of tree and shrub species, including an avenue of giant sequoia planted in the 1800s to commemorate the Duke of Wellington’s victory at Waterloo. It’s particularly spectacular in autumn as the leaves turn golden brown and the many rare fungi bloom. It’s well worth parking up and taking a walk around at any time of the year though. There’s also a small coffee shop and toilet. We continue north to the amazing trees, birdlife and autumn fungi of the Lynford Arboretum at 20km in (97km overall). Pedalling carefully through the picnic area takes you into a maze of criss-crossing singletrack south of the River Wissey. As long as you head east and then north when you get to the road that marks the edge of more military ranges of the Stanford Battle Area, you’ll be fine.

...the curious half-ruined church at Oxborough also contains two unique terracotta coffins, and a very rare Bronze Age dagger was found locally too.

Desert Rats memorial

The centrepiece to the famous 7th Armoured Division with their jerboa ‘desert rat’ badge is a full Cromwell tank sat on a large stone plinth. There's also a Desert Rats museum in an old WWII Nissen hut which is a relic of the formations brief time training in Thetford Forest after victorIes in North Africa and Italy and before the final push into Europe from D-Day onwards.

You’ll continue north along the range perimeter on a mix of sinuous singletrack and deliciously deserted forest double track, flanked by ancient and modern woodland with only deer, hares and birds for company. Turning west brings you back to the main road and a sobering reminder of the importance of this area as a military training centre. Twenty-eight tons of lovingly preserved WWII Cromwell tank sits atop a stone memorial to the ‘Desert Rats’ 7th Armoured Division, not far from where the first tanks were tested in secret nearly 30 years previously. The remains of the concrete roads and temporary barrack sites still peek out from the grass and trees as you head west and then north through a patchwork of wildlife-rich woodland. Breaking cover briefly at Foulden you’re soon back into the trees at the Site of Special Scientific Interest nature reserve of Foulden Common.

Oxborough

The village of Oxborough might be tiny now, but the large brick hall with moat, perimeter wall and ornate gardens is an outstanding example of Tudor architecture and well worth a trip round. The curious half-ruined church also contains two unique terracotta coffins, and a very rare Bronze Age dagger was found locally too.

with its beautiful manor house, remarkable half-ruined church and rich archaeology potentially providing an excuse to stop at the Bedingfeld Arms, the first pub you’ll have been past in a while.

Beautiful Brecklands

You’re now fully into the Breckland area of the route too, where open fields stretch between pockets of dense trees and the countryside rarely rises or falls enough to provoke a gear change. That means the 12km cruise north-east to Swaffham through the linear village of Gooderstone and the ancient, excellently named settlement of Cockley Cley is a very easy one. And if you want a rougher alternative there are plenty of farm track options to the north through a mix of quiet woodland and open prairie. Despite the flatness of the approach, Swaffham itself is on a slight rise, and at a dizzying 75m above sea level it’s actually one of the highest points on the route. That’s why it was one of the first places in the UK to get a wind turbine – which you pass on the quiet lane northwards after enjoying the comprehensive resupply and refuelling options and exploring some of the history of this lovely Georgian ‘party’ town. The effort to climb another whole 7m of elevation onto the old Roman road and then dive down and heave up a significant dip on loose gravel is richly repaid as you crest the rise overlooking the Nar Valley. The amazingly preserved medieval landscape of Castle Acre is laid out clearly ahead and from here it's downhill all the way to the extensive ruins of the priory. Be careful of the tight turn by the old stone barn and the steepening slope down to the deep ford (with welcome footbridge), though, or you’ll be an extensive ruin yourself.

Cockley Cley

Unfortunately the ‘Iceni village’ at Cockley Cley has now closed after complaints that the round house that was the main attraction wasn’t archaeologically correct. The church is one of the earliest in the UK though, with a history back to 628 AD, and it also contains a lead coffin. While it’s been a while since the portcullis in the old bailey gatehouse has been shut, you’ll still need to attack the short climb up into the village harder than most slopes on this route. The chance to explore this unspoilt medieval oasis is undoubtedly worth it though. Once you’ve taken in all the sights it’s another gentle climb along the dead-straight Roman road alignment of Peddars Way. While the full Rebellion Way route turns off Peddars Way after 5km, continuing to follow the legionary sandal steps north is a way to bypass the King’s Lynn to Hunstanton part of the journey and rejoin the lap at 196km in.

...Swaffham itself is on a slight rise, and at a dizzying 75m above sea level it’s actually one of the highest points on the route.

Swaffham

Meaning ‘home of the Swabians’ in Old English, Swaffham gets its name from invaders from south-west Germany, but its elevated position in the Breckland landscape makes it likely a settlement was here before. The Peddars Way Roman Road also passes very close by. Its position on the pilgrimage route from King’s Lynn to Walsingham and north-south routes to and from the coast made it an increasingly important town through the Middle Ages. It flourished again in the Georgian period when it was seen as a place to come and ‘take the airs’ above the surrounding flatlands. The racecourse, theatres, assembly rooms, many inns and beautiful historic buildings date from its time as the place to be seen in Norfolk, and even Nelson’s wife moved here because the family home on the north coast was too boring. As well as being a pretty town to explore, Swaffham sits just over halfway through this section of the route and

a third of the way round the overall circuit. Its full range of feeding spots, shops and other facilities around the town square with its classical bandstand make it an excellent staging post. It’s also one of Cycling UK’s Norfolk EXPERIENCE hubs, complete with three routes of various lengths radiating out to Downham Market, Dereham and King’s Lynn.

experience.cyclinguk.org/norfolk/swaffham

Castle Acre

Castle Acre was already a settlement and church under the control of local nobleman Toki, before the Normans invaded and Toki’d it off him. They immediately set about creating a complete planned settlement, including a castle, village, parish church and even a defensive gate with portcullis. This very rare example of almost totally intact medieval planning also includes Castle Acre Priory, one of the best-preserved monastic sites in England, complete with ornate gatehouse, prior’s lodgings and chapter house in beautiful gardens reaching down to the River Nar. There’s a family trail to enjoy around the site if you’re riding with kids too.

King's Lynn Harbour

Sand and seafaring

We did consider making that short cut along Peddars Way the official route too, but recceing the area made it clear we’d be missing out on perhaps the most surprising part of the whole Norfolk lap. If the Roman road wasn’t old enough for you, the bewitching Breckland areas of Massingham Heath and Gayton Thorpe Common are studded with prehistoric barrow burial mounds. Flint farmhouses, manors, halls and windmills reinforce the age-old feeling as back roads become ancient cobbled tracks through mysterious woodland that could surely tell many tales. Turning north at the grass airstrip just before East Winch, with its RSPCA wildlife hospital, you follow the B road to a right-angled corner where you start probably the most challenging riding terrain of the whole route.

That’s not to say it’s death-defying in any way, but as you head west you’ll find the track getting sandier and more slithery the further you go. In fact it’s about the only part of the route where the fatter tyres of a mountain bike make more sense than a faster gravel bike, but you may well end up pushing whatever you’re riding. However, the unique sandy geology that creates this challenge has also seen the area heavily quarried and then flooded to create the huge lagoons of Bawsey Country Park. The result is a unique landscape that we guarantee will take your breath away far more than any slight struggle with the surface. The same is true of the next section too: while the farm track can be muddy, you’ll be riding through so much history that this area even had its own episode of the Time Team TV archaeology show. The only obvious remaining relic of the lost village of Bawsey are the evocative ruins of St Mary’s church, but this low mound has a long story that starts when King’s Lynn was still under the sea.

Bawsey

‘Beaws Island’ was so called because this low hill was once a coastal island stronghold with a harbour and causeway, while the site of King’s Lynn was still under water. The current church was founded as a monastic site in the Saxon period, but most of the surviving ruins date from the Norman period when St Mary’s became the parish church of Bawsey. It was even the site of an episode of the ‘Time Team’ archaeological TV show. This confirmed the fact it was an island, and the existence of a large ditch and bank enclosure that lasted into the medieval period. They also found Bronze Age flint arrowheads, European coins from the Saxon period, a metalworking site, a Norman pottery hoard and several burials including a skull with a lid sliced out of the top. This is either evidence of the startling medical procedure of ‘trepanning’, where a disc or discs were cut out of the skull to relieve pressure, or a sword-inflicted head injury. Either way, the patient/victim didn’t survive the experience, as the hole was unhealed.

Once you’re carefully across the main road, there’s a short suburban wriggle before, on the edge of King’s Lynn, you soon connect to the town’s ultra-comprehensive cycle path network. In fact there’s such a maze of possible routes that we’d strongly advise giving up trying to follow your GPS and just follow the clearly marked blue signs towards St James Park. Here modern sculptures mix with eclectic medieval remains such as the Red Mount Chapel and remains of the old city walls and gatehouses. From here it’s a quick jink across another main road and then down to the historic waterfront of King’s Lynn for a short lap of the best-preserved part of this historically very important town.

King's Lynn

Unfairly overlooked as a touring destination, King’s Lynn really surprised us when we first visited. Not only does it have a remarkably comprehensive cycle path network but it’s also full of some amazing buildings. These include the Red Mount Chapel, which was built for foreign pilgrims landing at King’s Lynn before heading to Walsingham, but has spent most of its life as a stables, gunpowder store and observatory. There’s also a theatre where Shakespeare is likely to have performed and a stunning guildhall, customs house and large Minster church. These all date from King’s Lynn’s time as a member of the Hanseatic League, a medieval trading federation of several major European cities and towns that made it one of the most important ports in the UK. The historic riverfront with its cafés, sculptures and old warehouses is a great place to stop before exploring the cobbled streets behind. Its position as the nearest point of the route for those coming from the north and Midlands, and its railway station, also make it a potential alternative start/finish point.

King's Lynn Guildhall